RJD… Ronnie James Dio. The man the myth the legend. Legend, what’s makes someone a legend? I think it’s a title that is far far over used and too easily attached in the undeserving. But if ever there was an artist that truly encapsulates what a legend really is, it was Ronnie James Dio. Musically his legacy speaks for itself. He is one of the few, as I write this the only one, that could ever rightfully take ownership of three CLASSIC albums in three Classic bands, Rainbow- Rising/ Black Sabbath- Heaven and Hell/ Dio- Holy Diver (four if you include Heaven and Hell- The Devil You Know….. which I think should be included) and the impact he has had and will continue to have on the metal world is immeasurable. But despite the sheer greatness of his musical career, the thing that really set Ronnie apart from everybody else was how he was as a person. I had the great great pleasure of working with and getting to know Ronnie over the course of many years and can heartfully say that he was not only the nicest man in metal but one of the nicest, most sincere and generous men, period. And I think you will be hard fetched to find anyone that disagrees with that. So despite the anniversary of his passing being a sad day, its also a day that we should reflect and take pleasure in the music that he so thankfully blessed us all with. Ronnie… we all salute you. \m/
Text: Will Miller, journalist, Rolling Stone/The Enemy/Rocksverige
My first real memory of Dio is when a buddy came home with “Holy Diver ” right after it was released. We had heard of him before and knew he sung in Sabbath , but we didn’t know much more. One can safely say that we were stunned and the record was played over and over again . I remember that ” Rainbow in the Dark” was an early favorite , as it is today. Then came “The Last in Line” with its stunning title song and the video we saw at the home of another buddy who had a giant satellite dish on the roof. Through it they got into English channels so we could then see the video. It was recorded on VHS and was seen again and again . The best though was the video for “We Rock ” . Filmed at the Philadelphia Spectrum and the question is whether there is a video that is more hard rock than that ? I mean, just that they had a show with lasers amazingly cool at the time. Much later I saw Dio live, but then that real mystique had subsided . Last time I saw the great little man was at SRF when Heaven and Hell performed. A maginificent gig and even though I was freezing , his voice gave me warmth. It was incredible that he in such old age still had that strength in the vocal chords! If I listen to Dio today, it is rarely to the band Dio or Sabbath or Rainbow. My favorites are since way back the albums he did with Elf and especially the song ” LA 59″ , that in high school in the late 80s was the name of me and my pal’s fictional band. We designed a logo and a stage show and wrote the song titles . Funny as hell and all thanks to a little man with a magnificent voice. R.I.P. RJD
Niclas Müller-Hansen, editor, Rocksverige/Metalshrine
Today is the day the man on the silver mountain sadly passed away four years ago. Below Rocksverige.se’s tribute to the legend together with wonderful Halestorm.”It’s just a moment in time.” Hear Lzzy tell the story about when she met the legend.
Some other voices about the master:
“Graspop a few years back, we had been playing and I went out to see Heaven and Hell, went out the backstage passage and ended up in the photo pit, one meter from the band and just right in front of Dios feet. I was terrified, but it was an awesome concert, and I was’t kicked out.”
Anders Iwers, Tiamat
“If I met Dio? Yes indeed. Did i ever work with him? Yes indeed again. If it was cool? It doesn’t come any cooler than that. He really was the absolute greatest.”
Darren Edwards, Warner Music, Roadrunner Records, Nuclear Blast & more
“I never met Dio but one of the earliest memories of a Dio-song is “Hungry For Heaven”. It was on the soundtrack for the movie Vision Quest that was released in 1985. I don’t think I ever saw the movie but I had the soundtrack on a cassette and I listened to his song “Hungry For Heaven” like crazy.”
Martin Boman, musician & radio profile, Bandit Rock