Another victim of cancer, Ronnie James Dio died on 16th May at the age of 67.
Most reports have concentrated on his stint as lead singer with Black Sabbath, replacing Ozzy Osbourne in 1979, but he came to my attention previous to that on a totally different sounding track.
Roger Glover had just put together his concept album, The Butterfly Ball in 1974 and it was the lead single from this album "Love Is All" that, although failed to chart in the UK, became a number one in Holland and launched Ronnie's career worldwide.
It was a career that had taken quite some time to get going, his first recording being released in the 1950s as a trumpet player with Ronnie and the Redcaps. He then progressed through several bands until, whilst supporting Deep Purple, he came to the attention of Ritchie Blackmore.
Ritchie left Purple and formed his own group with Ronnie and the rest of his band. Rainbow were to become one of the biggest rock acts around. In 1976 Dio came to my attention again, with what is still one of my favourite rock tracks of all time, from the 'Rising' album "Do You Close Your Eyes' is a masterpiece in classic rock composing, and set the standard for the rest of the album.
The following album, 'Long Live Rock 'n' Roll' started to generate hit singles, and it was then that Ronnie decided to move on. His relatively short stint with Sabbath was followed in 1982 by the formation of his own band Dio. Their first album was a top 20 hit in the UK and spawned a single from the title track (a song that was covered in 1998 by Pat Boone, of all people, in a 'swing' style with Ronnie on backing vocals - a unique performance!!!).
Ronnie continued with Dio and to collaborate with other artists, including another stint with Black Sabbath, until his death last week. His last project was a tour promoting a new album for his other band Heaven And Hell which he formed in 2006 with ex-members of Sabbath, which was recently cancelled due to Ronnie's ill health.
Here's my 2CD compilation for Ronnie;-
CD1
1. Ronnie & The Redcaps - Conquest
18. Black Sabbath - Turn up the Night
19. Ronnie James Dio - Budweiser TV Ad
CD 2
9. Dio - This Is Your Life
14. Girlschool - I Spy
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