Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio
Dio performing in 2009
Born
Ronald James Padavona

(1942-07-10)July 10, 1942
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S.
DiedMay 16, 2010(2010-05-16) (aged 67)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1957–2010
Spouses
Loretta Berardi
​
​
(m. 1963; div. 1973)​
[1]
Wendy Walters
​
​
(m. 1978)​
[2]
Children1
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • bass
  • trumpet
Formerly of
Websiteronniejamesdio.com

Ronald James Padavona[3] (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010),[4] known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.

Though his parents were from Cortland, New York, Dio was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where his family resided for his father's service in the U.S. Army during World War II. The family returned to Cortland when Dio was very young, and he lived there until graduating from high school in 1960.[5] Dio's music career began in 1957 as part of the Vegas Kings (later Ronnie and the Rumblers). In 1967, he formed the rock band Elf, in which he sang and played bass. In 1975, Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore founded the band Rainbow and hired Dio to be the lead singer; during his tenure, the band released three studio albums. Dio quickly emerged as one of heavy rock's pre-eminent vocalists. In 1979, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as Black Sabbath's lead singer and appeared on three studio albums with the band, all three of which met with success: Heaven & Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumanizer (1992). In 1982, he left to form the band Dio, which itself had two albums certified platinum by the RIAA. In 2006, he founded the band Heaven & Hell with ex-bandmate Tony Iommi. In November 2009, Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died of the disease six months later.

Dio is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal vocalists of all time.[6][7][8][9] He is known for popularizing the "devil horns" hand gesture in metal culture and his medieval-themed song lyrics.[10][11] According to a version provided by the singer himself,[12] the act derives directly from the classic Italian apotropaic gesture, which his grandmother often displayed. Dio had a powerful, versatile vocal range and was capable of singing both hard rock and lighter ballads. He was awarded the "Metal Guru Award" by Classic Rock Magazine in 2006. He was also named the "Best Metal Singer" at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in 2010 and ranked as the genre's best vocalist in 2013 by music journalist Sacha Jenkins.[13]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference marriage1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference marriage2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Passport". julienslive.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022.
  4. ^ "Ronnie James Dio obituary". the Guardian. May 17, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  5. ^ "City of Cortland Proclamation". Cortland.org. July 15, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2022. Ronnie James Dio was born Ronald James Padavona on July 10, 1942 in Portsmouth, NH and resided in Cortland, New York from early childhood until his graduation from Cortland City School in 1960.
  6. ^ Epstein, Dan (June 21, 2017). "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved July 2, 2019. After establishing himself as a top-tier hard-rock vocalist via his late-Seventies/early-Eighties stints in Rainbow and Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio truly ascended into the metal pantheon with his 1983 solo debut." "...Holy Diver would achieve platinum status by the end of the Eighties, and serve as an influential touchstone for everyone from Killswitch Engage to Tenacious D.
  7. ^ "The 10 Best Heavy Metal Frontmen". nme.com. NME. May 18, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2019. ranked #1
  8. ^ "Fan Poll: 5 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time". Revolver. May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  9. ^ "12 Of The Very Best Rock/Metal Vocalists". Maniacs Online | Heavy Metal News, Music Videos, Tours & Merch. November 6, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Appleford, Steve (September 9, 2004). "Odyssey of the Devil Horns". Los Angeles City Beat. Archived from the original on November 22, 2007.
  11. ^ "The Devil's Horns: A Rock And Roll Symbol". Ultimate-Guitar.com. September 7, 2005. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  12. ^ "Metal-Rules.com Zine - Ronnie James Dio". May 10, 2017. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  13. ^ Erik Piepenburg (March 29, 2013) [Who Are the Best Voices in the History of Metal?] New York Times Blog, accessed July 11, 2019