R.I.P. Ronnie James DioMusic
- Thread starter Northstar
- 51 comments
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- 5,379
- Yokohama
- F1fan1
What a singer. Such a powerful voice. I first heard the news in a pub with one of my friends. His dad had just died and dio was favourite singer. The news paled in comparison to his dad's death, but I think that's a bit of a given. Was a really crappy day to say the least.
- 20,681
- TenEightyOne
- TenEightyOne
Metal's always been too anti-establishment to consider itself a cultural artform... but that's what people like Dio made it.
- 4,806
- Sweden
It's been five years today.
I remember I was at work on May 16, 2010 and hearing the news on my lunch break.
It was a big shock. Ronnie and his music was, is and will be a part of my musical
life forever.
Some time in my early teens in the nineties I put side one of Rainbow Rising on the spindle
of my parents vinyl record player. I had no idea who Ronnie was nor had I ever heard of Rainbow before.
My father had most of the Rainbow albums (actually he still has them).
The Tarot Woman intro started and I was instantly a fan for life.
Since then I have listened to pretty much everything Ronnie ever created, in bands,
solo, collaborations, demos and outtakes and watched countless interviews.
Ronnie & The Red Caps (1958–1961)
Ronnie Dio & The Prophets (1961–1967)
The Elves (1967–1970)
Elf (1970–1975)
Rainbow (1975–1979)
Black Sabbath (1980-2010)
Dio (1982-2010)
If you only know of his career and what he did in his last three bands I encourage you to find his earlier
work. The kind of genres he went through from the late 1950's to the early 2010's was
truly unique. I have never come across an artist with such range as Ronnie had.
Don't think I ever will.
I was really lucky a few years ago when I found Seeds of Change on vinyl for just 2 dollars!
It's a rare album by Kerry Livgren where Ronnie guest sang on two tracks. One of them being the beautiful
To Live For The King. Last time I checked Amazon that vinyl went for a hundred dollars.
In September of 2009 I got hold of tickets for a December show where Dio would come to my hometown
to a very small venue. I've been to see other bands at this place (just a small building really) and the capacity
crowd is no more than a few hundred people. I was ecstatic as I would finally get to see one of the biggest musical
influences in my life for the first time.
Unfortunately by the time ~November came around Ronnie had to cancel all his tour dates due to his newly discovered
cancer and because of the treatments he would have to go through.
He made a statement that he would honor all of the shows and come back at a later date as soon as he had killed
this dragon. I hoped for the best and knew that the gig would be even better because of the prolonged wait and
the anticipation.
It didn't happen though. Ronnie passed away on May 16, 2010 and I never got to see him sing live.
It's a big regret I have, but his music still lives on for me.
He was working on Magica II and III and also on a follow-up album to The Devil You Know with Tony and Geezer.
It's such a shame too because those albums would have been something special there's no doubt about that.
From 2004 and onwards I felt Ronnie's voice just got better and better because it got a much darker and deeper tone
as he got older. A more ferocious and menacing tone.
Master Of The Moon and The Devil You Know has Ronnie singing his heart out
and his voice was just perfect on those albums.
The album closer Breaking Into Heaven proved to be eerily foretelling.
I still listen to his music almost on a daily basis. I can jump between a lot of different genres, artists and decades.
I just love listening to music, but I can say that Ronnie James Dio is the best singer ever for me. I felt that way
even before he passed.
As a side note, tomorrow (May 17) marks the 39th anniversary of the release of Rainbow Rising.
It was recorded in Munich, Germany and released on May 17, 1976.
I remember I was at work on May 16, 2010 and hearing the news on my lunch break.
It was a big shock. Ronnie and his music was, is and will be a part of my musical
life forever.
Some time in my early teens in the nineties I put side one of Rainbow Rising on the spindle
of my parents vinyl record player. I had no idea who Ronnie was nor had I ever heard of Rainbow before.
My father had most of the Rainbow albums (actually he still has them).
The Tarot Woman intro started and I was instantly a fan for life.
Since then I have listened to pretty much everything Ronnie ever created, in bands,
solo, collaborations, demos and outtakes and watched countless interviews.
