WENDY DIO To Guest On WJCU's ‘Metal On Metal'

Wendy Dio, the wife/manager of legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio, will guest on WJCU's "Metal On Metal" radio program tonight (Friday, March 28) at 7:00 p.m. EST. Wendy will discuss her Ronnie James Dio tribute album "This Is Your Life", which includes contributions by such metal heavyweights as METALLICA, MOTÖRHEAD, SCORPIONS, ANTHRAX, and Rob Halford, as well as appearances by many of the musicians who performed with Dio over the years. 100% of proceeds from the album will go to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund. "This Is Your Life" CDs and a limited-edition autographed cover art poster will be given away on the air during the interview.

"Metal On Metal", hosted by Bill Peters, can be heard live at 88.7 FM in the Cleveland, Ohio area or streamed worldwide via the Internet at www.wjcu.org.

"Ronnie James Dio has been one of my all-time favorite singers ever since I can remember," says Peters. "It's still hard for me to believe he is not here with us."

"The first time I saw him perform live was with RAINBOW in 1978 on the 'Long Live Rock 'N' Roll' tour.

"The first time I met him was in 1984 on his DIO band's 'Last In Line' tour. I was working for Warner Bros. in Cleveland at the time.

"Funny story about our first encounter is our Warner Bros. regional manager, Larry Bole, took me backstage to meet him after the show. Ronnie was sitting in a chair in the dressing room with his back to us as we approached. After Larry introduced me as his biggest fan in our office, Ronnie slowly turned around and started scanning me up and down with piercing eyes in an angry, unsettling sort of way. He never said a word. Finally, after what seemed like minutes, but was in reality only seconds, he broke the silence with his first words to me: 'What's wrong? Weren't our shirts good enough for you?' I was wearing a RAVEN 'Live At The Inferno' tour t-shirt. I did not know how to respond. I nervously stuttered, 'I would have bought a shirt but I did not have enough money,' which, in fact, was true. He slowly turned back around in his chair, crossed his arms and didn't say another word. He appeared to be upset with me. Disillusioned, I started to walk towards the dressing room door to leave feeling very depressed and rejected. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I was crushed! Right before I got to the door, I heard laughter behind me. I turned around and there was Ronnie standing up out of his chair with a big smile on his face waving for me to come back. He said, 'Where you going, kid? Get back here!' He was playing a joke on me. I had no idea. I totally fell for it hook, line and sinker!

"I got my revenge fifteen years or so later while still working at Warner. I wore the exact same RAVEN shirt to a big after-show meet and greet party we were hosting with him. He laughed so hard and was practically in tears when he saw the shirt on me after I opened my black leather jacket in front of him just before the signing session started. I was surprised he remembered.

"I have a lot of great memories of Ronnie while working at Warner for parts of three decades. He always treated his fans and label reps excellent. Our Cleveland Reprise rep, Barb Balchick, was one of his favorites. He was a first-class individual to work with.”

The official East Coast listening party for the Ronnie James Dio tribute album "This Is Your Life" will be held on Saturday, March 29 at 10:00 p.m. at Duff's Brooklyn in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The address is:

Duff's Brooklyn
168 Marcy Avenue (between S 5th & Broadway)
Williamsburg, New York

For more information, visit www.duffsbrooklyn.com.

Ronnie James Dio is one of the most beloved figures in rock history. His gifts, both as a singer and songwriter, are instantly recognizable, whether he was with RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, or leading DIO. Sadly, Dio lost his battle with stomach cancer in 2010 but his towering voice and legacy live on.

To celebrate one of rock's most powerful voices, an all-star group of his friends and fans recorded 13 of their favorite tracks for a tribute album, 100% of proceeds from which will go to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund. Produced by his longtime manager and wife Wendy Dio, the album includes contributions by such metal heavyweights as METALLICA, MOTÖRHEAD, SCORPIONS, ANTHRAX, and Rob Halford, as well as appearances by many of the musicians who performed with Dio over the years.

"This Is Your Life" will be available from Rhino on April 1. A digital version will also be available.

