IMPELLITTERI - RONNIE JAMES DIO "Was The Greatest Metal Singer Of All Time"
May 18, 2010, 14 years ago
IMPELLITTERI guitarist and namesake Chris Impellitteri has offered the following thoughts on the passing of legendary singer RONNIE JAMES DIO (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF) who lost his battle with stomach cancer on May 16th at 7:45 AM PST at the age of 67:
"We are saddened by the passing of Ronnie James Dio. In our opinion, Ronnie was the greatest metal singer of all time. His unique vocal style influenced legions of metal singers around the globe. His music was addictive, unique, and powerful !Dio deserves to go down in the history books with ELVIS, LENNON, and MICHAEL JACKSON. Ronnie was the voice of metal and inspired an entire world to stand up and shout !!
At last years Sweden Rock Festival Impellitteri performed on the headlining stage with Heaven & Hell which was a complete honor!! As a child I use to go see Ronnie play in the arenas with Black Sabbath, and now many years later having played on the same stage with him was mind blowing!! And I can tell you we worked our asses off to play great because we knew he would deliver when he took the stage!!
I personally met Ronnie a few times and he even bought me a drink!! He was a true gentlemen and inspiration to everyone in my band!
I am now and always will be a Dio fan.
Long Live Ronnie James Dio!!"
