Contrary to published reports, legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) **has not** died after a six-month battle with stomach cancer.
After rumors started circulating via the Internet late Saturday that Dio had lost his cancer fight, BLABBERMOUTH.NET reached out to Ronnie's wife/manager Wendy Dio, who sent back the following message at approximately 11:35 p.m. PST on Saturday, May 15 / 2:35 a.m. EST on Sunday, May 16:
"I am at the hospital and Ronnie has NOT passed away!!!! He is not doing
good, but he is not dead.
"I will let you know if anything changes.
"Thank you for your concern."
It was only a month ago that Dio, 67, spoke about his battle with cancer with the Artisan News Service on the "black carpet" of the Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which took place on April 8 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. When asked about how he had been feeling since he was diagnosed with the disease late last year, Dio said, "Well, I feel good and bad at times. It's a long process. Chemotherapy is a... I never realized what a difficult thing it was to go through. It's a real cumulative effect — the more you have, the more it piles up on top and it takes longer and longer to get over it. I find it very difficult to eat. I don't like to eat anyway, so I guess that's OK. But I know I have to. But this makes it very, very hard. But if you're determined to beat it, then you have to go with what you believe is going to beat it for you, and in this case it's that. I go to a great hospital in Houston called M.D. Anderson, which I think is the best hospital in the world, I have the best doctor in the world, Dr. Ajani, who I really trust and I really believe in, so I think I've done all the right things. It makes me feel positive about my life and positive that there is a lot more of it to live."
Earlier this month, HEAVEN & HELL canceled its summer tour plans in Europe due to Dio's treatment for stomach cancer. The band said in a statement that Dio wasn't "well enough to tour this summer. We hope that everyone understands and want to thank fans and industry colleagues for their continuing support at this time."
Ronnie James Dio has performed with ELF, RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH, and his own band DIO. Other musical projects included the collective fundraiser "Hear 'n Aid". He is widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal, renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil's horns" hand gesture in metal culture. He is currently involved with HEAVEN & HELL, a project which also included former BLACK SABBATH bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice. Their first studio album, "The Devil You Know", was released on April 28, 2009.
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne (lead vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (electric bass), and Bill Ward (drums and percussio
n). The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of twenty-two musicians have at one time been members of Black Sabbath. Originally formed as a heavy blues-rock band named Earth, the band began incorporating occult- and horror-inspired lyrics with tuned-down guitars, changing their name to Black Sabbath and achieving multiple platinum records in the 1970s. Despite an association with occult and horror themes, Black Sabbath also composed songs dealing with social and political issues such as drugs and war.
As one of the first and most influential heavy metal bands of all time,[1] Black Sabbath helped define the genre with releases such as quadruple-platinum Paranoid, released in 1970.[2] They were ranked by MTV as the "Greatest Metal Band" of all time,[3] and placed second in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list, behind Led Zeppelin.[4] They have sold over 15 million records in the United States alone.[5] Rolling Stone has posited the band as 'the heavy-metal kings of the '70s'.[6]
Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's drinking led to his firing from the band in 1979. He was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. After a few albums with Dio's vocals and his songwriting collaborations, Black Sabbath endured a revolving lineup in the 1980s and 1990s that included vocalists Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin. In 1992, Iommi and Butler rejoined Dio and drummer Vinny Appice to record Dehumanizer. The original lineup reunited with Osbourne in 1997 and released a live album, Reunion. The early/mid 1980s line-up featuring Iommi, Butler, Dio, and Appice reformed in 2006 under the title, Heaven & Hell.
KING TUT'S, GLASGOW
THERE'S a certain novelty in hearing a petite Japanese girl state her admiration for British 1970s heavy metallers Richie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio, and then ADVERTISEMENT
watching her demure band grind through a loud, sludgy pastiche of that genre. J-Pop triADVERTISEMENT
o Shonen Knife aren't some kind of novelty act though, they're a first-rate pop group in their own right.
For nearly 30 years, this band (the name means Boy Knife) have been mashing Western rock, punk and girl group styles together with their own Osakan aesthetic. Introduced to a transatlantic audience by the patronage of hipster outfits like Nirvana and Sonic Youth, the Knife's approach has remained fresh over the band's career – as has their last remaining founder member, singer and guitarist Naoko Yamano, who will be 50 this year but could easily pass for half that.
Showcasing songs from their last but one album Super Group (the last, Free Time, hasn't yet been released in the UK) and wearing the colourful tunic-and-trousers uniforms from its cover, the band played a set characterised by manic, gleeful energy. Bassist Ritsuko Taneda grinningly devil-horned every other song, recently-drafted drummer Emi Morimoto leaped on to her seat to top off a human pyramid shape during the rumbling Pyramid Power, and Yamano introduced an encore cover of Wings' Jet as being "by one of my favourite artists". It was both loveable and glorious, much like her band.
As one of the first and most influential heavy metal bands of all time,[1] Black Sabbath helped define the genre with releases such as quadruple-platinum Paranoid, released in 1970.[2] They were ranked by MTV as the "Greatest Metal Band" of all time,[3] and placed second in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list, behind Led Zeppelin.[4] They have sold over 15 million records in the United States alone.[5] Rolling Stone has posited the band as 'the heavy-metal kings of the '70s'.[6]
Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's drinking led to his firing from the band in 1979. He was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. After a few albums with Dio's vocals and his songwriting collaborations, Black Sabbath endured a revolving lineup in the 1980s and 1990s that included vocalists Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin. In 1992, Iommi and Butler rejoined Dio and drummer Vinny Appice to record Dehumanizer. The original lineup reunited with Osbourne in 1997 and released a live album, Reunion. The early/mid 1980s line-up featuring Iommi, Butler, Dio, and Appice reformed in 2006 under the title, Heaven & Hell.
Ronnie being interviewed by "VH1 Classic "That Metal Show" co-host Eddie Trunk at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards on April 8, 2010 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles:
KING TUT'S, GLASGOW
THERE'S a certain novelty in hearing a petite Japanese girl state her admiration for British 1970s heavy metallers Richie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio, and then ADVERTISEMENT
watching her demure band grind through a loud, sludgy pastiche of that genre. J-Pop triADVERTISEMENT
o Shonen Knife aren't some kind of novelty act though, they're a first-rate pop group in their own right.
For nearly 30 years, this band (the name means Boy Knife) have been mashing Western rock, punk and girl group styles together with their own Osakan aesthetic. Introduced to a transatlantic audience by the patronage of hipster outfits like Nirvana and Sonic Youth, the Knife's approach has remained fresh over the band's career – as has their last remaining founder member, singer and guitarist Naoko Yamano, who will be 50 this year but could easily pass for half that.
Showcasing songs from their last but one album Super Group (the last, Free Time, hasn't yet been released in the UK) and wearing the colourful tunic-and-trousers uniforms from its cover, the band played a set characterised by manic, gleeful energy. Bassist Ritsuko Taneda grinningly devil-horned every other song, recently-drafted drummer Emi Morimoto leaped on to her seat to top off a human pyramid shape during the rumbling Pyramid Power, and Yamano introduced an encore cover of Wings' Jet as being "by one of my favourite artists". It was both loveable and glorious, much like her band.
heavy metallers Richie Blackmore
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