Ronnie & The Red Caps (1958–1961)
Ronnie Dio & The Prophets (1961–1967)
The Elves (1967–1970)
Elf (1970–1975)
Rainbow (1975–1979)
Black Sabbath (1980-2010)
Dio (1982-2010)
If you only know of his career and what he did in his last three bands I encourage you to find his earlier
work. The kind of genres he went through from the late 1950's to the early 2010's was
truly unique. I have never come across an artist with such range as Ronnie had.
Don't think I ever will.
I was really lucky a few years ago when I found Seeds of Change on vinyl for just 2 dollars!
It's a rare album by Kerry Livgren where Ronnie guest sang on two tracks. One of them being the beautiful
To Live For The King. Last time I checked Amazon that vinyl went for a hundred dollars.
In September of 2009 I got hold of tickets for a December show where Dio would come to my hometown
to a very small venue. I've been to see other bands at this place (just a small building really) and the capacity
crowd is no more than a few hundred people. I was ecstatic as I would finally get to see one of the biggest musical
influences in my life for the first time.
Unfortunately by the time ~November came around Ronnie had to cancel all his tour dates due to his newly discovered
cancer and because of the treatments he would have to go through.
He made a statement that he would honor all of the shows and come back at a later date as soon as he had killed
this dragon. I hoped for the best and knew that the gig would be even better because of the prolonged wait and
the anticipation.
It didn't happen though. Ronnie passed away on May 16, 2010 and I never got to see him sing live.
It's a big regret I have, but his music still lives on for me.
He was working on Magica II and III and also on a follow-up album to The Devil You Know with Tony and Geezer.
It's such a shame too because those albums would have been something special there's no doubt about that.
From 2004 and onwards I felt Ronnie's voice just got better and better because it got a much darker and deeper tone
as he got older. A more ferocious and menacing tone.
Master Of The Moon and The Devil You Know has Ronnie singing his heart out
and his voice was just perfect on those albums.
The album closer Breaking Into Heaven proved to be eerily foretelling.
I still listen to his music almost on a daily basis. I can jump between a lot of different genres, artists and decades.
I just love listening to music, but I can say that Ronnie James Dio is the best singer ever for me. I felt that way
even before he passed.
As a side note, tomorrow (May 17) marks the 39th anniversary of the release of Rainbow Rising.
It was recorded in Munich, Germany and released on May 17, 1976.
- 6,963
- South Africa
- 195
- Victoria
- Killing-Heidi
- 4,806
- Sweden
http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/holy-diver-bonus-interview-mr0001102365
I listened to this ^ bonus interview again today. I bought that CD
off Amazon a long time ago and I like what Dio had to say about
the last song on the record 'Shame on the Night'.
He talks about it 11:20 into the #18 bonus track on the disc.
Shame on the Night is probably a reflection of how I felt at the time.
Nighttime is the worst time on earth to have problems.
Everything during the day seems like life is going to be OK but as soon
as it gets dark and dreary and the oppression falls on your shoulders you
start thinking too much. There's not much you can do at four o'clock in the
morning but think. Four o'clock in the afternoon I can go out for a ride or
take a walk or whatever but four o'clock in the morning I don't think most
people should be out at that time. You usually get in trouble doing that.
I think I acquainted the night at that time with having bad dreams and bad
things going on. I thought it was a clever title personalising the night and
saying 'shame on you'.
If you've never heard the song here it is;
I also go back to this interview from time to time.
It's a good one.
Part 1 of 4.
I listened to this ^ bonus interview again today. I bought that CD
off Amazon a long time ago and I like what Dio had to say about
the last song on the record 'Shame on the Night'.
He talks about it 11:20 into the #18 bonus track on the disc.
Shame on the Night is probably a reflection of how I felt at the time.
Nighttime is the worst time on earth to have problems.
Everything during the day seems like life is going to be OK but as soon
as it gets dark and dreary and the oppression falls on your shoulders you
start thinking too much. There's not much you can do at four o'clock in the
morning but think. Four o'clock in the afternoon I can go out for a ride or
take a walk or whatever but four o'clock in the morning I don't think most
people should be out at that time. You usually get in trouble doing that.
