Ronnie James Dio is perhaps one of the biggest names in Heavy Metal history. Petite in stature, but a giant in terms of his otherworldly voice and heart, he made a massive impact on Heavy Metal, and music in general with his band Dio. Also remembered for his contributions to countless other acts including Black Sabbath, Rainbow, and Elf, all these years later we rightfully should still celebrate him. Tragically gone too soon, passing at the age of 67 in 2010 to stomach cancer, in the 13 years since there has been plenty to keep Dio’s memory alive.
Curated by his wife, and long time manager, Wendy Dio, some things which have transpired include special edition releases, remasterings of classic albums, but most importantly, charity events to raise money for cancer research. Most recently put out the new documentary Dio: Dreamers Never Die in 2022, the film is now available on Blu-ray, 4K, and DVD for fans to enjoy. Excited for a broader audience to experience the documentary, Wendy Dio recently took some time to reflect on the filming, life and times with Ronnie James Dio, the dedication she has to preserving his legacy, plus more.
Cryptic Rock – You have devoted a lot of time and energy to preserving Ronnie James Dio’s legacy over the years. This included many great charitable events, the recently released documentary, plus more. It is a life’s work and a big task to preserve such a legendary musical figure such as Dio.
Wendy Dio – Absolutely. When Ronnie passed away, I decided I would do everything I could to keep his memory and music alive… and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. I’m very careful with it; I want to make sure it is something Ronnie would approve of. I do things with Ronnie in mind. Like when we did the documentary, it was very bittersweet for me. We went down all those roads again, and it was hard. It was hard especially when Covid hit right in the middle of it, because a lot of the interviews couldn’t be conducted until later. However, it gave us more time to dig deeper into things. With the documentary I wanted to offer even the biggest fans, who believe that they knew everything about Ronnie, a few tidbits in there that I think they didn’t know.
Cryptic Rock – Yes, the documentary film does offer a lot. You have done an exceptional job of keeping Ronnie’s legacy alive through the years. The documentary, Dio: Dreamers Never Die, premiered in select theaters in 2022, but now is available for viewers to experience on Blu-ray, 4K, and DVD in 2023. The film does give you a lot that even huge fans may have not known.
Wendy Dio – I’m really happy about the release of Blu-ray and DVD. The film premiered in London, as well in LA, then it was in theaters all over the world, but only for a few days. In America, you can see it on Showtime, but the rest of the world couldn’t see it, but now it is on Blu-ray and DVD. I’m really excited that the rest of Europe gets to enjoy the movie we made. We made it for the fans and hopefully they will enjoy it.
Cryptic Rock – Most certainly. It is really a great documentary. This is the type of film that you learn about Ronnie, his perseverance, but most of all, you learn about the heart he had more than ever. That is perhaps the most touching aspect of this film.
Wendy Dio – Absolutely. Ronnie was a huge star up on stage, but back home, he was just a normal person who never forgot where he came from. He was a really amazing person. He loved his fans, he loved people, and he loved to talk to people. He was a real homebody too; he loved his sports, he loved to have people over. He didn’t care about money and clothes. He would wear the clothes obviously on stage and for the interviews, but at home he liked to go to Walmart, just wear sweats, and be a normal human being.
Cryptic Rock – You can tell he was a real person and there was no façade in the way he presented himself to people.
Wendy Dio – No, and he was very set in his ways. He had his own mindset of the way he wanted his music and the way he wanted it to be presented. It didn’t matter and he didn’t care about money or anything. If it wasn’t what he wanted to do, he wouldn’t do it.
Cryptic Rock – Right. That is also something you learn in the film. You learn that he stuck to his convictions about how he wanted his music to be. That is extremely admiral to see.
Wendy Dio – Absolutely. He could have been much more commercial, but he didn’t care about being commercial. He cared about his fans, cared about his music, and the way he wanted to present it. The stories he told in his music were always upbeat. The stories were always about following your dreams and never giving up.
Even with Holy Diver (1983), we had a lot of problems with the album cover art with the record label. But Ronnie’s message was – don’t judge a book by its cover. Just because somebody has certain clothes on or is a certain way, just judge them by their heart, not by their looks.
Cryptic Rock – And that is a wonderful message. You mentioned how the creation of this documentary was bittersweet for you. You lived through many of the events of Ronnie’s career in real time. You lived through the triumphs, the down times, and everything in between. In hindsight, what was it like looking back on everything?
Wendy Dio – Well, Ronnie always used to call it paying your dues; you go through good times, bad times, hardships, etc. It was really a fun ride. We have so many good stories, and even with the bad times, it was good stories to tell later on. We went through ups and downs, and a lot of people didn’t know that. Many people think Ronnie became a star overnight… no, it was a long, hard road for Ronnie.
