Remembering Ronnie James Dio

When I first heard Ronnie James Dio had stomach cancer I knew it was going to be tough to beat and inevitably it was. However I am sure Dio fought it with all his might because he certainly lived his music career as a fighter. There were times in his long career where he struggled and bands folded or his music fell out of favor due to change in styles, but he always seemed to bounce back and find an opening with another act. He did great albums with multiple bands in different decades. He had a strong voice and was a highly consistent performer for decades. That's why he had the respect of fans, musicians and the press. My first exposure to Dio's voice was hearing "Rainbow in the dark" on the radio in late 1983 and his voice drew me in right away with it's power. Months later I bought "The last in line" on cassette and probably wore the copy out in a year or so. I remember many nights sitting in my room listening to this tape over and over and soaking in Ronnie's voice. I have spent many hours over the last 35+ years listening to the albums he did with his own band, Rainbow, ELF and Black Sabbath (Heaven and Hell) Jokes popped up over the years about his persistence of singing about dragons, wells and fantasy topics while other bands focused on current issues. However Dio had the kind of voice and presence that he could sing about whatever he wanted and people were still drawn to it. He stuck with what he knew and pushed hard and that's why he still had such a long career. He seemed to enjoy what he was doing and he brought that joy and that excitement to his fans and I thinks that's why he was as successful as was even though he did the same style for so long. When a musician dies many people seem to race to their collection and pull out a bunch of that artists music to play right away. Typically I don't do that, but I know that for Ronnie James Dio I will be listening to many of his albums this week because he was one of those rare performers in metal who could pull you in right away. He will surely be missed by the metal community.
R.I.P., Ronnie.

~Metal Mark