BLABBERMOUTH.NET Writer KEITH BERGMAN Remembers RONNIE JAMES DIO

Longtime metal journalist and BLABBERMOUTH.NET staffer Keith Bergman has released the following comment eulogizing legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW),who passed away Sunday morning (May 16) after a six-month battle with stomach cancer:

"I was 11 or 12 years old, embarking on that pre-teen rite of passage: hanging out with older kids. Kids with cars and girlfriends! Kids who smoked! These kids, after laughing at my pathetic attempts to look natural with a Marlboro and a Bud Light in my hand, decided to mess with my mind by putting on a tape. The music was pretty and acoustic, the singer's voice gentle and soothing. The passage ended with 'we... are.... com-miiiiiiing....'

"And when Ronnie James Dio belted out 'hooooooome,' and that gargantuan riff kicked in, it scared the bejeezus out of me. But it was a GOOD scared, the kind of scared that hooks you. Fear mixed with wonder, anticipation, and the feeling that when this is over, you're gonna want more. And more. Hearing the chorus of 'The Last In Line' for the very first time, for me, was kinda like an adrenaline junkie's first leap out of an airplane, hand on the ripcord. It made chemical changes in my brain that set me on a lifer's path, and two decades and change later, I wouldn't change it for all the stale pop music and boring career choices on earth.

"Ronnie James Dio was able to walk the finest line in public life. He understood more than anyone the artisan nature of what he did — that a lot of it was as simple as showing up to work. The man made records since my dad was a kid, and never, ever quit. When one phase of his career fizzled, he created a new opportunity, put the time in, and punched the clock. At the same time, he knew the cosmic importance of those words and those melodies, all the imagery and dazzle, and he was aware of those little flashbulbs going off in the minds of generations of fans, all those jump-out-the-airplane moments. He walked the edge of controversy with the presentation, he provoked the small-minded, but he also laid down empowering ideas and gave us hope, confidence, and strength - for some people, more than they got in their home, or school, or church. Where punk celebrated the individual by burning everything down, and many of his metal brethren went for cheap horror-flick nihilism, Dio used his pulpit to uplift, to motivate, and to inspire.

"It's nearly impossible for someone to be so much a product of, and a part of, the workingman masses, and still retain so much majesty and royalty. It's a quality we look for in heads of state, occasionally in business titans, and once or twice in a lifetime, in our actors and artists. We got more from Ronnie James Dio than we had any right to hope for, both in quality and in quantity, and he always managed to make it feel like an even-up trade — like our being gathered together with him was as important as his being on the stage. We got decades of it, and of him, and it's a testament to his power that we still feel like we didn't get enough.

"When it hurts this much to lose a hero, it makes you wonder if it's worth having heroes at all. But despite the grief we feel now, we know that our lives are far better for the time we had with Ronnie James Dio. The body of work he left, and the inspirational example he provided us, will be a legacy that outlasts all of us. It seems more appropriate to say 'thank you' than 'goodbye,' and then to strive to create with our lives even a small fraction of the positive energy he created with his.
He was a performer for the ages, and he changed all our lives.

"Rest in peace, sir, and thanks."