In a media filled with grandstanding egomaniacs, only looking out for themselves, promotionally and/or financially (each town seems to have an FM affiliate populated by one or more), Bill Peters' 28 years on the air of college station WJCU, in University Heights, OH is a breath of fresh air and bastion of integrity. I dare say there is no one on the airwaves with as extensive knowledge of the metal genre, regardless of wattage or promotional zeal. During his completely unpaid (!) tenure, donating his time (and often racking up considerable personal debt by purchasing obscure imports to air for his listens), its always been about the music. Nothing proves that more than his 13 hour solo marathon dedicated to the career of the late RONNIE JAMES DIO. Starting Friday, May 21st at 7pm, Peters fortified himself inside the John Carroll University studio with stacks of vinyl, CDs and probably the odd reel-to-reel tape, bent on exiting Saturday morning, but only after playing songs and complete concert recordings from Dio's days as a doo-wap crooner, ELF, RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH, DIO and HEAVEN & HELL. "I never pre-script my shows and like to create the playlist live as the show is in progress. I did have a basic outline for the program though. I tried to give an overall history on RJD, making sure to feature a good representation of Ronnie's early '60's and '70's pre-Rainbow recordings because that's an era most fans know very little."

By his own words, "13 hours is not enough of a tribute. The most difficult part of the shift was trying to fit all the music I brought into that time frame. I was able to play less than 20%. I brought enough stuff to stay down here a week and never repeat anything. Ronnie recorded for six decades and released a record before I was even born!" In addition to the extensive archives, Peters interjected personal experiences from his days as a WEA rep, where he frequently had occasions to meet the singer. During a '72 ELF show aired (consisting largely of cover tunes, including a pair of JETHRO TUL covers, LED ZEPPELIN and others), Dio sang 'War Pigs', a decade precursor to his time in Sabbath. Strangely enough, Elf also had a song entitled 'Rainbow'. Such were the tidbits imparted throughout the evening, as Dio's life was examined chronologically. "I wanted to play a complete unreleased live concert recording from each of Ronnie's major bands and had many too choose from. The Elf concert generated the most response. It was fascinating hearing Ronnie perform all those covers."

Peters also offered a segment compiled by fans' online votes. Asked to email their three favourite Dio tracks, from any era of the man's career, the Top Ten were counted down, between midnight and 1AM. Several hundred people took part (and thanks to the internet broadcast) from all over the globe. The somewhat surprising list (top down) was as follows: 'Heaven & Hell' 'Don't Talk To Strangers', 'Children Of The Sea', 'Man On A Silver Mountain', 'Falling Off The Edge Of The World', 'Last In Line', 'Die Young', 'Stargazer', 'Gates Of Babylon' and 'Holy Diver'. A much bootlegged Black Sabbath show, from Hartford, CT in '80 was next up, including the aforementioned 'War Pigs' (one of Ozzy's songs from which the resurrected Heaven & Hell stayed away). Rarities, demo tracks and more live recordings followed in the Dio band era, including a full show from Spokane, WA in '84. As the sun was coming up, a German concert from last year introduced the Heaven & Hell segment and the final half hour was dedicated to cover tunes, bands playing tracks from one of the bands for which Dio sang. It would have been easy to fill time by playing several of the countless tribute albums, back-to-back, but again, it comes back to integrity. Only one song throughout the 13 hours (FATES WARNING - 'Sign Of The Southern Cross') was lifted from any such disc, although Dio singing on a tribute to other acts (namely AEROSMITH's 'Dream On' and ALICE COOPER's 'Welcome To My Nightmare') were included.

"I had three hours of sleep the night before and started work at my regular job at 6am on Friday morning, which made for 27 straight hours without sleep. I only decided to do the all-night marathon on Friday morning, after receiving approval from station management. I stood up the entire 13 hours, never sitting down once, just playing air guitar and enjoying the music. Many of my listeners organized Dio listening parties and stayed up from start to finish along with me. They were texting photos over. It was very cool! I only brought one bottle of Mountain Dew with me, to last the entire night. Some of my listeners and staff members made surprise visits to drop off food and drinks throughout the night. My wife ordered a pizza and had it delivered. I ended up eating better in solitary confinement than I usually do at home. It felt like I left the station 10 pounds heavier!"
"WJCU general manager Mark Krieger called me on the 'hot line' just as my shift was ending, at 8am (Saturday, see photo). Usually when the 'hot line' phone lights up, it means you are in trouble! Mark called to inform me that the station's online server maxed out at various points during the night, something he had never seen before, and we set a new station record for online activity. One of the best experiences was receiving personal messages and stories from the listeners throughout the night; how special Ronnie James Dio was to their life. It was really touching to read them. Liz Erman, who used to work with me at Warner (and was directly involved with Heaven And Hell, at Rhino), is going to forward some of the letters directly to Wendy Dio, whom she knows well. I'd like to thank all of my listeners for supporting the tribute. I really enjoyed celebrating Ronnie's music together with them. I would also like to thank Tony Alberts, Ron Emig, Dave Swanson and Charles Abou-Chebl for their extra help and support."

A complete run-down of the playlist (which stretches over two days), can be viewed at here then look up the specific date(s).

"I'm a fan like everyone else. Ronnie is one of my all-time favorite vocalists and a true legend, in every sense of the word. It was a true labor of lover and an honor for me to do this tribute in memory of Ronnie. In fact, I'm going to start off next Friday's show with more music from Ronnie."