RONNIE JAMES DIO - AN APPRECIATION AND RECOLLECTION

'Sing me a song you're a singer, do me a wrong you're a bringer of evil'

One of the finest rock/metal vocalists I've had the pleasure of seeing. Here are some thoughts and notes on my personal recollections and memories of RJD.

On July 10th 1942 Ronald James Padavona was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. From growing up with formal lessons on the trumpet to listening and absorbing the vocal style of Mario Lanza, Italian American Ronnie James Dio graduate through a series of show and bar bands to form The Electric Elves in 1969 who evolved into Elf by 1972.

After releasing their self-titled debut in 1972 on Epic Records they managed to get some support slots in the USA with Deep Purple who signed them to their own label and released Carolina County Ball two years later. When Ritchie Blackmore left Purple the following year he recruited the band to back him on his solo elpee, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. By the time it came to tour and think about a second elpee, Blackmore ditched the rest of Elf and put together a star studded group of musicians to complete Rainbow Rising.

And this is where I come in. Rising was the first thing I heard Ronnie sing. Arguably his finest or one of his finest moments. Such a powerful, strident voice. At the time Blackmore would tip his hat to Zeppelin's Kashmir as the embryonic blueprint to Rising's stellar track Stargazer, with its' neo-classical, bombastic arrangement and widescreen sound. Add Cozy Powell's Bonzoesque tubthumping and the recipe is might fine. Oh, and an iconic sleeve too.

But, as was to become almost a career hazard, Ronnie left Rainbow after 3 elpees and after a break in L A found himself resurrecting an ailing Black Sabbath with the fantastic Heaven And Hell. I remember the first 4 Hammersmith Odeon shows, Ronnie ignoring the Ozzy bigotry and cold atmosphere to deliver stunning and professional vocals night after night. By the time they gave us The Mob Rules Vinnie Appice was behind the kit and a new dynamic Sabbath sounded darker than ever. The 8 shows in London over the next year or so were the best I'd seen them or him, a brilliant Metal show.

If anything Mob Rules was darker, stronger and more intense. E5150 replaced Supertzar as the intro tape and it all felt new and powerful. One of the great albums of the era in my opinion, and sometimes sadly overlooked by Heaven and Hell. 

After the contractual obligation 2 elpee Live Evil set Ronnie was off again, this time to form his own band, simply titled Dio. Again, two stunning elpees and tours and then they suffered the law of diminishing marginal returns and it started to stall, with still some gems among the releases.

Finally, many years and false starts later we got Heaven And Hell, the culmination of the power of Black Sabbath without the baggage and back catalogue. Beg, steal or borrow the Radio City Music Hall DVD, it's brilliant.

Looking back, Ronnie always amazed me with his vocal power and style. He was always on the money, near perfect intonation and inflection. Coming through the early years of rock n roll he had that sense of timing and performance ingrained. Nothing was fake or contrived. Of all the times I saw him sing - more than 20, actually nearer 25 - he never dropped the ball, never screwed up. And yet he warmed up with a couple of pints of Ruddles and warmed down with more and a curry. He had a gift.

A gentle, warm and friendly man, he sang and wrote from the heart. Yes, sometimes lyrically there were too many rainbows and not sure what he was thinking with the whole Denzel the Dragon episode, but you'd be hard pushed to put together less than a 3 (I'd say more..!) disc set of his finest work and find any filler in there.

At ease onstage, I'm smiling at memories of the laser sketch in Children Of The Sea, the drive of Neon Knights and Voodoo, and the sheer joy and pride on his face as Tony, Geezer and Vinnie got into THAT groove in Heaven And Hell and flew.

A one-off. I can't think of a current Rock/Metal vocalist fit to lace his knee length leather boots, can you? Ronnie, you made me smile and you rocked.