![]() Ronnie began writing this manuscript several years before being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2009. Dio then goes on to the many peaks and valleys of his own namesake band, from its debut album featuring the classic “Rainbow in the Dark” through various personnel changes, breakups, reformations to their 10 th and final album, 2004’s Master of the Moon. Once again, Dio shows how his singular commitment and personal sacrifice, now aided by his wife’s business smarts, created one of the most loved and enduring marquee acts of 1980s. This portion provides the most VH-1 Behind the Music-styled dish on drugs and egos and how it finally led Dio to take the plunge and start his own band, in partnership with his wife/manager Wendy and Sabbath drummer Vinnie Appice. It caught on not only at Sabbath shows but across and beyond the world of heavy metal fandom.ĭio goes on to describe the highs and lows of his time with Sabbath and in working with Iommi, another genius but often intractable guitar god. Dio started flashing it at Black Sabbath shows, as his answer to the peace symbol former front man Ozzy waved. In the book, we also learn how Ronnie’s Sicilian grandmother helped give birth to “the Devil’s Horns,” the now ubiquitous hand signal of heavy metal brotherhood, one usually deployed along with a firm headbang! His grandmother called this ancient Sicilian symbol “the Maloik” and said it would protect young Dio from “the Evil Eye” and other ill omens. It was a platinum-seller that triggered a rebirth of not only the band but the heavy metal genre as a whole. He met with Dio for a jam which morphed into a miraculously writing session that produced the iconic “Children of the Sea.” Together, Iommi and Dio would go on to write much of what would become Black Sabbath’s career-revitalizing album, 1980’s Heaven and Hell. With Ozzy out of Sabbath and the band in limbo, Iommi was considering a solo project. It is through Wendy’s friendship with Sharon Osborne that Dio came to the attention of Black Sabbath leader/guitarist Tony Iommi. For all their success in recording, co-composing and sell-out touring, Dio’s time with Blackmore ends badly – with him broke, without his due royalties and stranded in L.A. At these, he reportedly summoned the spirit of Mozart (who appeared in a mirror), Thor (who made it thunder) and the pagan god Baal (who wiped some sessions from their 24-track tapes). Also detailed are some spooky seances led by Blackmore when the band was recording in France at Château d’Hérouville. rocker haunt from which the band would take its name. This includes him ordering the diminutive Dio to “sit on a pillow” as he is meeting, for the first time, his wife- and manager-to-be Wendy at The Rainbow, the L.A. Some of the more entertaining parts of the book are Dio’s memories of the prickly Mr. Together, Blackmore and Dio would pioneer a fusion of hard rock, heavy classical and fantasy lyricism that would define a most popular style of metal. When the latter band’s masterful and mercurial guitarist Ritchie Blackmore decided to go solo, it was with most of Elf’s members, including Ronnie on vocals and as co-songwriter/lyricist. This led to opening slots on huge tours for the likes of Alice Cooper and Deep Purple. ![]() Things finally started to turn up in 1972 when Dio’s band Elf was signed by Purple Records, a label headed by Deep Purple’s Ian Paice and Roger Glover. This was when a just-hired roadie named Igor was trusted with and promptly crashed their new truck on its inaugural run. The first was when his band’s car was totaled in a collision with a mule! Far worse was the second which took the life of his guitarist Nick Pantas, his closest friend and musical partner in several early bands. In his pre-fame days, there were three crashes he recounts in dramatic detail. The road has taken the life of many musicians and Dio had his share of close calls. A later band, the Electric Elves, hatched three more duds. Talk about failure? His first serious band, Ronnie and the Prophets, scored 10 flop singles between 19. His love of popular music then led him to forsake the brass for the bass, then vocals, in his pursuit of a professional career. It was an instrument his father made him practice four hours a day starting at age 6, the axe with which he would soon begin his non-stop gigging lifestyle playing at school and social events. His musical life began with the trumpet, inspired by big band icon Harry James. For me, the most interesting chapters in most musician biographies come from their striving days, and Dio has a tale of failures, tragedies and restarts that is hard to match.
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