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R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio, May 16, 2010

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ovidiu View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ovidiu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2010 at 12:23pm
Yes,Sean!
A part of me died together with the loss of DIO!During the comunist period...he was like a LIGHT IN THE DARK for me...annd we STAND UP AND SHOUT when Ceaucescu was banned...I saw him  2 times  LIVE!He was fantastic...My heart is bleeding,man!!!
All my respect...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Pekka Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2010 at 12:30pm
Geezer Butler on RJD's last days:
........
http://www.geezerbutler.com/archives/367

MY STATEMENT ON RONALD

Posted on May 18, 2010

IN RESPONSE TO THE MANY REQUESTS FOR A STATEMENT HERE GOES:

It�s impossible to express in mere words the relationship Ronnie and I, Wendy and my wife Gloria had. He was much more than a friend, fellow musician, band mate. If I have a soul, then he is part of it. I truly believe God, fate, destiny, whatever it�s called, brought us together again in 2006, after not seeing each other for 14 years, to do one final tour, which turned into 3 major tours and an album. We were having a blast together, enjoying each other�s company more than we had ever done before, talking about maybe doing one more album, when fate intervened again. We were planning on doing a 2 or 3 part North American tour, after having toured South America and Europe in Spring /Summer 2009, but on the first leg of the North American tour, Tony�s hand ligaments were in a bad way, Vinny�s shoulder became dislocated, and Ronnie was having terrible stomach pains. We decided to cut the tour, get healthy, and carry on the following year. Tony and Vinny had successful procedures to fix their ailments, but Ronnie�s stomach pains were worsening. I saw him at the Dio Halloween party, but he wasn�t drinking, unusual for Ronnie who liked his tipple. He was telling me he had made an appointment with a specialist, to see what it was�..

Wednesday, 12th May 2010.

Wendy invited Gloria and I to lunch in Santa Barbara. A few close friends of Ronnie and Wendy, Omar, Simon, Paul, Tim, and Diana, had dropped by. Ronnie had no appetite whatsoever- the disease and the chemotherapy were taking an immense toll. As usual, we talked sports and had a laugh together- it would be the last time. That night, I had a beautiful email from him, that I will treasure forever. I sent him an email saying I�d see him during the following week.

Friday, 14th May 2010.

Wendy called to say she had taken Ronnie to hospital. The pain had become unbearable. We got to the hospital around 2 p.m. The doctor eventually sedated him. More and more friends were coming to visit- we took it in turns to hold Ronnie�s hand, and whisper our thoughts to him. Wendy wouldn�t leave his side- she stayed curled up on his bed the whole night. Gloria�s assistant, Debi, kept her company. I emailed Tony to prepare him for bad news.

Saturday, 15th May 2010.

There was no mistaking Ronnie�s room. There were around 25 to 30 friends outside his room. We knew the end was imminent. We all wanted to say our goodbyes. It was a day filled with tears and reflection. In the evening, the chaplain came, and we all gathered around Ronnie�s bed and prayed. Ronnie wasn�t going easily. At 11 p.m., most of us left, leaving Wendy her privacy to say her last farewell. The devastation was palpable.

Sunday, 16th May 2010.

7.46 a.m. As we were preparing to leave for the hospital, Gloria called Wendy to see if she wanted a coffee or any breakfast- she broke the sad news. Ronnie had just passed away.

Wendy Dio has been a true saint through all this. She has been with Ronnie every step of the way. Her courage has amazed us all. Even as I write, she is ensuring Ronnie has the finest send off possible. God bless you, Wendel.

Most people who were there for those last days chose to keep their thoughts private. I wanted to keep my thoughts private, too, but I�ve been overwhelmed by emails, and requests from the media and fans for comments.

I can truly say I�ve never known anyone to have such loyal, loving friends, fans, and family as Ronnie. He really was a special person, blessed with a unique voice and presence. He loved his fans- he would stay meeting and talking to them until the early hours of the morning. One of my fondest memories of him comes from last year, at the Sonisphere Festival,Knebworth. He noticed my sister and her husband at the side of the stage. During our opening song, he took the time to go over and hug them. Just a little thing like that made him special to me. Of course his music will live on forever, as will his influence. I have never seen so many tributes from so many musicians and fans, so many good wishes, no cynicism, just pure love and appreciation for a great man.

