The Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan has released an epic, emotional interview with Wendy Dio.
Wendy, wife and longtime manager of heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio, is the guest on the latest episode of his podcast The Magnificent Others. Among other things, she shares stories of Dio, Rainbow and the Black Sabbath/Heaven And Hell reunion in the late 2000s, as well as her own journey from being a waitress at beloved LA rock bar The Rainbow Bar & Grill to meeting and eventually managing RJD on his 1983 solo debut Holy Diver.
As part of the interview, Wendy also reveals Dio had some misgivings about joining Black Sabbath to replace Ozzy Osbourne in 1979. At the time, RJD had just parted ways with Rainbow ("Ritchie [Blackmore, Rainbow guitarist/founder] says Ronnie left, Ronnie says he was fired," Wendy explains) and the couple had moved back to California to start a new band.
"Tony [Iommi] and Ronnie got together at The Rainbow, and I guess [Sabbath] had decided Ozzy wasn't able to perform anymore. It was the tenth anniversary [of the band], I remember that. Ronnie came back and said, 'I'm gonna get a band together with Tony'. Sounds good, you know? All of a sudden, it was, Geezer [Butler] is in and Bill [Ward] is in. He said, 'Black Sabbath... I don't know if I like their music.' I said, 'We have $800 in the bank, you love their music.'"
Dio fronted Black Sabbath from 1979 to 1982, initially recording two albums with the band. He returned for a third, Dehumanizer in 1992 and then released a fourth album, The Devil You Know as Heaven & Hell in 2009. His Sabbath debut, 1980's Heaven And Hell is widely credited with revitalising the band, helping them break the UK Top 10 and US Top 50 for the first time since 1975's Sabotage. That said, Wendy admits it wasn't all smooth sailing.
"It was hard for him, first of all," she says. "Kids were giving him the finger [because he wasn't Ozzy]."
In the interview, Corgan mentions he heard Sharon Osbourne had initially suggested Dio to the band as a possible replacement for Ozzy. Wendy admits she's not sure how true that is, but reveals then-Sabbath manager (and Sharon's father) Don Arden suggested a unique solution to Sabbath's vocal problems.
"Don was managing the band at the time and he was not happy about it at all," Wendy explains. "He wanted Ronnie to write and record, and for Ozzy to go on tour. Ronnie said, 'No, that's not what I do' so he left. Don wrote a note [to Sabbath] saying, 'I'm done with you all'."
Born Ronald James Padavona, Dio's career began in the late 1950s with groups like Ronnie & The Red Caps, Ronnie Dio & The Prophets and Elf. He first rose to acclaim in metal circles fronting Rainbow in the mid-70s before joining Sabbath in 1979 and then going solo in 1983. He passed away on May 16, 2010 from stomach cancer.
In the interview, Wendy explains how difficult Ronnie James Dio found getting a diagnosis.
"About five years before he passed away, he was complaining of indigestion," she says. "I took him to a very famous Beverly Hills doctor who gave him heart tests and all kinds of stuff and just said, 'Oh, don't worry. It's gas, just gas.' … And he always had indigestion. He would eat [over-the-counter chewable antacid] Tums all the time. He had indigestion, indigestion. But you see, with things like stomach cancer, gastric cancers and pancreatic cancer, there's not really any signs until it's too late."
Wendy also says Dio was interested in recording another album with Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell after their tour wrapped up in 2010.
"Everybody was back to loving each other, having fun, really enjoying themselves, everybody pushing each other to the limit, because they were all such good musicians," Wendy explains.
"They created Bible Black [from 2009's The Devil You Know]. All those songs are really good songs and [they had] a great time. [They were] gonna go out and do another album. They stopped [touring] because Vinny [Appice, Heaven & Hell drummer] had something wrong with his hand or something, had to do something — I don't know, whatever. They took a break. And Ronnie wasn't feeling good at all. So I took him to my local doctor, actually."
At that point, they found out the worst.
"[The doctor] did a blood test and he called me back and he said, 'Wendy, it's not good news. I think we need to do an ultrasound and a colonoscopy.'" Wendy recalls. "We did all that. Ronnie didn't know. And [the doctor] said, 'He's got stage four cancer.' I said, 'Don't tell him. Don't tell him.' So I spent the whole weekend trying to find out the best oncologist I could find at what hospital, and they said MD Anderson [Cancer Center in Houston, Texas], but I couldn't get him into MD Anderson. I was trying everything. And then somebody said, 'Go to the Mayo Clinic.' So we flew to Minneapolis, went to the Mayo Clinic, and the guy, a horrible doctor, he said, 'Well, you're gonna die. So, just go back and put your life together. You've probably got six months.' We went and stayed in the hotel. We cried all night long; I remember that."
Eventually, Ronnie was able to get in at MD Anderson. There, Wendy recalls he made an unlikely friendship that illustrates his character.
"There was a kid there, 19 [years old], [who] was there, and Ronnie spent more time caring about him than caring about himself. And we used to skip down the halls, going, 'We're gonna kill the dragon.' We called it 'killing the dragon'. And we never, ever, either one [of us], thought that Ronnie was gonna die, because he did very well."
After Ronnie James Dio's passing, Wendy founded the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, a charity organisation dedicated to cancer education, research and prevention. To date, it has raised almost $3 million.
Watch the full interview between Billy Corgan and Wendy Dio below.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
