It is with great sadness that I see that Ronnie James Dio lost his battle with stomach cancer yesterday at 7:45AM. I have been listening to DIO in the shower for the past month because of his battle, but I’ve always had him in my rotation since my days in high school. What an incredible voice and he always supplied interesting lyrics with his massive sound.
I’ll never forget my friend Tom Santosusso playing some DIO for his mother. To ease her into it, he played “The Last In Line” for her… with it’s uplifting and soft intro. I remember her saying, “This is really nice”, and then of course the song rips into high gear with Ronnie’s patented scream. She knew she was had. I’m sure she never listened to another note of RJD but in so many ways he helped shape my high school years by some small amount.
Rest in peace and God bless you. I am hopeful that Portsmouth, New Hampshire will have something for you and since I live in Boston, I’ll be sure to visit.
ah yes, great memories. RIP RJD – the man on the silver mountain.