God bless you Ronald � thank you so much for the wonderful memories.

Love ya,
Geez

.........

Cry But to die surrounded by friends and loved ones, surely knowing he'd had a good life and touched many people, that's the best way to go I believe.



Edited by Pekka - 19 May 2010 at 12:38pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Raff Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2010 at 4:02pm
Cry

So very moving, and a reminder of how fragile human life can be.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rushfan4 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2010 at 4:18pm

I saw a buddy from high school last night who I used to drive to school in the mornings and he started our conversation off by asking me if I had heard that Dio had died.  He mostly listens to rap and hip-hop, but when we were teens driving in the car he was subjected to my metal albums, including at the time The Last in Line and Holy Diver, which he remembers to this day. Evil Smile  He said that he was surprised to have read that Dio was 67 years of age at the time of his death.  That has to be like 120 in rock and roll years.  I don't recall Dio's personal history regarding these, but with all of the smoking of cigs, drinking of alcohol, taking of drugs, and eating of fast food on the road, these guys are murderous on their bodies.  His death is most certainly sad, and in today's age 67 is still too young, but he lived a good long life for a rock and roller, and of course his voice and music will live on forever, or at least for however long that there are ears out there willing to listen to his music.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MAVIIIVAM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2010 at 5:44pm
Cry . . .

I dont know if Mr. Butler will ever see this (And the great out-pouring of LOVE here for Ronnie),
but from the inner core of my heart and soul . . . thank you Geez!

I once met Geezer at the San Deigo Comic Con, hehe yes. Maybe some of you know he's quite
the fan of Comic Books, I just said "Hello Mr. Butler" and he says to me, "Look! Simon Bisley
gave me this piece of Art, I dont even know him, look at this!".  He was so nice and humble about
his "Fame", he just didnt understand why a talented Artist as Simon (and fellow Brit) would honour
him by giving him a Gift Smile.  I got to meet his Wife as well, was an honour to meet them both.

I can see that Ronnie was surrounded by Love, to me thats far removed from any "Evil" Stereo-types.
I just sit here in tears and cant believe it still.  I hate to say this now that he is gone, but 1st chance I
get, I'll have to get the rest of his Dio catalogue, and the ELF records (I do have "Seeds of Change"
by Kerry Livgren, that Ronnie appears on, but only on LP).

Thank you Geezer for sharing those private moments with us Smile.


I also want to share some things with all of you.  From a Rare Book about Kerry Livgren and his
Spiritual Quest and all things Kansas (He is Founder/Keyboardist/Guitarist/Lyricist) called
"Seeds of Change" (the Expanded Edition 1991 by Livgen and Kenneth Boa). This is what he
said about Dio's vocal contributions to his 1st Solo Album from the same name:


"(About getting different Singers for various Tracks) For "To Live for the King" and "Mask of the Great Deciever", I wanted to find someone with a good deal of power and range but also expressiveness.
As I searched through my record collection, I recalled someone who had a voice like that.  His name was Ronnie James Dio, and I had seen him years before with a band called Elf. Unlike the other singers, I didn't know Ronnie James; so my manager, Budd Carr, made the initial contact.
I chose Ronnie James strictly on the basis of his vocal abilities.  Even though he had begun to sing with Black Sabbath, Ronnie is no Satanist.  People have asked me why I included him in my solo album, and the answer is that I saw him as the right singer for two of the songs.  In addition, his work on my album gave him an opportunity to sing lyrics which are diametrically opposed to what he does in Black Sabbath.  This provided a clear witness to him about Christ."

"I was a little concerned about how some of these singers would react to the Christian content of the lyrics.
But all the vocalists sang with great conviction.  Weather they believed what they were singing or not, they all put their hearts into it.  Ronnie James' improvisation at the end of "To Live for the King" was certainly witness to that.  Some of the lyrics he added amazed Brad (Engineer) and I, considering that he came up with them ad lib."

