Pop Quiz: Ronnie James Dio

Pop Quiz: Ronnie James Dio

Aidin Vaziri | We don't really know the logistics, but the band called Heaven and Hell that is playing at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord tonight is actually just Black Sabbath fronted by Ronnie James Dio. This makes sense because Dio took Ozzy Osbourne's place in the band in 1979 and Rhino recently released a new compilation commemorating his green streak with the heavy-metal overlords called - wait for it! - "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years," along with a Heaven and Hell live CD/DVD recorded at Radio City Music Hall. Confused? We took all this business up with Dio, who has in recent years unwittingly run for president, appeared on film alongside Jack Black and the "South Park" kids and become widely recognized as the man who popularized the heavy-metal devil-horn salute.

Ronnie James Dio
Q: Were you inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath?
A: No.
Q: What? They even let Sammy Hagar sneak in with the real Van Halen.
A: Well, let's ask this question: Was it really the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's choice or somebody else's? I'm not surprised at all. They deserve to be in there. The four of them invented heavy-metal music. A lot of people will argue that Ronnie deserves to be in there, too, because he resurrected their career, and that's true, but I honestly don't care.
Q: Do you think it would help if you had your own reality show?
A: Reality shows are really the dead end of your life: "Let's do a reality show, so I can make some money and make a complete ass out of myself." I'm too proud for that.
Q: I'm sure your fans appreciate that. Nobody wants to see the guy who sang "Holy Diver" washing his drawers.
A: No. I know they don't want to see that. I've had so many people care about me, and I think they would like to keep me on the pedestal they put me on, not that I deserve to be on it. Continue reading.