I remember him telling me how he would walk past Madison Square Garden and say, “I would really like to see my name up there one day.” Actually, when he did get the opportunity to play Madison Square Garden with Black Sabbath, and on his own when we did the Dio thing… he was offered a lot more money to play the venue in New Jersey. However, he wanted to play Madison Square Garden, because he wanted to see his name up there. The unfortunate thing was at the time there were no cell phones, and he said to me, “Take a picture Wendy,” and I said, “Oh, I forgot the camera.” (Laughs) I got a lot of flak for that. (Laughs)
Cryptic Rock – (Laughs) At least you both had the memories. The documentary also explores the ‘90s era, which was very challenging for Metal artists such as Dio.
Wendy Dio – Yes, the Grunge came in and all the record labels dropped everyone. Van Halen was dropped, Dio was dropped, etc. I think that was the saddest time in our life; without a label, he felt really dejected and like he was nobody. I went all over the world looking for a label and I found, with an independent label, you don’t have to give them your arm and leg for forever and a day; you license it, and then you get it back after 5-7 years. It was actually a really good lesson. After that a lot of big labels came back and said, “We want you,” but I said, “You license it, you can’t have it forever.”
Cryptic Rock – Licensing is actually the better way to go… you get your music back.
Wendy Dio – Absolutely. I went after Warner Bros. with that 35-year law. I know them so well, we have worked forever and a day, and they are such nice people, so we just worked out a deal where they now license the albums they had. The ones that BMG had, have always been licensed to them, I’ve never given them up.
What is nice is, you not only licensing the music, but you also have control in what goes on and what doesn’t go on. Some people like Universal, which Ronnie is on in the rest of the world, don’t really give you an opportunity to have a say. Whereas Warner Bros. or Rhino have always been absolutely gracious, and everything we do, we do together. That is wonderful, and is the same with BMG.
Cryptic Rock – That is good to hear. There is also the recently released new Dio vinyl box set, The Studio Albums: 1996-2004.
Wendy Dio – Yes, it came out on the 22nd of September with BMG, and it’s amazing! It is the last four albums which Ronnie did and it is pressed on all different colors of vinyl. It’s an amazing looking set. They did a really good number on it. I am very proud of what they did.
Cryptic Rock – That is certainly something fans need to check out. Those are also some great albums not to be overlooked. They were released during a time, in the early 2000s, when the mainstream showed an interest in Heavy Metal again. At that time Dio was back on big tours with the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, etc.
Wendy Dio – Right. They are all classic bands too. There are only so many times you can reinvent the wheel. With new young bands, there is not a lot of different music coming up… because it’s already been done. Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Motörhead, Led Zeppelin, were all innovators in their time. They did different things. I think the younger kids are now looking back and seeing this and they are listening to their parents’ music.
Cryptic Rock – It is nice to see the younger generation may be catching onto this type of music. It seems like in the modern world the younger generation get a lot of flak, however, if you show them something good, they will appreciate it.
Wendy Dio – Absolutely. And there are some new young bands coming up. Hopefully there will be some you listen to their music in 15 years’ time.
Cryptic Rock – Yes, we shall see. Another aspect of the documentary film which is interesting is the idea that you were not naturally a band manager at the time. People may overlook the work that went into that. Was that stressful for you?
Wendy Dio – Yes, when I started managing Ronnie was in the ’80s. I did have a music background though, I worked for Decca Records and I worked for entertainment lawyers before. The thing was, there were no women managers; there was only Sharon Osborne and I. All the men were coming around and saying, “oh, you don’t know what you are doing, give this to us.”
We had two different ways of dealing with it. I would smile very sweetly and say, “Thank you very much, I really appreciate everything,” and just do what I wanted to do. Sharon would just tell them to f*ck off. (Laughs) But we both became successful with a different way of doing it. However, at that time, it was very hard to be a woman in a man’s world. Now there are a lot of women managers and I think they make really good managers. Women managers multitask, listen to silly little things that perhaps a male manager may not think is very important… but it’s important to the artist.
Cryptic Rock – Yes. Perhaps sometimes people overlook the amount of responsibility you had as well working with Ronnie and managing. Beyond the documentary and vinyl box set, what else is coming up for Dio legacy?