Heres what Kerry said in an Interview in 2006 for Modern Guitars Magazine:
http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/002160.html

What was it like to work with Ronnie James Dio?

KL: "It was fantastic! What a professional. He�s one of the most classic singers to come out of the whole era. When I had the opportunity to work with him, of course, it was kind of controversial. Here I am a Christian artist and I�ve got the singer from Black Sabbath. [Laughing] I still get emails and stuff about that. It was a very controversial thing to do. But to me it was the most natural thing in the world. He was the perfect vocalist for those songs. I thought it would be interesting to hear him sing the other side of the struggle."


I hope to hear from him soon about the sad news. Though he himself almost died from a Stroke
a few months ago. I would be REALLY messed up if we had lost him too.  Apparently, off and
on he has been working on a Concept Album based on "Lazarus" for about 20 Years.

One last thing:

Originally posted by rushfan4 rushfan4 wrote:

I saw a buddy from high school last night who I used to drive to school in the mornings and he started our conversation off by asking me if I had heard that Dio had died.  He mostly listens to rap and hip-hop, but when we were teens driving in the car he was subjected to my metal albums, including at the time The Last in Line and Holy Diver, which he remembers to this day.

I had remembered this the other day, I used to make "Compilation Tapes" (sometimes I'd hook-up
other Walkmans, Cassette Decks and a VCR through my Radio Shack Mixer and add Sound FX
into the music around a Theme), and I made alot of Metal Mixes back in the late 80's.  Even then I
was a real hard-core Top40 hater, so one Tape would start with a "Madonna" song (I used to call
her "Madonkey") like "Lucky Star" and about the time it got really irritating, I added a Turntable
needle across a LP scrrrrRRRREEEAAACCCccchh! and Dio's "Stand up and Shout" would come
right in to set-up the rest of the barrage of Metal LOL (I would do the same with "I Speed at Night"). 
My friends would laugh in their cars as we headed off to Record Stores and Concerts BLASTING
my Tapes.  Some nice memories Smile.

We're keeping the Shouting alive Ronnie!!!






Edited by MAVIIIVAM - 19 May 2010 at 6:49pm
"If you're happy to be an Ant in the Sand Box, you're welcome to it!" -Forbidden

For Progressive Metal and Prog Rock, come visit, request songs and explore at PrOgulus.com
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ovidiu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 May 2010 at 2:59pm
In this last days,after the death of one of my dearest idols,I made a true DIO musical overdose!From ELF to DIO..passing by RAINBOW...and SABBATH...and digging deep into DIO's solo albums...I realised that this little man was unique!I really miss him so much and I cry almost everyday since Monday...and I realise also that there WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER DIO ever!he was something like a magician in hard rock and metal-in rock in general!A true wonderful voice and a beautiful character!He offered so much to the humanity and he was so devoted to this music at 200 %!At almost 70 years--AMAZING-he still rocked at an unbelieveble high degree of passion and belief!All our respect and endless admiration for a man that didn't know the word COMPROMISE!!!!God bless him...His music it now a precious treasure and he'll never be forgotten!!!Endless tears  and eternal bleeding of my soul for you Ronnie...OVIDIU from ROMANIA  in mourning..
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Time Signature Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 May 2010 at 9:20am
I had a nice Dio-experience in a restaurant on Crete a couple of days ago. I was wearing my "Holy Diver" t-shirt, and one of the waiters noticed and said "Ah, Dio... long live". That was his way of wishing Dio a happy afterlife.


Edited by Time Signature - 27 May 2010 at 9:21am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote micky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 May 2010 at 7:46pm
one thing I've been thankful for to Raff, musically, was introducing me to the greatness of RJD.  Always liked him... but really came to appreciate him through her. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Silver Shade of Lead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 May 2010 at 6:48am
Whether in Rainbow, in Sabbath or in his own solo efforts, Dio stands not only among the top vocalists in heavy metal and hard rock, but also among the finest frontmen back then. Anyone who plays Holy Diver will surely acknowledge it as a cornerstone album for the Heavy Metal genre that the 80s brew.

We all must go sometime, but I wish I could have heard him sing in Heaven and Hell, in July.
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