By Ed Condran
Ian Gillan, Ray Gillen, Tony Martin and David Donato are among the vocalists who have lent their pipes to Black Sabbath. However, only two lead screamers have mattered in the band’s long and storied history: Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio.
Dio’s voice is as big as his body is small. The diminutive heavy metal maven has been belting out tales of good and evil in his Dungeons & Dragons style for more than 30 years, striking platinum on three separate occasions during his lengthy career.
“A lot of guys are lucky to have three good years in this business,” Dio says via phone. “But I’ve been more fortunate than most and I think I’ve worked harder than most as well.”
Arguably, Dio’s crowning achievement is fronting Black Sabbath.
In 1978 the former member of Elf and Rainbow heard Ozzy Osbourne was about to be booted from Black Sabbath. Dio reluctantly tried out.
“It obviously worked out really well, but I wasn’t sure that I was the right fit for Black Sabbath,” Dio says. “I’m a pretty high-caliber musician. I know what class I’m in. But as far as musicality goes, Sabbath wasn’t in Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin’s league. They were a great band, but I doubted I would be a good match for Sabbath. I’m a much different singer than Ozzy. I am a singer of some talent, and Ozzy is a singer of character. I don’t want to say Ozzy was inferior to me, but he is inferior to me. I’m talking about chops.”
Despite a rocky start with the fans, Dio was a good fit for Sabbath.
“Initially I got the finger everywhere,” Dio says. “I saw signs like ‘Ozzy Rules’ during my early shows with Sabbath. Then during a show at the Spectrum in Philadelphia I saw a banner, which said, ‘Philadelphia loves the Reverend Ronnie James Dio.’ I never got the finger anywhere after that for some reason.”
Dio earned respect during the band’s Heaven and Hell tour in 1980. Dio, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Vinny Appice are back as Heaven and Hell, a tip of the cap to that classic disc. The group is touring behind Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, a greatest hits collection, which includes three new tracks.
“The record company [Rhino] had the idea for the anthology,” Butler says. “But Tony and I were talking during the last Ozzfest, and we thought that it would be a great idea to get together with Dio again. We got on great and then we heard about the anthology and thought we should put some songs on there and we did. We hadn’t played with Vinny in a long time, and we were pleased to see that become a reality. We’ve always had a great connection.”
Expect the band to stay with the Dio era material. That’s a shame since it was always wild witnessing Dio deliver the early Sabs tracks. Despite his considerable pipes, Dio never uses his full range when delivering such Sabbath classics as “Paranoid” or “Iron Man.” “Sabbath fans didn’t come out to hear Luciano Pavarotti sing Black Sabbath,” Dio says with a laugh. “The songs were initially sung in a low key and I tried to stay pretty close to that.”
However, Dio put his stamp on the band during the Reagan era, particularly with 1980’s Heaven and Hell, which catapulted Sabbath out of its creative and commercial malaise. “I’ll always be proud of Heaven and Hell, Dio says. “It’s a great album from the band which created heavy metal.”
Don’t be surprised if the rejuvenated band puts out an album and embarks on another tour.
“There’s no plans for that at the moment,” Butler says. “But it could certainly happen. Ronnie is so great to work with. We have a lot of fun going out together.”
Dio, who is reportedly in his early 60s, would love to rock until he drops.
“I know I’m old but a lot of people are old in this business,” he says. “I’m not older than Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney. I know how to sing from my diaphragm, just like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. I hope to sing well into my late 70s just like those guys. There’s no reason for me to ever stop. I love doing what I’m doing. I’m like Popeye; I am what I am.”
Heaven and Hell, Megadeth, Machine Head
7 p.m. Friday, May 11
Time Warner Cable Amphitheater
1887 W. 3rd St.
216.522.4822
Tickets: $39.50-$59.50
