What is Ronnie James Dio's real name? Ronald James Padavana.
Why choose the last name Dio? It is rumored that Ronnie took this name from a mafia/gangster member Johnny Dio, and that he just liked the name.
What does Dio mean in other countries? Dio means god in Italian. And in the Spanish language Dios means God.
Does Dio spell Devil in the upside down position?
The letters do resemble the word Devil if you use a little imagination. But according to Ronnie this was not intentional at first, just a strange coincidence.
Is Ronnie a Satanist or involved in black magic? No, he dosent practice religion at all. He beleives in only good and evil, without the existence of God or the Devil.
Does Ronnie play any musical instruments? Yes, he started out playing trumpet, and then eventually switched to bass guitar.
What bands other than DIO has Ronnie played in? Ronnie has been in several very succesful bands, and some not so succesful. Ronnie and The Red Caps, Ronnie and The Prophets, Electric Elves, Elves, Elf, Rainbow, and Black Sabbath before going on to form DIO.
Is that Ronnie on the front cover of ELF's 1972 debut album? Yes that evil looking elfen creature with the big nose and big ears is indeed Ronnie James Dio.
What were some of Ronnie's favorite bands that later influenced his sound? Beatles, Elvis Presley, Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple to name a few.
Why did Ronnie leave Rainbow in 1978? He didnt like the musical direction the band was going in. Ritchie Blackmore was wanting to write songs about making love while Ronnie was wanting to continue with the fantasy themes involving magic and rainbows.
Why does Ronnie choose to write and sing with fanatsy storylines including, magic, witches, wizards, rainbows, and medeival themes? One of Ronnie's hobbies growing up was reading romantic fantasy literature. Reliving days of old through reading others words, Ronnie could get lost for hours. He chooses to do the same by introducing those same stories and visions to others through the use of written words, but his way of doing so is with song.
Why did Ronnie choose to leave Black Sabbath in 1982 to form his own band? Ronnie and Vinnie Appice were accused by other members of the band of sneeking in at night and turning the guitar sound levels down and turning up the volume levels on the microphone and drums. Ronnie not taking the accusations lightly chose to leave in search of a better atmopsphere to play in.
Is it true that Ronnie started the "evil eye" hand gesture, and what is it's meaning? No, it is not true that the hand gesture known a the "evil eye" originated with Ronnie James Dio. The raising of the index finger and little finger has several different meanings in different cultures. It was used in ancient Egypt to ward off evil or reversed it was used to cast the evil eye on someone. It is also used in Satanic rituals in some cultures. It is true that Ronnie incorporated this gesture with rock music during his tenure with Black Sabbath. Ronnie stated during the Heaven and Hell tour that the meaning of the gesture was long live rock & roll. It was more recently stated that in an interview that he was originally introduced to the sign by his Italian grandmother. But this sign that is so popular with rock/metal bands these days can most ceartainly be traced back to its originator Ronnie James Dio.
Who is the horned devil looking creature on some of Dio's albums, is it the devil? No, he is not the Devil as some might think. Known to DIO fans as "Murray" he was the bands mascott in the eighties, he can be seen on the covers of Holy Diver, Last In Line, and Dream Evil albums.
Is there any backward's maskings on any of the DIO albums? Yes there is, the most noticable one is at the end of the song, Shame on The Night, from the Holy Diver album. The lines can be heard as "crucify the diver" or something along those line. There is also some who say there is some others on the Last In Line album, possibly during the song Egypt (the chains are on).
What is DIO's best selling album to date? Holy Diver.
What is DIO's best selling single? Rainbow In The Dark.
Who is Denzel/Dean? Known as Denzel by some and Dean to others, the eighteen foot fire breathing dragon was introduced during DIO's Sacred Heart Tour. Slain by Ronnie with his mighty sword,Denzel and Ronnie made this tour the most succesful tour of 1986, as voted by Pollstar.
What does the cryptic writings on the Sacred Heart album mean? (FINIS PER SOMNIUM REPPERIO TIBI SACRA COR VEEFICUS OSTIUM AURUM) "COMES THE END BY SLEEP, I WILL PREPARE FOR YOU THE SACRED HEART WHICH IS THE MAGIC THAT OPENS THE ALTER". It was originally used as a promotional gimmick by the record company, giving away a new car to the fan that could decipher the hidden meaning, and find the Sacred Heart. The contest was dropped without a winner, for what reason I havent a clue.
What are some of Ronnie's least favorite songs to play? Suprisingly enough his least favorite is Rainbow In The Dark, but he chooses to continue to play it live because of it being such a fan favorite. Others include Mystery, and Hungry For Heaven because they were to poppy, and didnt define the true DIO sound.
Why did Ronnie leave Black Sabbath for a second time in 1992? The reason for Ronnie's departure from Sabbath again was due to several factors.The main reason was due to Ozzy Osbourne inviting Black Sabbath to open up for his farewell tour. For Dio's incarnation of Black Sabbath to open, and then for Ozzy to play with his old bandmates again for a couple songs to close his career. Some looked at as a reunion effort others looked at it as sabatoge. Ronnie choosing not to have any part in this idea, chose to end his career with Sabbath the night before. And along with drummer Vinnie Appice left to reform DIO. Rob Halford of Judas Priest took Ronnie's place in Sabbath at the last moment for the 3 shows with his former bandmates.
What charities has Ronnie been involved with? Ronnie has done lots of work with charities to help homeless, and sexually abused children. He is most known for his work with creating Hear-n-Aid. The project was written and produced my members of DIO including Ronnie, Jimmy Bain, and Vivian Campbell. It was a heavy metal releif effort, with all proceeds going to help starving children in Africa and around the world. Ronnie is also a contributing member of the charity childrenofthenight please visit and keep Ronnie's dream alive by contributing a small donation.
Who is Willie? Willie Fyfe is the guy you see at all the DIO live shows that is guarding Ronnie with his life. He is not only Ronnie's personal assistant, road manager, tour manager etc., he is also a life long friend of Ronnie and has been with him since the days of ELF. He is also credited for guitar technician on the Holy Diver album. Next time you see Willie give him a shout out.
