Ronald James Padavona, known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.
Dio was an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Dio left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice. The name Dio was chosen because it made sense from a commercial standpoint, as the name was already well known at that time.
Rainbow are a British rock supergroup, formed in London and Los Angeles in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Established in the aftermath of Blackmore's first departure from Deep Purple, they originally featured four members of the band Elf, including their singer Ronnie James Dio, but after their self-titled debut album, Blackmore fired these members, except Dio, recruiting drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Jimmy Bain and keyboardist Tony Carey. This line-up recorded the band's second album Rising (1976), while Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) saw Bob Daisley and David Stone replace Bain and Carey, respectively. This was the last album with Dio before he left the band to join Black Sabbath in 1979.
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow is the debut studio album by American/British rock band Rainbow, released in 1975.
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll is the third studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released in 1978 and the last to feature original lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio.
Mob Rules is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1981. It followed 1980's Heaven and Hell, and was the second album to feature lead singer Ronnie James Dio and the first with drummer Vinny Appice. Neither musician would appear on a Black Sabbath studio album again until the 1992 album Dehumanizer.
Dream Evil is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Dio, released on July 21, 1987. It features former Rough Cutt members Craig Goldy and Claude Schnell, and includes the singles "All the Fools Sailed Away" and "I Could Have Been a Dreamer". Dream Evil was Dio's last album to feature mascot Murray on the cover and also the last to feature drummer Vinny Appice until the 1993 album Strange Highways. It was also the last album to feature bassist Jimmy Bain until the release of 2000's Magica. The album also marks Schnell's final appearance with Dio.
Holy Diver is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio, released in 1983. Vocalist Ronnie James Dio had just finished his first tenure in Black Sabbath, whose drummer, Vinny Appice, he took with him to put together his own band. The roster was completed by his former bandmate from Rainbow, Jimmy Bain, on bass and by the young guitarist Vivian Campbell, coming from the new wave of British heavy metal band Sweet Savage. The album was acclaimed by the music press and is the band's most successful effort.
Heaven and Hell is the ninth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 18 April 1980. It is the first Black Sabbath album to feature vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in 1979.
Hear 'n Aid was a charity record recorded by a large ensemble of 40 heavy metal musicians and released in 1986. The project was organized by Ronnie James Dio, Jimmy Bain, and Vivian Campbell, all from the band Dio. Proceeds from the album were used to raise money for famine relief in Africa.
Master of the Moon is the tenth and final studio album by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released on August 30, 2004 in Europe through SPV/Steamhammer and on September 7, 2004 in the US through Sanctuary Records. It was produced by Ronnie James Dio.
Lock Up the Wolves is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Dio, released on May 15, 1990. It displayed a complete change of musician line-up over the previous album, Dream Evil, including 18-year-old guitarist Rowan Robertson and Simon Wright on drums who had played with AC/DC from 1983 to 1989 as well as bassist Teddy Cook who was in the band Hotshot that morphed into Danger Danger.
Sacred Heart is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released on August 12, 1985 on Warner Bros. Records in North America, and Vertigo elsewhere. The record peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 chart. It includes the singles "Rock 'n' Roll Children" and "Hungry for Heaven".
Vivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish guitarist. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992. Campbell has also worked with Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King.
James Stewart Bain was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo albums.
Finyl Vinyl is a collection of live recordings and B-sides by the British hard rock band Rainbow and was released in 1986, after the band had already disbanded in 1984. All the studio tracks had previously been released.
Intermission is the first live album released by the American heavy metal band Dio in 1986 on the label Vertigo Records in Europe and Warner Bros. Records in North America. The live songs were recorded with guitarist Vivian Campbell during the first leg of the Sacred Heart tour. Craig Goldy replaced Campbell in mid-tour, and the band wanted something to represent the new line-up, so they recorded the song "Time to Burn" in the studio with him, which was added to this album.
Holy Diver – Live is a live album by American heavy metal band Dio, recorded on tour in 2005. On disc 1, the band performs Holy Diver in its entirety, while disc 2 contains live versions of other songs from Dio's back catalog. It was released in, CD, DVD and Blu-ray formats.
"Holy Diver" is a song by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released in August 1983 as the lead single from the band's debut album of the same name. Although it only reached number 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart at that time, it is one of Dio's most popular songs today.
Rising is the second studio album by the British-American rock band Rainbow. It was released on 17 May 1976.