Although the songs featured on the album touch on the different eras of Dio's career, several spotlight his time with RAINBOW, including METALLICA's epic, nine-minute "Ronnie Rising Medley", which combines the RAINBOW songs "A Light In The Black", "Tarot Woman", "Stargazer" and "Kill The King". SCORPIONS add a scorching take on "Temple Of The King" while MOTÖRHEAD is joined by Biff Byford from SAXON on "Starstruck". Rob Halford teams with frequent Dio collaborators Vinny Appice, Doug Aldrich, Jeff Pilson, and Scott Warren for "Man On The Silver Mountain". The final lineup of Dio's solo band — Simon Wright, Craig Goldy, Rudy Sarzo and Scott Warren — are joined by Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH) for "Catch The Rainbow", a track from RAINBOW's 1975 debut.

ANTHRAX and ADRENALINE MOB honor Dio's memorable stint with BLACK SABBATH with their takes on "Neon Knights" and "The Mob Rules", respectively, as does a group, led by Oni Logan on vocals along with Jimmy Bain, Rowan Robertson, and Brian Tichy, which performs "I" from "Dehumanizer".

"This Is Your Life" also includes songs from Dio's back-to-back platinum albums "Holy Diver" (1983) and "The Last In Line" (1984),with DORO's take on "Egypt (The Chains Are On)", HALESTORM tackling "Straight Through The Heart", Corey Taylor (STONE SOUR, SLIPKNOT) covering the classic "Rainbow In The Dark" and TENACIOUS D (Jack Black and Kyle Gass) putting their signature spin on "The Last In Line". KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's cover of "Holy Diver", a hit in its own right when released in 2006, is also included here.

Fittingly, Ronnie James Dio provides the finale (and the album's title) with his moving performance of "This Is Your Life". Originally released on "Angry Machines" (1996),the song's lyrics explore mortality and are backed by a stark and beautiful arrangement that features Dio accompanied only by his longtime keyboardist Scott Warren on piano. The song serves as a poignant reminder that we will never hear a voice like Dio's again.

"We reached out to Wendy Dio about wanting to be a part of the Dio tribute that's getting put together," METALLICA singer James Hetfield told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine. "We're very honored to be a part of that, and to be a part of a celebration of Ronnie's life and his great contribution, man."

In an interview with Guitar International, former ANTHRAX guitarist Rob Caggiano stated that the band's cover version of "Neon Knights" "came out pretty smoking."

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, co-founded by Wendy Dio, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable fund dedicated to supporting cancer-prevention research, raising awareness and educating the public about the vital importance of early detection and prevention when dealing with this deadly disease.

"This Is Your Life" track listing:

01. "Neon Knights" - ANTHRAX *
02. "The Last In Line" - TENACIOUS D *
03. "The Mob Rules" - ADRENALINE MOB
04. "Rainbow In The Dark" - Corey Taylor, Roy Mayorga, Satchel, Christian Martucci, Jason Christopher *
05. "Straight Through The Heart" - HALESTORM *
06. "Starstruck" - MOTÖRHEAD with Biff Byford *
07. "Temple Of The King" - SCORPIONS *
08. "Egypt (The Chains Are On)" - DORO
09. "Holy Diver" - KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
10. "Catch The Rainbow" - Glenn Hughes, Simon Wright, Craig Goldy, Rudy Sarzo, Scott Warren *
11. "I" - Oni Logan, Jimmy Bain, Rowan Robertson, Brian Tichy *
12. "Man On The Silver Mountain" - Rob Halford, Vinny Appice, Doug Aldrich, Jeff Pilson, Scott Warren *
13. "Ronnie Rising Medley" (featuring "A Light In The Black", "Tarot Woman", "Stargazer", "Kill The King") - METALLICA *
14. "This Is Your Life" - DIO

* Previously unreleased

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund is a privately funded 501(c)(3) charity organization which has already raised more than $600,000 in its short history. Monies raised to date have been committed to the cancer research work of the T.J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, AIDS and Leukemia Research and the gastric cancer research unit of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Ronnie was treated for gastric cancer during the last six months of his life.