Line #69 Music/RonnieJamesDio


1	[[quoteright:291:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ronnie-james-dio.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:291: Gaze into the eyes of your new god.\
3	[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Because even dead gods dream.]]]]
4
5	->''"Because Dio taught me, in part, what it is to be a man. Oh, he did not teach the rational lessons: He did not teach me morality, or responsibility, or restraint. No, Stanley, he taught me that being a man means sometimes ruining things in the most extravagant fashion possible. Because you can, and because it's awesome."''
6	-->-- '''[[Website/{{Cracked}} Robert Brockway]]''', ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20140109235748/http://www.cracked.com/blog/for-dio-the-only-appropriate-tribute/ For Dio: The Only Appropriate Tribute]]''
7
8	Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), better known as [[StageNames Ronnie James Dio]], was an American heavy metal singer and songwriter. He was well known for his powerful singing voice and popularizing [[WardingGestures "the horns"]] hand gesture. He worked with Elf, Music/{{Rainbow}}, Music/BlackSabbath, and his own solo band Dio. Near the end of his life, he handled the vocal duties of a reunited Sabbath, under the name Heaven and Hell.
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10	He unfortunately was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November 2009. He [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended into]] Rock & Roll Heaven on May 16, 2010, at 7:45 AM after a long and hard battle.
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12
13	!!Discography:
14	!!!Dio:
15	* ''Holy Diver'' (1983)
16	* ''The Last in Line'' (1984)
17	* ''Sacred Heart'' (1985)
18	* ''Dream Evil'' (1987)
19	* ''Lock Up the Wolves'' (1990)
20	* ''Strange Highways'' (1994)
21	* ''Angry Machines'' (1996)
22	* ''[[{{Music/Magica}} Magica]]'' (2000)
23	* ''Killing the Dragon'' (2002)
24	* ''Master of the Moon'' (2005)
25
26	!!!Elf:
27	* ''Elf'' (1972)
28	* ''Carolina County Ball'' (1974)
29	* ''Trying to Burn the Sun'' (1975)
30
31	!!!Music/{{Rainbow}}:
32	* ''Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'' (1975)
33	* ''Rising'' (1976)
34	* ''Long Live Rock 'n' Roll'' (1978)
35
36	!!!Music/BlackSabbath:
37	* ''Music/{{Heaven and Hell\|1980}}'' (1980)
38	* ''The Mob Rules'' (1981)
39	* ''Dehumanizer'' (1992)
40
41	!!!Heaven & Hell:
42	* ''Music/TheDevilYouKnow'' (2009)
43
44	!!!Other:
45	* ''Dio at Domino's'' (1963)
46	* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBRsr7AAVbo Metal Will Never Die]]'' (2010)[[note]]The last song he recorded, released after his death[[/note]]
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48	!!Rainbow In The Tropes:
49	* ArcSymbol: Rainbows. They are mentioned a lot in his music and he was even in a band called Rainbow once.
50	* BerserkButton: Vivian Campbell, the ex-guitarist of his solo act. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOwZBo8FQvo Observe.]] He starts ranting at about 45 seconds in. According to [[http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/vinny-appice-explains-vivian-campbell-s-hostility-toward-ronnie-james-dio/ Vinnie Appice]] their mutual dislike stemmed from arguments over band business decisions that Viv disagreed with. Ronnie did later [[http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jimmy-bain-firing-vivian-campbell-was-the-biggest-mistake-of-ronnie-james-dio-s-career/ express some regret]] for his harsh words.
51	* BewareTheNiceOnes: He was normally a pretty nice, calm guy... Until you pissed him off. See BerserkButton.
52	* BluesRock: Before Dio joined Music/{{Rainbow}}, Elf's music awesomely combined HardRock with RAndB. He started out in 1959 singing Doo-wop.
53	* TheCameo: ''Music/TenaciousD'' appeared on the music video of "Push". He then appeared on ''Film/TenaciousDInThePickOfDestiny'' as himself.
54	* CarefulWithThatAxe: The first ~30 seconds of ''The Last In Line'' are pretty gung-ho...then the real song starts.
55	* CatchPhrase: The words "LOOK OUT!" show up in a ''lot'' of his songs.
56	** As does the word [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrrnySxbuE8 "NIGHT"]].
57	*** And 'hey you'.
58	** Also the title of a Music/ThreeInchesOfBlood tribute to him.
59	* CoverVersion: He and guitarist Music/YngwieMalmsteen made a cover of Music/{{Aerosmith}}'s "Dream On".
60	** He contributed vocals to ''Welcome to My Nightmare: An All-Star Salute to Music/AliceCooper'', on the song "Welcome to My Nightmare".
61	** He also sang "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" on the ''We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year'' album..
62	* EgocentricTeamNaming
63	* EverythingsBetterWithRainbows: There's always a mention of rainbows in his music.
64	** He WAS the vocalist of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.
65	** Making that an example of [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows Rainbows Are Better with Dio]].
66	* FreeHandedPerformer: He was a bassist on his first band (The Vegas Kings, a high school RockAndRoll act). Following his venture with the band Elf, he sticked to vocal performances for the rest of his career.
67	* HeavyMeta: While known mainly for writing fantasy-themed lyrics, people forget that he also wrote quite a few songs about ThePowerOfRock. "Stand Up And Shout" and "Rock And Roll Angel"[[note]]which mixes ThePowerOfRock with HeavyMithril[[/note]], for example. Plus, his final song was called "Metal Will Never Die" and is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin about the lasting appeal of the genre.]]
68	* HeavyMithril: If not the TropeMaker[[note]]the trope dates as far back as Music/LedZeppelin[[/note]] then certainly the TropeCodifier. Lyrics he wrote often carried fantasy elements such as magic and dragons. The music video for ''Holy Diver'' features a sword-wielding Dio running through a spooky castle and fighting medieval dudes, and the "Sacred Heart" tour's stage show would involve him slaying an animatronic dragon with a sword.