Wendy Dio – Warner Bros. did the Holy Diver special edition with Joe Barresi doing the remix. I was very pleased with the way he did it, it was a new way. I think Warner Bros. wants to do that with Last in Line (1984) next year; I am not sure who we will use as a remixer. There is also the celebrity bowling event, Bowl For Ronnie, coming up on November 16th. Which is fantastic and always sells out. It is a great, fun evening making money for charity, and last year I think we made over $72,000! It all goes totally into research and education. We have fourteen board members, we are all volunteers, there is no administration, and every penny made goes to research.
In 2024 we will have the Rock For Ronnie, which used to be the Ride For Ronnie. We are not doing the motorcycles anymore, because it costs too much, there is too much red tape; you have to get all kinds of permits, etc. We are doing the Rock For Ronnie on the 19th of May at Warner Center, and it is going to be a big fun event. We also have all this Funko Pops out and Super7s. I wanted a Funko Pop of Ronnie so bad and we finally got one!
Cryptic Rock – These are wonderful things, especially the charity events.
Wendy Dio – Absolutely. We want to put across that early detection saves lives. Women are usually good about checking out, but men have to be dragged there. We are working with UCLA with a Dr. Wong who is developing a saliva test. So, a man could go to the doctors, and instead of having the finger thing, they get a swab in the mouth. It will tell you early detection whether you have any gastric, stomach, or pancreatic cancers. Pancreatic and stomach cancers are the killer, because you don’t know you have them until Stage 4; there are not many signs of it. These are things we are really excited about.
Cryptic Rock – Wow, that could be revolutionary. In the past you had mentioned that Ronnie was complaining about stomach pains, but in hindsight, you wish you had him checked sooner.
Wendy Dio – Absolutely. I did take him to a doctor in Beverly Hills and he gave him a heart test, etc. He said Ronnie just had a gas bubble and don’t worry about it. We didn’t worry about it, but had I known what I know now, I would have made sure he had a colonoscopy, blood tests, etc. We didn’t know then. That is why we try to educate people now that early detection definitely saves lives. Just go get checked… you don’t need to suffer and wait until it is too late.
Cryptic Rock – Yes, and cancer seems to be the most prevalent disease we all succumb to.
Wendy Dio – It is horrible. Why? Why now? Maybe it is the preservatives we are putting in the food and all the spraying, etc. It is more prevalent than it was years ago. Everyone you know now knows someone who has died of cancer. It is awful, we have to find a cure for it.
Cryptic Rock – That is very true. That is a whole other conversation. It is the lifestyles we lead, the foods we are eating, and the things we are consuming in our environment. It is all unquestionably contributing to the high cancer rates.
Wendy Dio – Yes, it is horrible. Breast Cancer has had a lot of research done and it’s come a long, long way… it’s not a killer now if it is caught early. That is what we are trying to do with stomach cancers. There are a lot of places that don’t even have research for these cancers. We found out around five years ago that Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville did not have any research whatsoever for stomach cancers. We gave them $100,000, and because of that, someone else gave them $500,000. Because of this research money they received, the government gave them a $11,000,000 loan! We are trying to give seed money to different places so they start it, and there is more research done on these cancers.
Cryptic Rock – That is a very positive thing to hear and shows all the hard work is paying off for good. So, you have really done a great job preserving the Dio legacy. However, fans can be fickle. Have you overall found there is a good consensus that people are happy with how the legacy of Dio is approached?
Wendy Dio – I think it is positive. He is gone thirteen years and we still have 2.5 million fans on the Facebook page. We still do things with the fans and we do everything for fans. Obviously, there are those fans who live in the basement who call me a rich bitch, etc. Whatever, they don’t live with myself; I know what I am, I know what I do. I definitely don’t do it for the money, I don’t need the money; I do it to keep Ronnie’s legacy alive.
I think it is great that things come out, otherwise, what do you want, nothing? You want nothing? So, you want all this stuff to sit in a vault, never come out, and you never hear it? We’ve been in the vault with Wyn Davison (Ronnie engineer) and I’ve been working with him, going through things, and categorizing everything. We have found all kinds of gems, but I don’t want to flood the market, so we put it out slowly. We even found a few unfinished songs there that were never released, but they have to be done properly that Ronnie would approve of, and not just thrown out there.
Cryptic Rock – That is all good and very positive. Of course, you are always going to have people hiding behind a keyboard. Unfortunately, the internet has created a breeding ground for negativity.
Wendy Dio – Yes, but you know what, why instead of spending that energy in negativity, go out and do something positive? Go out and do something good for someone for a day, instead of just being negative.
Cryptic Rock – Completely agreed, and we could certainly use less negativity in the world.
Wendy Dio – Yes, I’m always positive about everything. I always think there are two kinds of people – those who have their cup filled, and those who have it half empty. It all depends on how you look at it. We are only here for a short time and should make the best of it.
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