Ronnie James Dio RIP

Excellent.

And Bob:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_ronnie_james_dio

 

His wife confirmed the death on his website: http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/

 

The first thing that pops into my head when I hear about Ronnie James Dio isn't "Holy Diver", "Man on the Silver Mountain", or "Rainbow in the Dark", it's an image of this kid from my middle school who wore the same Dio shirt everyday for about three years straight. I assume every midwestern middle or high school in the late 80s/early 90s had one of these kids...

RIP and \m/, Ronnie

 

He's 5-4.

Angus Young is 5-2.

 

I'm sure he was happy being the shortest guy filling an arena than being the tallest guy opening for a puppet show at a festival.

Yes, I just worked Freddie Patek and Spinal Tap into a post about Ronnie James Dio.

 

RIP.

 

I never laughed more at a South Park episode. The absurdity of it was epic.

 

I was a huge metalhead growing up in the late 80s, and even then Dio's music was never really my cup of tea. But one thing I have always heard about him was that he was among the most gracious and friendly "rock stars" who ever lived, going above and beyond the call to show appreciation to his fans after shows, during meet-and-greets or just when someone recognized him on the street.

A couple of other things about Dio:

1. He was a big-time baseball fan. I remember him doing MLB preseason picks in Hit Parader during the 80s.

2. He popularized the ubiquitous "devil's horns" sign (which you can see him giving in Piotr's post). Apparently, his grandmother was an Italian immigrant and believed flashing that sign would ward off evil spirits. Ronnie began flashing the sign at his shows and in publicity photos and eventually, you couldn't go to a hard rock concert without seeing thousands of two-fingered hands in the air.

RIP, RJD. I wish more celebrities were like you.

 

Rainbow in the Dark was one of my favorite rock videos as a kid.

I must admit the song holds up pretty well all these years later...

RIP

 

Saw him at MSG on the Sacred Heart tour when I was 15. My friend's dad picked us up after the show (a la Homer in the Spinal Tap comes to Springfield episode). Lots of activity outside the arena. As we were leaving, my friend's dad remarked to a cop, "Boy, I haven't seen that many fights here since we had Fotiu."

It was one hell of a show, by the way. The title track from "Last in Line" is truly a pantheon metal anthem. Some nice Vivian Campbell guitar work in there too.

 

Funny thing, I'll hear all these songs and know the lyrics, but had ZERO idea who the artist was until I read this post and clicked the links.

 

I know I'm going to get ripped up one side and down the other, but here goes:

I like metal, among many rock genres. That said, his lyrics were among the worst I've ever heard. For a guy with so much talent, he wasted it on schlock. Lyrics like his made it easy for people to mock metal.

It is amazing, though, that such a little guy had such a big, powerful voice. He will be missed.