I think I acquainted the night at that time with having bad dreams and bad
things going on. I thought it was a clever title personalising the night and
saying 'shame on you'.
If you've never heard the song here it is;
I also go back to this interview from time to time.
It's a good one.
Part 1 of 4.
- 4,806
- Sweden
So earlier in the year (or maybe it was last year) I learned that "hologram concerts" apparently is a thing.
Dio's wife says that they are working on six songs where a holographic projection of
Dio would come out on stage and perform for the audience.
She says it's important because "we're losing so many artists" and that "people who never
got to see singers live will now get a second chance."
The "Dio Returns" world tour will be opening on November 30th in Helsinki.
After some backlash the creator of the hologram said that if this wasn't done "people wouldn't know who Dio was, down the line."
And here's an earlier attempt at the hologram in action.
Some people talk about how great it will be to see holograms of John Lennon,
David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and many others. Holograms of Michael Jackson and
Tupac Shakur have apparently already been made in the past (I haven't seen them).
I'm not sure how I feel about it to be honest. I don't think I'll ever go to one of these shows though.
Yeah, sure. You get to see a hologram on stage but it's not the real person. It can never be the same.
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. You will only get to watch a remnant from the past.
It's just old footage, it's something already recorded from a long time ago and nothing new will ever
be made (with regards to Dio that is).
What bothers me is that they say "Oh, people will forget about Ronnie James Dio. Nobody will know
who he is and new generations will never find his music."
Baloney. I found Dio through my dads record collection of vinyls saved from the seventies.
I bought all of his CD's. And I find new bands through YouTube, Spotify, word of mouth...
I often listen to music from artists that passed away long before I was even born.
It's ridiculous to say that time makes people forget. If the interest to find, discover and explore is there,
artists won't ever be forgotten.
I'm not against this new technology though. It's been around in sci-fi movies for decades and I
can see where this might go irl in the next twenty years or more. I do find it intriguing and there's probably
no end to the possibilities, even outside the music industry.
But I still feel that the dead should be left in peace and not made to perform as holograms.
I might change my mind, I'm open to accept any new learnings and new developments in this area
and I will keep my ear to the ground. But as of right now, it just feels wrong.
By reading comments online I see that people are divided on the issue, some people think it's awesome
while others think it's blasphemy and atrocious.
Dio's wife says that they are working on six songs where a holographic projection of
Dio would come out on stage and perform for the audience.
She says it's important because "we're losing so many artists" and that "people who never
got to see singers live will now get a second chance."
The "Dio Returns" world tour will be opening on November 30th in Helsinki.
After some backlash the creator of the hologram said that if this wasn't done "people wouldn't know who Dio was, down the line."
And here's an earlier attempt at the hologram in action.
Some people talk about how great it will be to see holograms of John Lennon,
David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and many others. Holograms of Michael Jackson and
Tupac Shakur have apparently already been made in the past (I haven't seen them).
I'm not sure how I feel about it to be honest. I don't think I'll ever go to one of these shows though.
Yeah, sure. You get to see a hologram on stage but it's not the real person. It can never be the same.
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. You will only get to watch a remnant from the past.
It's just old footage, it's something already recorded from a long time ago and nothing new will ever
be made (with regards to Dio that is).
What bothers me is that they say "Oh, people will forget about Ronnie James Dio. Nobody will know
who he is and new generations will never find his music."
Baloney. I found Dio through my dads record collection of vinyls saved from the seventies.
I bought all of his CD's. And I find new bands through YouTube, Spotify, word of mouth...
I often listen to music from artists that passed away long before I was even born.
It's ridiculous to say that time makes people forget. If the interest to find, discover and explore is there,
artists won't ever be forgotten.
I'm not against this new technology though. It's been around in sci-fi movies for decades and I
can see where this might go irl in the next twenty years or more. I do find it intriguing and there's probably
no end to the possibilities, even outside the music industry.
