Ronnie James Dio is gone. :(

[gandryyne]

He died of stomach cancer this morning at 67. While I was not a fan of ALL his incarnations, he was one of the hard rock voices I liked back in the day. I couldn't find a decent video of Rainbow's Man On The Silver Mountain, but this one was also one of my favorite vocals of his...

Click to view

Comments

[monkey]

aw, thats sad indeed.

good song choice!

I saw him once, with YWNGIE as his opening act :D

[gandryyne]

That's saying something to have Yngwie as your opener! Probably one of the few times he opened for anybody!

[gandryyne]

Mob Rules was originally done with Sabbath. A classic rock voice that was unmistakable...

[dogmaticus]

Unmistakably bad..

[gandryyne]

I wouldn't say "bad", over the top... definitely. YMMV.

[dogmaticus]

I'm still trying to get over the fact that he was 67! Jesus what a geezer.

Hmmmm... Musically, let's just say that I was unimpressed. Some of the Rainbow stuff (like the cover of Since You've Been Gone) was alright. Nothing of the DIO/Black Sabbath era is musical IMHO.

I did LOVE him in Tenacious D's Pick of Destiny.

Re: Since you've Been Gone. Probably the single most popular song done by RJD with Rainbow, and really in his career. And it was a cover. The original by Russ Ballard (Guitarist for Argent) and the first cover by Head East, are BOTH better versions, again IMHydaO.

[gandryyne]

Hehehe, Yes Pick of Destiny is a CLASSIC...

[gandryyne]

I can't seem to find a version of Since You've Been Gone with Dio. It's certainly possible that he sang it live or Blackmoore's Rainbow rerecorded it.

The version I know and love is with Graham Bonnet off the Down To Earth LP:
(which seems to be a cover of the Head East version...)

[ubet_cha]

That’s a shame. When I was a kid and my tastes were very different I loved his stuff, even when he was trying to be over the top it was a lot of fun. Saw him at least twice in concert and hope his passing was peaceful as it could be considering the disease.

[gandryyne]

Doggy and I were discussing that the overthetop quality of his is what set the standard for all the 80s metal bands to follow. Very comical now, but serious biz back then. :?

From what I've read of late, it seems like he was a very generous soul who didn't take himself seriously. Case in point... that Pick of Destiny cameo he did.

[gandryyne]

My brother was into the many incarnations of Dio. That's how I came to get to know Rainbow and Black Sabbath.

I had tapes too! Wayyyy too many to know where to go with! :? In that respect, I'm glad music has gone digital.

ps. Don't you love these Spectrum videos?! Gotta love the Philly crowds! Heh!