ronnie james dio Rainbow in the Dark

[lunababymoonchild]

I'm not entirely sure if there would be anybody in this forum who actually knows who Ronnie James Dio was let alone be interested but I'll review the book anyway.

 

Ronnie James Dio was a singer - one of the best, if not the best - in a genre of music which was then known as Hard Rock but now better known as Heavy Metal.  There are distinctions between the two and the genre has grown to include an eye-watering amount of different styles, but when Dio was alive it was actually known as Hard Rock. He was the man responsible for the 'devil's horns' hand gesture now synonymous with Heavy Metal.

 

He has always been a personal hero of mine and I was much disappointed in this book.  First, he only managed to write his life story up to 1979 and the rest of it was written by his wife and their close friend, journalist Mick Wall.  The problem is that the book is being promoted as written by Ronnie James Dio. It also ends in 1986 some 25 years before his career and his life was ended by cancer. So not an autobiography, at best it's volume one of the man's life. What I don't like about it is the book is being promoted as an autobiography and written by the man himself.  Not only did he not write the whole book it stops long before his career and life was over.  

 

For those who don't know, Ronnie was in three of the greatest Hard Rock/Heavy Metal bands of all time - Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own band called Dio - and was a legend in his own lifetime. The book is well written and very well researched and is a very quick read. Ronnie was 67 when he died (in 2010) and I feel certain that he could have packed a lot more into an already eventful life but I won't be buying the next volume as it seems like an exercise in money-making.

Edited August 6, 2021 by lunababymoonchild
Bad typing

[Athena]

I didn't know who Ronnie James Dio was, but it's nice to know he was responsible for the 'devil's horns'! Shame the book was disappointing. I agree with you, they should have made it clear in the marketing that not the whole book is writted by him and that it only covers a certain time of his life and not his whole life. It shouldn't be called an 'autobiography' then, imo.

[Shivers]

I've been a massive Dio fan from when I was a kid and he joined Black Sabbbath after Ozzy left.   Fantastic voice, and I was lucky enough to see him in the Heaven and Hell incarnation some years back.  I'm glad I saw this thread - I must get round to reading the book! 🤘