It was tough gettin' down to do this note (or eventually not...). For five years ago - it was one of the toughest days of my life. Losing Ronnie James Dio from the circle of living felt like the end of the world. It really did. One of the Heroes, most formative to my classic rock personality and surely most genuine, humble and lovable human being among my idols that I've ever met, HAS just left the building...
Then again, I thought, hell, it hurts but it's about being immortal. We should celebrate it, that actually he is so. I mean, not a day goes without hearing his voice. And it's not a pose, not any kind of pretending. This short bud with an universe of the voice has done so much outstanding music and exciting songs in period of his 45 years, that it's just impossible to get by from day to day without, actually, having him around, hearing his singing every couple of hours, on and on... Year after year, despite the passing time, this man's legacy just never fades away. We bring it and carry it on with ourselves just like we do have clothes on or anything that we feel is impossible not to have with us. This is rare, precious and absolutely grand.
After millionth time of playing some favourite nuggets of his like "Hoochie Coochie Lady", "Homeward", "Catch The Rainbow", "Kill The King", "Die Young", "Sign Of The Southern Cross", "Don't Talk To Strangers", "King Of Rock 'n' roll", "Too Late", "Bring Down The Rain", "As Long As It's Not About Love", "Ear In The Wall" or "Bible Black" - it still strikes me - how unique his voice was. He was able to cover with his singing anything from musical or pedastrian L. A. bar rock via classic hard rock and NWOBHM to the most vile, angry, doomy fevery scratching angry metal. Hitting the age of sixty seven, his voice lowered by octaves but never lost this striking Dio colour and phrasing, the vile elf warning you of all the illuminations of life was always there. Asked how does he maintain this kind of amazing vocal condition despite the aging, he replied in October 2000: "You just have to know what you can do. I train, excercise, but don't push my voice beyond what I can actually sing. That's all". Simple, innit? Two hours before that, when on stage with Romanian Philharmonics, Steve Morse has thrown the riff from "Iron Man" into his rif-raff intro to "Smoke On The Water". Dio having heard that, started to sing the lyrics of the track and thus made a bit of unwritten rock history, as it was probably the only time when actually Deep Purple performed Black Sabbath track with Sabbs former member live on stage... Ronnie, being given "Mob Rules" CD cover to sign said: "We should have done that tonight, didn't we?" Smiled wildely and blinked an eye. You just could not escape his personality... He made most of people his own brothers army, both from stage and behind the curtains offstage... I think it was the singer of Halestorm, who asked Ronnie after playing support slot to his last ever live date with Heaven And Hell, how does he maintain the will to meet and greet fans every night after gig, always treating them as his friends... Ron said: "For you they will be just hundreds of people you will never remember, year after year, tour after tour... But for each of them the moment of meeting you once in their life might be something they will treasure for all life. So make it count."
That is what I miss most about Him, besides the usual list of The Voice, The Music, The Grit, The Charisma that made Ronnie James Dio someone uber-extraordinary. But what I recalled above makes his loss a scar that doesn't want to pale and soften... thus I celebrate his person, bringing it on every device that can play music. Ronnie was, Ronnie is and Ronnie will always be. Bring down the rain, wash tears appearing again... Missed, loved, on and on forever. Thanks Ronnie, for all you did in the music and all you've stood for and were as a human. Precious and timeless gift to us all.
