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Ronnie Dio's original band Elf was quite close with Deep Purple, being a regular opening act and having all their albums produced by Purple bassist Roger Glover. |
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As a character, Ronnie James Dio appeared in the third season episode of South Park titled "Hooked on Monkey Phonics", playing "Holy Diver" at the school dance. Ronnie James Dio himself did not provide the character's speaking voice. Additionally, Dio will voice a currently undefined character in the upcoming, heavy metal-influenced action adventure video game Brütal Legend. And also Dio Brando, the primary antagonist of the manga series Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, is named after Ronnie James Dio. |
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One of the other musical projects of Ronnie James Dio include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid. Hear 'n Aid was a joint effort from the heavy metal scene of the 80s to raise money for famine relief in Africa. Within a year, the project had raised $1 million. The album, exclusively built on artists from the heavy metal scene, was entitled "Stars" and the single was called "We're Stars". Ronnie James Dio had intended for the song and album to be released shortly after its recording, but contractual issues with the different artists' record labels delayed the release until January 1, 1986, somewhat diminishing the impact of its release. |
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"Dio" is the Italian word for "God". Ronnie took up the name "Dio" after mafia member Johnny Dio, and first used it professionally in the early 1960s, playing in a band called Ronnie Dio and the Prophets. |
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Dio is attributed to the creation of the devils horn sign now so often attributed to metal. His grandmother used to shake her hand, which was forming that sign, over Ronnie's head before he went to bed to ward off evil spirits. |
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The song "Rainbow In The Dark" from the album "Holy Diver" was, in Dio's opinion, one of the worst he wrote. He didn't want it to be included in the album, so he tried to destroy the tape with a razor, but the rest of the band stopped him in time! |
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