RONNIE JAMES DIO R.I.P

BRUCE DICKINSON's BBC Radio Show To Pay Tribute To RONNIE JAMES DIO On Final Show


The final installment of IRON MAIDEN singer BRUCE DICKINSON's Friday Rock Show on BBC 6 in the UK will be next Friday, May 28th.

A show update reads: "It’s our last show, so aiming to go out with a bang Bruce spins some of his favourite top tunes - plus pays a personal tribute to RONNIE JAMES DIO."

The show airs from 9:00pm - 12:00am in the UK. Listeners outside the UK can tune-in online at this location between 4:00-7:00pm EST. If you are in the UK then you can listen on DAB Digital radio, on SKY and TV (SKY 0120, Freeview 707, Freesat 707, Virgin 909).

BBC recently to replace Dickinson with the son of the legendary DJ and new music champion John Peel, 30 year-old Tom Ravenscroft.

A BBC 6 Music spokeswoman stared in March about the change: “6 Music is currently reviewing the way it reflects the Rock/Heavy Metal genres across the network and has decided to decommission the Friday Night Rock Show. The network, however, remains committed to reflecting both genres throughout the schedule as part of its core music offering. We would very much like to thank Bruce Dickinson for the hard work and commitment he has shown to 6 Music over the past eight years.”

RONNIE JAMES DIO - Wendy Dio Responds To Possibility Of Picketers At Memorial Service; "Ronnie Hates Prejudice And Violence"


As previously reported, there will be a Public Memorial Service for RONNIE JAMES DIO (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF) on Sunday, May 30th at 2:00 PM PT at The Hall Of Liberty located at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, CA (more details here).

Word has since come down that the the independent Westboro Baptist Church intends to picket the service "to remind you who worship that old Serpent, Satan, that your time is very short. You know 67 year old, Satan-worshiping (or at least one of their enablers) Ronnie James Dio (of showing his devil horns to the world each time he goes in public) Black Sabbath fame is dead, right? We'll be there! Just because the chances of any of God's elect being amongst this group of heavy metal sycophants is slim to none does not mean they should not get some good words."

Ronnie James Dio's wife/manager has responded to the possibility of picketers at the memorial:

"Ronnie hates prejudice and violence! We need to turn the other cheek on these people that only know how to hate someone they didn't know. We only know how to love someone we know!"

Following is a list of Dio's "sins" according to the organization:

- "He hates his neighbor(s) starting with Ozzy Osbourne, and continuing down to his pornography star niece Gen Padova!"

- "He hates God. Pay especial attention to the fact that he changed his original sir name from Padova to Dio, which means God in Italian."

- "Ronnie the simpleton enabled, and encouraged Sorceries: everything he was about including the little finger horn thing (he got this from his mother which is an incantation to ward off the 'evil eye') to the drugs, bloody raw meat and his fellowship with those pentagon necklace wearing freakish band members."

More details can be found on the official Westboro Baptist Church here.

Information on the organization courtesy of CNN can be found at this location.

FATAL SMILE Pay Tribute To RONNIE JAMES DIO With New Benefit Song





Blade, singer for Stockholm metallers FATAL SMILE has issued the following update:

"Two days ago Y (guitarist) sent me a piano ballad he wrote while saddened by the horrible tragedy of Ronnie's passing due to cancer. That night I wrote the lyrics and melody to the song 'For The Last In Line'. We decided to have it recorded and released in the name of Ronnie's new fund: Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund. In the morning we recorded it and today it was mastered and released. iTunes and all other sites will follow. We have decided not to release the full version on Spotify, but it can be heard on YouTube (below).

Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund is registered as owner of this song, and gets 100% of all sales! Buy it to support his cause, the fight against cancer! Please buy this song and share this link everywhere to give Dio's fund a boost from us rockers!

For more info click here.

ALICE COOPER Discusses RONNIE JAMES DIO In New Video Interview - "He Really Was One Of The Architects Of Heavy Metal"



Lazer 103.3 caught up with shock rocker Alice Cooper on May 16th at the 2010 edition of Lazerfest, which took place in Indianola, Iowa. Cooper discusses the passing of metal legend Ronnie James Dio, who died that morning following a battle with stomach cancer, in the segment below.

Brad Wheeler of The Globe And Mail recently conducted a Q&A session with ALICE COOPER. An excerpt follows:

You were a pioneer in bringing theatrical elements to rock concerts. How did that start?

"I think it was a natural instinct. Rock ‘n’ roll is the most visual kind of music there is. I would go see THE WHO and THE STONES and all these great players, and I kept thinking, I wonder why they’re not painting the canvas behind them."

Now they’re bringing rock music to the theatre. What do you make of jukebox musicals?

"They always water them down. If you listen to an album like The Who’s Tommy, you’ve got real rock ‘n’ roll. But on Broadway, it’s sweetened. They make it syrupy and corporate. There hasn’t been a real rock musical yet."

What about Rock of Ages?

"But even that, it doesn’t have the attitude it needs. Our show, it’s in your face hard rock. We were influenced by THE YARDBIRDS and The Who. We want to play to that level. Leave the theatre to me, I tell the guys in our band, but first, let’s play as good as those bands."

