Holy Diver

Ronnie James Dio: July 10, 1942 - May 16, 2010

It is really a sad day for me. Most of my readers probably have no clue who this guy is, but he was one of my major influences when it comes to music. Ronnie James Dio passed away last night after a 6 month battle with stomach cancer. He was 67 years old, and a true rocker. He is most popularly known for being the singer for the band Elf, after which he sang for Rainbow. He replaced Ozzy in Black sabbath and in the recent past he was leading the band Heaven and Hell. Not to forget his highly successful solo career that spanned a few decades.

I first heard Dio by accident. When I was in the 7th grade, a friend of mine had given me an audio cassette which had a few assorted pop numbers. One unusual track on that album was "The Temple of the King" by Rainbow, with Dio on vocals. Not knowing who Dio was or what Rainbow was about, I heard that track a few times and was soon hooked on to it. It was only years later that I realized that it was Rainbow and Dio. Then there was no looking back. It was always hard to decide if he was better in his solo ventures, or if if was more powerful with Blackmore in Rainbow, or Tony Iommi in Sabbath.

He was one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal. Anyone who has heard him will agree. He has also been misunderstood many times, just like various other rockers, for being associated with the satanic side. Those who closely followed Dio will really know what he was about. All his songs were fantasy. He sang about dragons, mythological creatures, good vs evil and so on. All his solo albums had a mythical touch to it and it never failed to mesmerize the listener. Those of you who have been to a rock show, have you noticed everyone raising their hands with their index and pointing finger pointing? (see pic below) The "Horns" as it is known now was a trademark created by Dio himself and now ever single person who is into rock music flashes that sign.

Dio was instrumental in the Hear N' Aid project, which involved almost all the heavy metal musicians, and they released an album to raise funds for Africa. He also has a charity he runs called "Children of the Night" which benefits runaway children and the song "Throw away children" was recorded for that. One of his last efforts came last Christmas with Tony Iommi for a heavy metal Christmas album he produced, where he sang the track "God Rest Yea Merry Gentlemen" which my band had covered for a Christmas show.

Dio has passed on and this puts the end to a truly magical era. His influence on me and some of the other musicians are truly unmatched. He will indeed be remembered always, for years and years to come. His music lives on.