Ronnie James Dio

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Ronnie James Dio
Background information
Birth name Ronald James Padavona
Born July 10, 1942 (age 64)
Flag of United States Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA
Genre(s) Heavy metal
Hard rock
Blues-rock
Instrument(s) Vocals
Bass guitar
Keyboards
Associated
acts		 Elf
Rainbow
Black Sabbath
Dio
Heaven and Hell

Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona on July 10, 1942, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire), is a heavy metal vocalist who has performed with Black Sabbath, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Elf, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid. He is renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil's horns" hand gesture in heavy metal culture (formed by closing the thumb over the middle and ring fingers, while having the index and little-finger extended). Ronnie said that his grandmother used to make the hand gesture to ward off the evil eye, which is very common among superstitious Italians. The "horns", or "Corna", themselves are used to both scare away and give someone the "Malocchio" (the Evil Eye). He is currently collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice, which is going under the name Heaven and Hell. On January 17, 2007, he was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame (along with Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash, and Frank Zappa/Missing Persons drummer Terry Bozzio), at Guitar Center on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Ronnie James Dio was born Ronald James Padavona, an only child to a family of Italian heritage. The family moved to Cortland, New York early on in Dio's life. He initially played trumpet and even recorded several singles with various rockabilly bands when he was a kid. The earliest known band went by the name The Vegas Kings, which was changed later to Ronnie & The Rumblers and finally to Ronnie And The Red Caps, whose first 7-inch single was released in 1958.

Ronnie took up the name "Dio" after mafia member Johnny Dio, and first used it professionally in the early 1960s by playing in a band called Ronnie Dio and the Prophets.

Much of Dio's early life is not known for certain. Some say he earned a degree in pharmacology and and was offered but declined a position at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music, but this has not been verified by independent sources.

[edit] Career

In the mid-1960s, he formed the band "Ronnie Dio and the Prophets", a precursor to Electric Elves, with keyboardist Doug Thaler (later a manager of Mötley Crüe). Then in 1969, Dio formed the band Elf, which went on to be an opening act for Deep Purple. Dio's vocals caught the ear of Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, and when Blackmore left the band, he recruited Dio and other members of Elf to form Rainbow. After a few albums with Rainbow, he left the band due to creative differences (Blackmore had wanted to take the band in a more commercial direction), and was recruited by Black Sabbath in 1979 to replace Ozzy Osbourne. Dio gave a new jumpstart to Black Sabbath's commercially sagging career with the hugely popular Heaven and Hell album. In 1982, during the mixing of the live album Live Evil, internal band problems and nasty accusations developed, which led to Dio and drummer Vinnie Appice quitting the band to form Dio. Ronnie James Dio currently lives in California and still records and tours worldwide with Dio.

Tenacious D have written a tribute song entitled Dio that appears on their self-titled album that calls for the singer to 'Pass the torch' on to them. Comments he's made on the song have been conflicting. Reportedly, Dio approved of it, and he has also appeared in the film Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny, playing himself, but on VH1, some have interpreted small clips of an interview with him as expressing resentment at the idea that he needs to "pass the torch" and seemed uncertain that Tenacious D are worthy of such an honor. When viewed in full, this interview seems to be done in good humor.

In 2005, Dio was revealed to be the voice behind Dr.X in Operation: Mindcrime II, the sequel of Queensrÿche's seminal concept album Operation: Mindcrime. In October 2006 it was confirmed that Dio would be reuniting with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice to tour under the moniker 'Heaven and Hell', which was the title of the first Dio era Black Sabbath record. They've used the name "Heaven and Hell" as Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler are still in the Black Sabbath band with Ozzy Osbourne and felt it was best to use a different moniker for the Dio version of the band. Original Black Sabbath Drummer Bill Ward was to be involved in this project, but he has since confirmed his withdrawal.

[edit] Family

Dio married his first wife, Loretta Berardi (born 1941), sometime in the 1960s. They adopted one son, Dan Padavona (born July, 1968), who works as a meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.