But I still feel that the dead should be left in peace and not made to perform as holograms.
I might change my mind, I'm open to accept any new learnings and new developments in this area
and I will keep my ear to the ground. But as of right now, it just feels wrong.
By reading comments online I see that people are divided on the issue, some people think it's awesome
while others think it's blasphemy and atrocious.
- 24,628
- Anoka, MN
I think my biggest issue with holograms is that it removes the artist-fan interactions that makes concerts special. This is especially apparent when talking about someone like RJD who was known for these interactions. Sure seeing the hologram allows you watch him "live", but you're missing out on a large part of the overall experience.
Personally I would rather just watch a good quality concert film.
Personally I would rather just watch a good quality concert film.
- 4,806
- Sweden
I think you're right. For instance I went to see Robert Plant two years ago and
he winked at me and smiled from the stage during one of his songs. One of those things you
remember for a long, long time.
It wouldn't really hold the same special meaning if a hologram did the same thing.
It can't do anything it wasn't programmed to do.
No improvisational skills. The show would seem lifeless to me. There wouldn't be any
chemistry on stage. The hologram wouldn't be able to throw out some guitar picks or
interact with the mosh pit or the other band members and things like that.
Dio was well known for giving his time, signing autographs before and after shows
and hanging out with the fans. A holographic Dio won't be able to.
And I would imagine it would feel weird for the real bandmembers. It's one thing to play
with the hologram and executing the songs as perfect as possible, but afterwards,
Dio won't be there with them backstage, drinking and partying or whatever else they used
to do. Goldy even said that he tried his hardest not to look at the hologram at all.
That pretty much says it all.
- 3,620
- Slovenia
- csiApok
Personally I'd never go to a 'hologram projection' concert. What's the point, concerts are special because you get to see the performers do their thing and that's just not possible with Dio or other artists that passed away.
A far more productive thing to do would be to support present day bands. Give your money to smaller indie bands that actually need it. The good ones really know how to put on a show.
Speaking of live, here's my favourite recording of Dio. Probably my favourite recording of any live event.
A far more productive thing to do would be to support present day bands. Give your money to smaller indie bands that actually need it. The good ones really know how to put on a show.
Speaking of live, here's my favourite recording of Dio. Probably my favourite recording of any live event.
- 4,806
- Sweden
Couldn't agree more, with everything you said.
That recording is from December 9th, '76 in Osaka, Japan and Tony Carey was still on keyboard
at that time. Not long after that show though, some time in the beginning of 1977 Tony left the
band and the song L.A. Connection, which ended up on the next album, was written about him.
Dio talks about it here, telling how mistreated Carey was and how he was made to suffer during
his time with the band.
Dio goes further here talking about how Blackmore treated people in general.
He mentions Tony Carey towards the end.
Tony Carey evidently had a hard time in Rainbow, but he did create one of the finest
intros in rock history in my opinion with the intro to Tarot Woman.
Tarot Woman was how I discovered Dio, and it's a special song to me for that reason.
There are so many weird versions of this song on YouTube, this however is the one that I heard
on vinyl for the first time and the proper version in my opinion.
If you haven't already I can recommend to listen to Dio's final album The Devil You Know.
It's so heavy and easily among his finest work, I just get really depressed knowing
that he didn't get a chance to write more music for many more years. What could have been...
- 29,980
- a baby, candy, it's like taking.
- TexRex72
I'm given to understand that Tony and Ritchie were, not to be cliché, like oil and water, and that their relationship was far from one-sided. My old boss and owner of the record store where I worked in college was a road manager in Germany and actually knew Tony there--not in a professional capacity, mind--where he apparently let slip in a story I haven't heard in entirety that he may have given Cozy, and therefor Ritchie, reason to not like him. Now that's purely hearsay, but my boss was really fond of Tony, and as a result was my introduction to Tony and prog rock as I relate to it since, so I can't imagine he'd speak ill if there were no truth to it.
- 1
- Mans
Seeing the cover of Long Live Rock n Roll bought back great memorys of shool lunchtimes sat round an old record player in the commmon room :-)
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