69	* LargeHam: Possibly the largest ham in metal, which is no mean feat.
70	** Subverted by God Himself, as Dio was 5'3" (159 cm) That's a lot of ham in a not-so-large frame.
71	* MindScrew: He ''loved'' this trope, at least in the lyrics.
72	** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEV4Tov1GBM music video]] for ''The Last in Line'' makes less than no sense -- it makes negative sense.
73	* MusicalThemeNaming: Not himself, but his name was used for [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure Dio Brando]], who is considered a very influential villain in the development of manga.
74	* PintSizedPowerhouse : Packed one of the most powerful voices in hard rock / metal history into a 5'3" frame.
75	* RatedMForManly: And you thought that singing about dreams and rainbows was for sissies.
76	* StageNames: Dio took his name from an Italian mafia member Johnny Dioguardi. For your information, dio is Italian for God.
77	** Though he had already started using his stage name otherwise, Elf's self-titled album credits him as Ronald Padavona - he would explain that he wanted his parents to be able see their family name printed on an album at least once.
78	* StartMyOwn: After he left Black Sabbath.
79	* TomTheDarkLord: The demonic, Satan-like creature found in several of his concerts and artwork, most famously the ''Holy Diver'' album cover, is named Murray.
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81
82	!! His solo career provides the examples of:
83	* BreakupSong: "As Long as It's Not About Love" from ''Magica''.
84	* BreatherEpisode: "This Is Your Life", a soft piano ballad on the otherwise very heavy ''Angry Machines'' album.
85	* ConceptAlbum: ''Magica''.
86	* CrazyJealousGuy: "Overlove" is about a man who locks the woman he's infatuated with in a dungeon to have her all to himself. The final verse implies a FreudianExcuse from ParentalAbandonment.
87	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Strange Highways'' and ''Angry Machines'' have a heavier and more DoomMetal influenced sound than most of his other work, and feature Dio mostly abandoning his usual fantasy thematics for focusing on realistic issues like child abuse ("Give Her the Gun"), divorce ("Don't Tell the Kids"), and mental illness ("Institutional Man"). Dio's vocal style is also significantly harsher.
88	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His doo-wop records from the early-'60s... Enough said.
89	* EpicRocking: He has several songs 6 minutes or longer in length, including "Egypt (The Chains Are On)" (6:57), "Sacred Heart" (6:27), "All the Fools Sailed Away" (7:10), "Between Two Hearts" (6:30), "Lock Up the Wolves" (8:33), "Evil on Queen Street" (6:04), "My Eyes" (6:36), "Strange Highways" (6:54), "Stay Out of My Mind" (7:11), "Eriel" (7:25), "As Long as It's Not About Love" (6:28), "Rock & Roll" (6:11) and "The Eyes" (6:27).
90	* IAmSong: "I Am" from ''Master of the Moon''. Also, "I" from ''Dehumanizer'', contributing that page's quote.
91	* {{Instrumentals}}: "Magica Theme" from ''Magica'' and "Annica" from the limited edition of the album.
92	* {{Mascot}}: The demonic Murray, who is always giving the horns.
93	* MessianicArchetype: According to the man, "Holy Diver" is about one of these.
94	* {{Motifs}}: Rainbows, magic, eyes and dreams.
95	* NightmareDreams: ''Dream Evil'''s title song and album artwork.
96	* PowerBallad: "All the Fools Sailed Away", "This is Your Life" and "As Long as It's Not About Love". "Don't Talk to Strangers" straddles the line, as it has the soft interwoven with the heavy.
97	* RevolvingDoorBand: His band underwent significant turnover through the years, with Dio himself being the only constant member. ''The Last in Line'' and ''Sacred Heart'' were the only two conseccutive albums by them that had the same lineup.
98	* SelfBackingVocalist: Would make extensive use of this, as with a few exceptions virtually all of the backing vocals on his albums are done by him. This also applies to his work with Music/{{Rainbow}} and Music/BlackSabbath, along with the ''Music/TheDevilYouKnow'' album with Heaven and Hell.
99	* SongOfSongTitles: "My Eyes", covering his tenures in Music/{{Rainbow}} and Music/BlackSabbath as well. The song name-drops "Fallen Off the Edge of the World", "Heaven and Hell", "Stargazer", and "Invisible".
100	* TeenGenius: Rowan Robertson was only seventeen when he auditioned for the band, and while Dio was greatly impressed by his performance, he was extremely reluctant to hire someone that young. It was only after reviewing all the other finalists and determining that Robertson was the best out of all of them that he relented and gave Robertson the job.
101	* TruckDriversGearChange: "Another Lie" begins in G minor and modulates a whole step to A minor for the final verse. "Evil on Queen Street" does this twice, starting in D minor, going up a whole step to E minor in the bridge, and then up another half step to F minor for the final verse.
102	* UrExample: His work (solo and as a member of Music/{{Rainbow}} and Music/BlackSabbath) was a huge influence on PowerMetal both musically and lyrically, and he's sometimes credited as inventing it, though it tends to differ from most later PowerMetal due to being slower and a bit less technically flashy on average.
103	* VocalDissonance: He was one of the shortest metal singers around at only 5'3 and possessed a legendary, powerful voice that sounded like it could raise the dead.
104	* WordSaladLyrics: The man rocked hard. At the expense of his lyrics not making a lick of sense.
105	-->Ride the tiger
106	-->You can see his stripes but you know he's clean
107	-->Oh don't you see what I mean [[note]]Not really...[[/note]]
108	* TheXOfY: ''Master of the Moon''.
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Context Music / RonnieJamesDio