Then, he married Wendy (born 1945), who also serves as his manager. Not much else is known about Wendy or their family. Also, in the 1980s she managed Los Angeles rock bands Rough Cutt, featuring vocalist Paul Shortino, who replaced Kevin DuBrow for several years in Quiet Riot and Hellion, featuring female vocalist Ann Boleyn.

[edit] Age Dispute

    The United States Library of Congress copyright searches for both Ronnie James Dio and Ronald James Padavona material both return listings invariably citing the 1942 birthdate.

    He was in his first band in 1958, which means that if the 1949 date were correct, he would have been 9 years old. This would be unlikely, but not impossible. (Dio has also said that he started his first group around age 10). According to classmates from his high school, and reportedly also a yearbook, Ronald James Padavona graduated from Cortland High School in 1960. His first band photos, with "Ronnie and the Red Caps" from ca. 1960 or 1961[1], are also widely circulated on the Internet. In the photo, he looks to be somewhere in his mid teens, and probably older than the 12 years old he would have been, if the 1949 birth date were correct.

    British-born/Australian-based singer Graham Bonnet, who replaced Dio in Rainbow, has said that Ronnie is younger than he. Bonnet was born September 23, 1947. However, in a 2005 interview, while discussing guitarist and former bandmate, Ritchie Blackmore, Dio said that Ritchie "isn't that much younger" than him. Blackmore was born in 1945. Online public records searches (done in 2005) list Dio as 64 years old under the name "Ronald Padavona" and as 57 years old under the name "Ronnie James Dio". Another search shows a "Ronald and Wendy Padavona" in Studio City, CA (presumably a business address), ages 64 and 58 (as of February, 2006), which would fit with the assumed birth years of 1942 and 1947 for Dio and his wife, Wendy. This also suggests that Dio's legal name is still Ronald Padavona. Interestingly, Blackmore has said that Ronnie is younger than him at other times, although this could easily be attributed to Dio's maintaining a false birth date that Blackmore (and others who know Dio) assumed was correct. In an article on Black Sabbath in an issue of Circus magazine ("Black Sabbath Pray For Brighter Days") in the spring of 1982, Dio's age is listed as 33. This would seem to support a birth date of 1948, since the interview appeared before Dio's July birthday. Again, if Dio had been giving an incorrect date of birth for years, it's not out of the question that this number is also wrong.

    As a result, most of Dio's fans agree that the 1942 date is the most likely the correct one. The 1949 date is second most likely. 1944 is another possible date, and 1947, 1940, 1939, and even 1937, but there is no real evidence to back these dates up. The age of Ronnie and his son also builds the case for 1942, although a 20 year age difference was not that rare in the 1960s. In one interview, Dio was very emphatic about the 1949 year, saying, "Well, I was born in '49, and I never told anybody anything other than that."

    [edit] Band timeline

    [edit] Trivia

    • Dio performed vocals on the 1974 UK single 'Love is All' taken from Roger Glover's concept album 'The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper Feast'. The song has been used recently by the Dutch political party CDA in its election ads for the 2006 Dutch General Election.
    • In 1997, Dio made a cameo on Pat Boone's "In a Metal Mood", an album of famous heavy metal songs played in Big Band style. Dio can be heard singing backup on Boone's take of the Dio song, "Holy Diver."
    • Tenacious D has a song entitled "Dio" on their 2001 album. It is a tribute of sorts to Dio, and asked for him to stop playing rock music and allow them to fill his shoes. Dio liked the song enough to let the band appear in his next music video "Push." Also, in Tenacious D's new film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Dio makes a cameo appearance. In the soundtrack to the film, Dio provides vocals in the Tenacious D song entitled Kickapoo as himself.
    • Ronnie James Dio is about 5'4" tall. In a photo appearance with Black Sabbath Ronnie stood on a ledge so as to appear the same height as his bandmates.
    • There was a short-lived effort to elect Ronnie James Dio as President of the United States in the 2004 election. Nothing came of this, and the website promoting him at the time is no longer in operation. A new campaign has begun for the 2008 election and the progress can be tracked at the dio4president last.fm page.
    • As a character, Ronnie James Dio appeared in the third season episode of South Park titled "Hooked on Monkey Phonics", playing "Holy Diver" at the school dance. Ronnie James Dio himself did not provide the character's speaking voice.
    • Dio Brando, the primary antagonist of the manga series Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, is named after Ronnie James Dio. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is known for its multitude of music references.
    • Although Dio is considered the creator of the "devil's horns" as a heavy metal symbol, some argue that it originated from Kiss' Love Gun album cover from 1977, which shows Gene Simmons doing the sign. However, Simmons extends his thumb which is sign language for "love."

