Rock artists paid tribute over the weekend to legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio, best known for his work with Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Dio, his own self-named band. Renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history, Dio died of stomach cancer on May 16th, 2010 — 10 years ago this past Sunday — at the age of 67.
Among the artists who paid tribute to Dio was Halestorm's Lzzy Hale, who first listened to him at the age of 11, saying, “The music was something I could call mine, something no one else I knew had..”
Joel Stroetzel of Killswitch Engage called Dio “a true hero and legend,” while Judas Priest's Rob Halford, a metal giant in his own right, said, “His voice is still with us, as it always will be, and the power and honesty in it will always give me a thrill and a chill.”
Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi tweeted, “Remembering our dear friend Ronnie. I can't believe it’s been 10 years since Ronnie passed away. He is so greatly missed but never forgotten and his music will live on in our hearts forever.”
Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash told us a while back he felt the loss of Dio very keenly: “He's just somebody I was influenced by. I played all the Rainbow stuff, I played the Dio stuff, the Sabbath stuff when I was in, you know, high school. I don't think that it's really set in what a, you know, huge figure in rock 'n' roll we lost, you know. Really major. Probably one of the most influential heavy metal singers of all time.”
Ronnie James Dio, real name Ronald James Padavona, was born in New Hampshire on July 10th, 1942. He moved to Cortland, New York at a young age, where he began playing with local acts. He released his first single, with a band called Ronnie And The Redcaps, in 1959.
His first heavy rock act, Elf, released three albums and opened for Deep Purple, where Dio's voice caught the ear of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Blackmore recruited Dio for his own band, Rainbow, after leaving Purple in 1975.
Dio recorded three studio albums and one live set with Rainbow before exiting in 1978. He replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath in 1980, recording the Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules albums, plus Live Evil, before leaving in 1982.
He rejoined the group 10 years later for an LP called Dehumanizer, and again teamed with the group under the Heaven & Hell banner in 2006. Heaven & Hell released The Devil You Know in 2009.
He also recorded 10 studio albums with his own band, Dio, including a classic 1983 debut, Holy Diver, and 1984's equally renowned follow-up, The Last In Line.