RONNIE JAMES DIO's Long-Awaited Autobiography Will 'Definitely' Come Out In 2020

Wendy Dio, widow and longtime manager of Ronnie James Dio, is working with legendary rock journalist Mick Wall on the long-awaited autobiography of the heavy metal master, which was three-quarters written before the singer's death and which was originally scheduled to be published several years ago via MTV Books.

Wendy spoke about the book's status during an interview with "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" at the fourth annual "Bowl For Ronnie" celebrity bowling party, which took place this past Thursday, October 25 at PINZ Bowling Center in Studio City, California. She said (see video below): "I'm working with Mick Wall, a journalist from England. And we're working together. November and December, I'm bringing out… putting out more stuff. And it definitely will come out 2020."

Asked what people are going to learn about Ronnie from this book that they don't already know, Wendy said: "Oh, a lot of things. A lot of things about his childhood. Ronnie wrote the book up until the middle of RAINBOW. I know everything after that, and what I wanna do is keep it in his words. So what we're doing is we're finding lots of interviews and things. So I want it to continue in Ronnie's words, of what went on at that time and so on. So the part all the way up to the middle of RAINBOW is completely Ronnie. And there's a lot of stories in there that a lot of people will be surprised about in his childhood."

Wendy went on to say that it was Ronnie's "humbleness" that she loved most about the iconic heavy metal singer. "How he was a big star on stage and he was just such a wonderful human being offstage," she said. "He loved animals; he did a lot of charity work with animals, autism… He was just a great person that loved people, loved his fans. He spent hours with his fans, because he always said, 'I'll never forget where I came from.' He was a very special person. There's not many people like Ronnie."

Ronnie James Dio passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67. A few months after his death, MTV Books announced plans to release his memoir, which at the time was going to be called "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography Of Ronnie James Dio".

"Everything Ronnie did, lyrics or anything, was always handwritten," Wendy told VH1 Classic Rock Nights back in 2010. "He didn't do anything on the computer. So he would handwrite it and then he'd give it to me and then I'd give it to my assistant, she'd type it up. So that's how it went and, of course, I'd read it along the way and it's very, very interesting. It's just interesting the way his stories are; he was a storyteller. Ronnie was always a storyteller and it's just great stories."

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with BLACK SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.