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

MOLLY HATCHET Guitarist Bobby Ingram Pays Tribute To RONNIE JAMES DIO



Bobby Ingram of MOLLY HATCHET pays his tribute to RONNIE JAMES DIO (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF) and shares his personal experiences in a conversation with me for Metal Assault. The three and a half minute audio is available below:

Bassist Chuck Garric - "I Wouldn't Be In ALICE COOPER If It Hadn't Have Been For RONNIE JAMES DIO"



Tim Parsons from Tahoedailytribune.com is reporting:

On Chuck Garric's birthday last Sunday, he was thinking about the person who most helped his career, so he sent him an e-mail. But it was too late. RONNIE JAMES DIO (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF) had died hours earlier.

Dio died May 16 of stomach cancer at the age of 67.

“I called Ronnie a couple of times but he was really sick,” said Garric, a South Lake Tahoe native who is the bass player for ALICE COOPER. “He was living in privacy and I gave him his privacy. ... I just dropped him a line to tell him I was thinking about him.”

Garric played in the band Dio in 1999 and 2000.

“Getting to play with Ronnie is what launched my whole career,” Garric said. “I wouldn't be in Alice Cooper if it hadn't have been for Ronnie James Dio. He gave me my break.”

Read more here.

BLACK SABBATH Drummer Bill Ward On Passing Of RONNIE JAMES DIO - "We Wish To Extend Our Positive Thoughts And Love To All Those Who Loved Ronnie, And We Salute Him As A Singer, Performer, Songwriter And Arranger"



Legendary BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward has offered the following thoughts on the passing of legendary singer RONNIE JAMES DIO (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF) who lost his battle with stomach cancer on Sunday, May 16th at 7:45 AM PST at the age of 67:

"My wife and I have sent our condolences and have felt very sad with the news of Ronnie’s passing.

We wish to extend our positive thoughts and love to all those who loved Ronnie, and we salute him as a singer, performer, songwriter and arranger.

We plan to make no further statements and prefer to remain private at this time."

Ward performed on Sabbath's landmark Heaven And Hell in 1980 album which was the first to feature Dio on vocals.

SCORPIONS Drummer Herman Rarebell - "He Will Go Down In History As One Of The Greatest Singers In The World Of Heavy Metal And Hard Rock"

Former SCORPIONS drummer Herman Rarebell has offered the following thoughts on the passing of legendary singer RONNIE JAMES DIO (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF) who lost his battle with stomach cancer on Sunday, May 16th at 7:45 AM PST at the age of 67:

"I knew Ronnie for quite some time - he often came to Scorpions shows over the years. Although he just passed away last weekend, I already really miss him. Hanging out with Ronnie was always fun and we always had a great time laughing and joking. Without a doubt, he will go down in history as one of the greatest singers in the world of heavy metal and hard rock. The best way we should remember Ronnie and to celebrate his life is to break out any one of his classic recordings from Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, or Heaven & Hell. Ronnie, you will never be forgotten."

ALEX SKOLNICK - Goodbye RONNIE JAMES DIO


TESTAMENT and TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA guitarist Alex Skolnick has issued the following:

"This past weekend, we lost RONNIE JAMES DIO, not only one of the best singers in hard rock and heavy metal, but someone who was polite, well spoken and gentlemanly, something of an anomaly in a genre where ‘bad boy’ behavior is embraced and expected of its frontmen. When someone of his stature passes away, there is a collective void felt by millions of fans, creating a sense of unity. This feeling takes on an even more sad, surreal quality when it is someone that you were on a first name basis with.

Twice, I had the magnificent fortune of being on the same bill with Ronnie. On both these tours, the differing schedules of his band, BLACK SABBATH in 1992 and HEAVEN & HELL in late 2008 (same band, different name) made our encounters infrequent, as is often the case with headliners and support acts. But whenever we did bump into each other, he always went out of his way to say hello.

His knack for remembering everybody’s names was nearly as legendary as his vocal ability. He remembered everyone on the crew, everyone’s friends, wives and girlfriends and made each person feel the center of attention when he spoke to them. So while we did ‘know’ each other, I don’t pretend to have known Ronnie well. It’s not as if we ever spoke by phone. Actually, that’s not true…

One day, I was trying to reach my friend Lorenzo, who was on Dio’s sound crew. This was the early '00s and our tours were crossing paths in Cleveland. I’d been unable to make the Dio concert, but another friend of mine went to the show and bumped into Lorenzo, who told him to say hi to me and pass on his new phone number.

When I called a day or so later, the voice didn’t sound like Lorenzo’s. 'Alex Skolnick! How are you? I’ve always liked your guitar playing.' He asked what I was up to and how this person was and how that person was, asking me to please say hello to these people for him. This guy obviously knew me and others I knew, but I didn’t recognize his voice. Who could it be? I hesitantly asked. He laughed and said 'Alex, it’s Ronnie Dio!'

