En el día de hoy, que hubiera cumplido 68 años, un afectuoso y merecido recuerdo para el grandísimo,
Ronnie James Dio que falleció el pasado 16 de mayo causa de un cáncer de estómago.
Dio ha sido uno de los grandes vocalistas del Heavy Metal, histórico componente de Rainbow, con el mítico "Long Live Rock & Roll"* que recomendé en este mismo hilo, y Black Sabbath (tras la marcha de Ozzy Osbourne), prosiguiendo luego una exitosa carrera en solitario con el nombre de DIO y discos de gran calidad y tremendas portadas, en los que se encuentran auténticos himnos del metal como "Holy Diver".
Además fue el impulsor del Hear'n Aid con la canción "Stars", que al igual que "We are the world" recaudaba fondos para África:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZktrrqT1A0A Dio también se le atribuye el primer uso y popularización de uno de los símbolos heavys más reconocible:
Su muerte ha impactado la escena del metal, hasta el punto de que casi todas las webs del mundillo han publicado notas homenaje, como la de Iron Maiden:
It is with huge sadness we hear that Ronnie has lost his battle against stomach cancer, and our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife Wendy and family at this terrible time. From his earlier years in Elf, Black Sabbath and Dio, right through to his most recent days fronting Heaven and Hell, Ronnie, time and again, proved his genius as a frontman, always giving his all to his fans and his music. Ronnie was not only an incredibly gifted singer but also a wonderfully warm, intelligent and generous person and this shone through both on and off stage leaving a positive mark on everyone he came into contact with. A longstanding friend of Maiden, we played many shows together over the years and we will all miss him greatly.
The world has lost an irreplaceable talent and, first and foremost, one of the finest human beings you could ever wish to meet.
Steve, Bruce, Adrian, Dave, Janick, Nicko and Rod
O la impresionante carta abierta de Lars Ulrich, batería de Metallica:
Dear Ronnie,
I just got off stage in Zagreb. I was met with the news that you've passed on. I'm kind of in shock, but I wanted you to know that you were one of the main reasons I made it onto that stage to begin with. When I first saw you in Elf, opening for Deep Purple in 1975, I was completely blown away by the power in your voice, your presence on stage, your confidence, and the ease with which you seemed to connect to 6000 Danish people and one starry-eyed 11 year old, most of whom were not familiar with Elf's music. The following year, I was so psyched when I heard the results of you joining forces with my favorite guitar player. You guys sounded so right for each other and I instantly became Rainbow's #1 fan in Denmark. In the fall of 1976, when you played your first show in Copenhagen, I was literally in the front row and the couple of times we made eye contact you made me feel like the most important person in the world. The news that you guys were staying in town on your day off somehow embedded itself in my brain and I made the pilgrimage to the Plaza Hotel to see if I could somehow grab a picture, an autograph, a moment, anything. A few hours later you came out and were so kind and caring... pictures, autographs and a couple minutes of casual banter. I was on top of the world, inspired and ready for anything. Rainbow came to Copenhagen a couple more times over the next few years and each time you guys blew my mind, and for a good three years were my absolute favorite band on this planet. Over the years I've been fortunate enough to run into you a half dozen times or so and each time you were as kind, caring and gracious as you were in 1976 outside the hotel. When we finally got a chance to play together in Austria in 2007, even though I may not have let on, I was literally transformed back to that little snot nosed kid who you met and inspired 31 years earlier and it was such a fucking honor and a dream come true to share a stage with you and the rest of the legends in Heaven and Hell. A couple of weeks ago when I heard that you were not going to be able to make it to the Sonisphere shows that we would be sharing this June, I wanted to call you and let you know that I was thinking of you and wish you well, but I kind of pussied out, thinking the last thing you needed in your recovery was feeling obligated to take a phone call from a Danish drummer/fan boy. I wish I'd made that call. We will miss you immensely on the dates, and we will be thinking of you with great admiration and affection during that run. It seemed so right to have you out on tour with the so-called “Big Four” since you obviously were one of the main reasons that the four bands even exist. Your ears will definitely be burning during those two weeks because all of us will be talking, reminiscing and sharing stories about how knowing you has made our lives that much better.
Ronnie, your voice impacted and empowered me, your music inspired and influenced me, and your kindness touched and moved me. Thank you.
Much love,
Lars
Como muchos otros, incluído el polémico Ozzy que había llegado a decirle cuando le sustituyó en Sabbath que diera los conciertos con chaleco antibalas, ya que si se atrevía a cantar "Paranoid" o "Iron Man" lo mataría él mismo.
Una gran pérdida para el Heavy y para el Rock en general. Descansa en paz, Ronnie. Y gracias.
Holy Diver:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkysjcs5vFURainbow eyes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yj-6V28AvYGates of Babylon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL4pKYRDQMs*
La recomendación de esta semana:
1.Long Live Rock 'N' Roll
2.Lady Of The Lake
3.L. A. Connection
4.Gates Of Babylon
5.Kill The King
6.The Shed (Subtle)
7.Sensitive To Light
8.Rainbow Eyes
Impresionante este "Long live Rock'n'Roll" de Rainbow, el grupo que formó Richie Blackmore tras Deep Purple. El cantante es Ronnie James Dio.
Buenísimas Lady of the Lake y Gates of Babylon. Caña en Long live..., L.A.Connection y Kill the King. Y Rainbow eyes, una de las mejores baladas de toda la historia.
Imprescindible.
: ;-)
Dilber MC Theme by HarzeM