    [edit] Discography

    Some of Dio's early appearances on 45 rpm singles are collected on several volumes of the LP series "The History of Syracuse Music," released in the 1980's. A complete discography with lyrics can be found here.

    [edit] With Ronnie Dio and the Prophets

    • Dio at Dominos (1963)

    [edit] With Elf

    [edit] With Rainbow

    Ronnie James Dio (third from left) with the other members of Black Sabbath, 1980.
    Ronnie James Dio (third from left) with the other members of Black Sabbath, 1980.

    [edit] With Kerry Livgren

    • Seeds Of Change (1980); guest vocals on "To Live For The King" and "Mask Of The Great Deceiver"

    [edit] With Black Sabbath

    [edit] With Dio

    [edit] With Hear 'n Aid

    [edit] Vision Quest soundtrack (1985)

    • "Hungry For Heaven"

    [edit] Iron Eagle soundtrack (1986)

    • "Hide In The Rainbow"

    [edit] With Pat Boone

    [edit] With Queensrÿche

    [edit] With Deep Purple & the London Symphony Orchestra

    • In Concert with the London Symphony Orchestra (Live at the Royal Albert Hall) 1999

    (vocals on Sitting in a Dream, Love is All and Smoke on the Water)

    [edit] External links

    v • d • e
    Rainbow
    Ritchie Blackmore
    Vocals: Ronnie James Dio | Graham Bonnet | Joe Lynn Turner | Doogie White
    Bass: Craig Gruber | Jimmy Bain | Bob Daisley | Roger Glover | Greg Smith
    Drums: Gary Driscoll | Cozy Powell | Bobby Rondinelli | Chuck Burgi | John O'Reilly | John Miceli
    Keyboards: Micky Lee Soule | Tony Carey | David Stone | Don Airey | David Rosenthal | Paul Morris
    Discography
    Albums : Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow | Rising | Long Live Rock 'n' Roll | Down to Earth | Difficult to Cure | Straight Between the Eyes | Bent Out of Shape | Stranger in Us All
    Live albums: On Stage | Finyl Vinyl | Live in Germany/Live in Europe | Live in Munich 1977 | Rainbow Live at Cologne SportsHalle
    Videos and DVDs: Live Between the Eyes/ The Final Cut | Live in Munich 1977
    Compilation Albums: The Best of Rainbow | The Very Best of Rainbow | 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rainbow | Pot of Gold | Catch the Rainbow: The Anthology | Winning Combinations: Deep Purple and Rainbow
    Related articles
    Deep Purple | Blackmore's Night | Black Sabbath | Dio
     v • d • e Black Sabbath
    Ozzy Osbourne • Tony Iommi • Geezer Butler • Bill Ward

    Dave Walker • Ronnie James Dio • Vinny Appice • Ian Gillan • Bev Bevan • David Donato • Glenn Hughes • Dave Spitz • Eric Singer • Ray Gillen • Tony Martin • Bob Daisley • Jo Burt • Terry Chimes • Laurence Cottle • Cozy Powell • Neil Murray • Bobby Rondinelli • Mike Bordin • Geoff Nicholls

    Studio albums: Black Sabbath • Paranoid • Master of Reality • Black Sabbath, Vol. 4 • Sabbath Bloody Sabbath • Sabotage • Technical Ecstasy • Never Say Die! • Heaven and Hell • Mob Rules • Born Again • Seventh Star • The Eternal Idol • Headless Cross • Tyr • Dehumanizer • Cross Purposes • Forbidden

    Live albums: Live Evil • Cross Purposes Live • Reunion • Past Lives

    Compilations: We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll • Under Wheels of Confusion • The Sabbath Stones • Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978 • Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978) • Greatest Hits 1970-1978 • Black Sabbath: The Dio Years

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