My jaw dropped. He explained that either he’d lost his cell phone and had been borrowing Lorenzo’s or vice versa (I forget), then nicely offered to pass on the message and have him call me, then we said goodbye. Whatever the situation was, I barely processed it and it scarcely mattered… I was on the phone with Dio!

I immediately thought of the Dio concert I attended in 1984 in San Francisco, the first concert I ever went to without adult supervision. I remember asking my father for permission. He didn’t understand who I was talking about. 'Devo?' he asked. A friend and I took BART (the metro train) to the concert which was held at the Cow Palace Arena. The Dio album Holy Diver had become part of the soundtrack for my high school years and those of countless other teens of the mid-'80s. Seeing him live, I felt for the first time like I was hearing music for my generation.

Although Dio’s draw would shrink somewhat in the ‘90s (thanks in part to the music industry’s collective turn against '80s hard rock acts) Ronnie James Dio still stands as one of a small handful of vocalists in the hard rock/metal genre who was ever able to sell out arenas under his own name. The other two that come to mind are OZZY OSBOURNE, whom he replaced in Black Sabbath, and ALICE COOPER.

When he emerged on the national scene in the '70s, he sang with enough rasp, grit, dirt and guttural quality to stand side by side with throaty greats of the time such as Bon Scott of AC/DC. But unlike Scott and others, whose sound was fueled by cigarettes, bourbon, and other, less legal substances, Ronnie took care of his voice with a discipline on par with an opera and Broadway singer. Never a ‘notorious rock star’ like his contemporaries, he lived his life in moderation, resulting in an unshakeable constancy and flawless execution that concertgoers could count on, right up until the end.

Indeed, at the Metal Masters shows barely a year and a half ago, the universal consensus was that Ronnie, then in his mid 60s, had never sounded better. On that tour, I frequently found myself standing on the grass with friends after our set, listening to Ronnie, Toni, Geezer and Vinne filling the star filled August sky with songs like 'Heaven & Hell', 'Lost Children Of The Sea' and 'Neon Knights'. It was about as perfect a Summer evening as one can imagine. Now Ronnie is a part of that star filled sky. He will forever be missed and remembered."

SCORPIONS On Passing Of RONNIE JAMES DIO - "He Was An Amazing Artist, Lovely Human Being, And A Dear Friend"


German hard rock legends the SCORPIONS have issued the following statement regarding passing of legendary vocalist RONNIE JAMES DIO (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF) who lost his battle with stomach cancer on Sunday, May 16th at 7:45 AM PST at the age of 67:

The passing of Ronnie James Dio is a huge loss to the world of rock n' roll. He will be missed by millions of fans around the world. He was an amazing artist, lovely human being, and a dear friend. We will miss you Ronnie."

After a triumphant tour kick-off and a gold album from their home country Germany for Sting In The Tail, the Scorpions were honored again: the band received the World Music Award at the Monte Carlo Sporting Club on May 18th, in presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco. Back in 1992 and again in 1994, the band proudly accepted the award for Best International Selling Artist from Germany. However, this time, Klaus Meine (singer), Rudolf Schenker (guitar), Matthias Jabs (guitar), Pawel Maciwoda (bass) and James Kottak (drums) were awarded with the World Music Rock Legend Award for their outstanding contribution to rock music. The show was aired in over 160 countries around the world, including Japan and China. More than 100 million viewers were said to have tuned in.

The event was a logistical challenge for the Scorpions: after performing in front of sold out crowds in Germany and Switzerland, all five members of the band accepted the award, right before they had to depart for a concert in Paris. They will be back to complete the German leg of their Get Your Sting and Blackout Farewell World Tour on May 29, where they will rock the Capitol city Berlin. Next stops after that: Greece, USA, Canada, the world! Check out the latest tour dates here.

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Sting In The Tail -​ Re&shy;lease: March 19th 2010



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ARCHETYPE Singer To Pay Tribute To RONNIE JAMES DIO On Metal Command Radio Show



Singer Tony Webster from Ohio-based prog-metallers ARCHETYPE has offered the following thoughts on the passing of legendary singer RONNIE JAMES DIO (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF) who lost his battle with stomach cancer on Sunday, May 16th at 7:45 AM PST at the age of 67:

"To me, Ronnie is a living legend. I think sometimes as people we take for granted at just how precious life really is and we think a living legend like Ronnie James Dio will live forever. I am still in shock that he is gone and can't believe that one of my favourite singers of all time is gone.

I was fortunate enough to meet Dio three times and had him on my radio show twice. From what I remember he was a very down to earth and nice person who really cared about the fans, and didn't suffer from the rock star ego that many musicians seem to have. He was a class act all the way and a true example of how a musician should be on and off stage.

Dio's music and singing has had a profound influence on me as a singer/frontman/music fan/person/radio DJ and I will truly miss him.

Ronnie James Dio will live forever through his music, and as long as we remember him.

On behalf of myself, Chris, Jamie and Keith, our sincerest condolences to his family. This is a sad week."

Webster's The Metal Command radio show will be airing a tribute to Dio this Friday, May 28th from 10pm-1am EST at Wbwc.com.

Geoff performs at the Ronnie James Dio memorial