Ronnie James Dio, or as the band is called, DIO. DIO, and Italian word for GOD is not Ronnie James Dio real name but, it is a very clever stage name. His real name can be found on the numerous internet sites dedicated to this great Rock & Roll artist. For those that do not remember or do not know who Ronnie James Dio is just remember this. He is one of the legendary rock singers who has been the lead singer in many legendary rock groups. He is the lead singer in his current band DIO, sang with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Rainbow to mention a few. Ronnie James Dio wasn't just a lead singer that went from band to band but, made historic recordings with all these bands and has left his legendary unique mark in each of the bands mentioned. When he was singing with these bands he created such a complimentary and unique sound with all thses bands that frankly no other recording artist has ever done. Records of each of these bands are sought as collector items not because of their peculiarity but, because of the unique sound Ronnie James Dio offered to all of these bands with his voice.

This was the first time I saw DIO live and I was very impressed not only with Ronnie James Dio but with the musicians he performs with. Chuck Garric was touring in place of Jimmy Bain, and to say the least, what better could you ask for as a substitute. All the band members blended extremely well and rocked hard. Ronnie James Dio is an outstandin performer and showman on stage and his voice is surprising for a rock artist. DIO and Ronnie James Dio are true hard/heavy metal rockers that can jam their asses off equal to or for that matter better than most of them. All I really want to say without falling into the "judgemantal pit" is that I enjoyed DIO extremely and I reccomend anyone who is a Rock & Roll fan to listen to DIO and all of RonnieJames Dio past and present recordings.

Here's a quick funny story in its own way. My father, an opera singer who toured Italy for three years from 1962-1965, was on a flight to or from Okinawa Japan in 1977 or 1978. He was telling me that he was sitting next to some young guys who played in a rock band. He said that he talked for ours with a guy who was a singer that came from New York. He shot the wind with the guys, talked about the music business, touring, and all other related music topics. He wasn't sure about the name of the band. He kept on saying something about rain, a guitarist from another group and the singer who was kind of short. Finally I mentioned the name Rainbow and he said "Yes! That's it. Those guys were really nice." It turns out that my dad sat next to Ronnie James Dio for over 12 hours and "chit chated" during the entire trip. I guess between two Italians they got along pretty well. Some people just have all the luck and this was a case of blind luck.