Dio’s contribution to Metal is beyond measure and from a personal perspective, his contribution most certainly shaped my journey into the Metal genre and how I showcase myself to the world during my early teens to present. I am a big fan of Black Sabbath but it was where Dio was the lead singer that made me more drawn to those albums. I’m sure other fans can agree that Dio was simply a down to earth guy, that spoke openly about his opinions and was always straightforward and honest. There’s so much to cover regarding his life but I recommend you go and check out some of his interviews and music. Some of my favourites are shared below!

Ronnie James Dio’s thoughts on religion:

Loudwire’s 10 Unforgettable Ronnie James Dio’s moments: https://youtu.be/0UzYZzzYs34

Dio’s legendary life:

Music was central to his life from an early age. He never received any formal vocal training, instead as a child he learnt to play the French horn and trumpet, to which he later attributed the breathing control pivotal to his singing power. I’m currently reading more into this! He became a bassist professionally for a band whilst in New York. Ronnie then became a lead singer of a new-look band – Ronnie & The Red Caps, later renamed Dio & The Prophets after Ronnie had adopted a new stage name we all knew. As the rock era dawned in the 60s and 70s. Dio became the lead singer of the Electric Elves, subsequently shortened to Elf which sat mostly in the blues, hard and psychedelic rock genre. In the early 70s came the break that he had longed for, when Deep Purple’s Roger Glover and Ian Paice saw potential in Elf and elected to produce the band’s self-titled debut album. 

From there, a strong connection was formed between the two bands – the two bands toured together between 1972 and 1974. 

Deep Purple’s Blackmore chose to make a solo record, he enlisted Dio and the other members of Elf in creating this. That album, titled Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow was released in 1975. And it was immediately apparent that Blackmore had found the perfect foil in Dio, a singer whose voice and imagery were ideally suited to Blackmore’s baroque taste

Dio really began to develop an unique take in writing lyrics after establishing the new band, now simply named Rainbow. Instead of the cliché life songs, Dio focused more towards the fantasy side of storytelling with heroic emblems. It was progressive heavy metal built to monolithic scale and this was most potently illustrated by the Stargazer album. However, much later in his career, he began to write lyrics more surrounding the dark side of the World we live in. Those are just quite as powerful.

Ronnie almost did work on Rainbow’s third studio album, however Blackmore replaced Dio with an Englishman Graham Bonnet as he pursued a more radio-friendly direction for the band.

It was hard on Ronnie, being out of a job after just four years with Rainbow. But within a year he would be courted by another world-famous rock band – and this would present him with the greatest challenge of his career. (You can find his interviews here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_5wsTzQXzM )
When announced as the new singer in Black Sabbath – succeeding the much-loved Ozzy Osbourne – Dio faced hostility from the media and from hardcore Sabbath fans. However, we are/I am so grateful Dio joined. Dio’s debut with Sabbath, 1980’s Heaven and Hell silenced his critics.

Dio really made Black Sabbath great again. His gift for melody, and his poetic sensibility, brought a lyrical quality to Sabbath’s music and inspired Tony Iommi in particular. Most notable of Dio handling really heavy tones was the track Neon Knights. He sounded fantastic which further silenced the last remaining critics!

Some of the best songs Ronnie James Dio sang:

Man on the Silver Mountain
The Temple of the King
Stargazer
Tarot Woman
Neon Knights
Children of the Sea
Heaven & Hell
Die Young
Holy Diver
Rainbow in the Dark
The Last in Line
We Rock

The lyrics that best captures the essence of Dio would be Sacred Heart… ‘Whenever we dream, that’s when we fly.’ He dared to dream, and he flew high.

Thank you Dio.