Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona; July 10, 1942) is an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter who has performed with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid. He is widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal, renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil's horns" hand gesture in metal culture. He is...
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Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona; July 10, 1942) is an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter who has performed with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid. He is widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal, renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil's horns" hand gesture in metal culture. He is currently collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice, under the moniker Heaven & Hell. Their first studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009.
Ronnie James Dio was born Ronald James Padavona in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an only child in an Italian family. They lived in Portsmouth until the family moved to Cortland, New York early in his life. His parents raised him in the Roman Catholic church, an experience he found unsatisfactory.
In 1960 Dio graduated...
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