RIP Ronnie James Dio

It seems as though I’m writing far too many of these posts lately.

Ronnie James Dio

After a series of ‘is he / isn’t he?” articles hit the internet yesterday, the news has broken. Ronnie James Dio – the ferocious creative force behind Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell and Rainbow – has passed. His battle with stomach cancer finally caught up with this metal legend, and he now watches over us from somewhere behind Odin’s eyebrows.

I’m struggling for words. All I really have to say is “Thank You.” A picture has formed in my mind, and I’ll be attempting to transfer it to canvas – a tribute to a fallen brother. From one artist (albeit an amateur one) to one of her heroes.

Others have said more than I ever could:

“Crying right now in remembrance of my hero and friend, Ronnie James Dio … he was a major, major part of my life. I got to do shows with him and work with him and I loved Dio my whole life. The world has lost one of the best.” - Sebastian Bach

“His music will live for eternity” - Slash

“Ronnie had a unique and wonderful voice. He will be sadly missed in the rock and roll world.” - Ritchie Blackmore.

“I am privileged to have been a part of Ronnie James Dio’s life and music. His closest ones are in my thoughts.” - Rowan Robertson

“We are filled with great sadness at the terrible news about our friend Ronnie James Dio. Ronnie was a wonderful man and will be sorely missed.” - Judas Priest.

And, from Lars Ulrich, a truly heartfelt letter to his own fallen hero.

Dear Ronnie

I just got off stage in Zagreb. I was met with the news that you’ve passed on. I’m kind of in shock, but I wanted you to know that you were one of the main reasons I made it onto that stage to begin with.

When I first saw you in ELF, opening for DEEP PURPLE in 1975, I was completely blown away by the power in your voice, your presence on stage, your confidence, and the ease with which you seemed to connect to 6,000 Danish people and one starry-eyed 11-year-old, most of whom were not familiar with ELF’s music. The following year, I was so psyched when I heard the results of you joining forces with my favorite guitar player. You guys sounded so right for each other and I instantly became RAINBOW’s #1 fan in Denmark.

In the fall of 1976, when you played your first show in Copenhagen, I was literally in the front row and the couple of times we made eye contact you made me feel like the most important person in the world. The news that you guys were staying in town on your day off somehow embedded itself in my brain and I made the pilgrimage to the Plaza Hotel to see if I could somehow grab a picture, an autograph, a moment, anything. A few hours later you came out and were so kind and caring… pictures, autographs and a couple minutes of casual banter. I was on top of the world, inspired and ready for anything. RAINBOW came to Copenhagen a couple more times over the next few years and each time you guys blew my mind, and for a good three years were my absolute favorite band on this planet.

Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to run into you a half dozen times or so and each time you were as kind, caring and gracious as you were in 1976 outside the hotel.

When we finally got a chance to play together in Austria in 2007, even though I may not have let on, I was literally transformed back to that little snot-nosed kid who you met and inspired 31 years earlier and it was such a fucking honor and a dream come true to share a stage with you and the rest of the legends in HEAVEN & HELL.

A couple of weeks ago when I heard that you were not going to be able to make it to the Sonisphere shows that we would be sharing this June, I wanted to call you and let you know that I was thinking of you and wish you well, but I kind of pussied out, thinking the last thing you needed in your recovery was feeling obligated to take a phone call from a Danish drummer/fan boy. I wish I’d made that call.

We will miss you immensely on the dates, and we will be thinking of you with great admiration and affection during that run. It seemed so right to have you out on tour with the so-called ‘Big Four’ since you obviously were one of the main reasons that the four bands even exist.

Your ears will definitely be burning during those two weeks because all of us will be talking, reminiscing and sharing stories about how knowing you has made our lives that much better.

Ronnie, your voice impacted and empowered me, your music inspired and influenced me, and your kindness touched and moved me. Thank you.

It’s interesting that Dio gave us not only his incredible voice, his epic, sweeping music and his undying love and dedication, but also our official metalhead emblem. Dio began thrusting the metal horns – an Italian symbol to ward off the evil eye – at Black Sabbath shows, and soon we were all doing it. I love this recent interview with him:

Ronnie James Dio

It’s all right as long as it’s accepted for what it was,” Dio told the magazine. “It was a more serious thing at the time, when I was with [BLACK] SABBATH. That was a band that was very dark, and that’s what I wanted it to be. It was symbol of the darkness of that band, and not something to be passed on to BRITNEY SPEARS! An invention is an invention, I guess. It’s become so damn polluted now. The people who are doing it don’t know what it means and they have no idea that they shouldn’t be doing it.

“It’s a trend,” Dio addded. “It’s a popular trend and so it will probably become like the hula hoop. During a show, I sometimes think ‘Maybe I won’t do that tonight’, because it’s become so damn ludicrous now. Everyone’s doing it and it has no meaning anymore. Now I wait until two or three songs into the show, and until there’s a stop in the music and I’m doing something on my own, and then the response is incredible because people are wanting that from me. It’s like OZZY and the peace sign, you know? So I never find myself not doing it, but I’m definitely doing it less and less these days.

“The point is that you can’t just flash it. You have to a face that goes with it. There has to be some emotion behind it. It can’t just be the raising of the arm, trying to get your fingers in the right position. And you’ll notice that a lot of people are using the thumb now, too. When the thumb comes out it means ‘I love you’ either in Hawaiian or in sign language – I’m not sure which! So that’s proof, once again, that these celebrities don’t really have a clue. As stupid as this might sound, I never once did that on stage unless it was to punctuate something that was a little more dark. So when I did it, it was never about starting a trend. It’s a natural thing for me to do. It’s important to know that it’s not something I did frivolously it was just a spontaneous response to something that I sang. A lot of times, bending of the knees always puts it in a slightly different perspective. It puts you in the Sumo position. Now you’re ready to charge!”

RIP Ronnie. Your star will shine forever.

Much Love
Steff