Ronnie James Dion asenne

Rockmaailma on ollut viime viikot poissa tolaltaan Dion kuoleman vuoksi. Syöpä oli tiedossa, mutta suru-uutinen oli silti järkytys. Moni meistä toivoi ja uskoi hoitojen tehoavan ja Ronnie James Dion vielä palaavan esiintymislavoille.

Pieni suuri mies oli hevirockin arvostetuimpia ja rakastetuimpia laulajia, monelle se suurin kaikista.

Haastattelin Dioa viidesti. Kerran siten, että puhuin hänen kanssaan kahdestaan yli tunnin. Dio oli mukavin ja sydämellisin tapaamani rocktähti. Valloittava persoona.

Dion asennetta kuvasi hyvin tapaus Sweden Rockissa, viime kesänä. Heaven & Hellin lehdistötilaisuuden päätteeksi festarin backstagella tarjoilijana työskennellyt tyttö sai halata Dioa, vaikka turvamiehet jo kiirehtivät bändiä pois paikalta. Halauksen jälkeen tyttö kysyi Diolta, kuinka tämä jaksaa aina olla niin positiivinen. Dio vastasi että hänelläkin on huonoja päiviä, mutta yleisö antaa voimaa ja yleisön edessä hän on uusi mies. Katso tapaus videona.  

Muutamia eri nettisivuilta ja Facebookista keräämiäni muistosanoja:

“Ronnie had a unique and wonderful voice. He will be sadly missed in the rock and roll world.”
– Ritchie Blackmore

“My Dear Friend Ronnie,

Departed but not gone. Resting peacefully (for a while) but never forgotten.

I’ve had a sackful of mail since your passing; a sharing of grief and sorrow.

We all remember your huge voice of course – my ears are still ringing: Your wicked humour and sense of decency: The utter professionalism and personality that inspired so much respect from your friends in music.

The list goes on but the quality that stands out above all others is your enduring generosity. The one thing that we all treasure, the gift you gave us was your kindness.

We all agree you were the kindest man we ever knew.

Catch up later mate,

Cheers, ig”
– Ian Gillan

“I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Ronnie James Dio. Metal has truly lost one of its greatest voices. My heart goes out to his family and to his many fans.”
– Ozzy Osbourne

“Ronnie died at 7:45 a.m. this morning, but his music will live for eternity.”
– Slash

“We mourn the tragic passing of the great Ronnie James Dio. In addition to his powerhouse vocal ability, Ronnie was a true gentleman who always emanated great warmth and friendship to us and everyone around him. We will miss him.”
– Kiss

“I’ve been in total shock; I just can’t believe he’s gone.
I can honestly say it’s truly been an honor to play at his side for all these years.
His music will live on forever.”
– Tony Iommi

“Bon voyage, Ronnie. Rest in peace.
I’m devastated.”
– Lemmy

“A couple of weeks ago when I heard that you were not going to be able to make it to the Sonisphere shows that we would be sharing this June, I wanted to call you and let you know that I was thinking of you and wish you well, but I kind of pussied out, thinking the last thing you needed in your recovery was feeling obligated to take a phone call from a Danish drummer/fan boy. I wish I’d made that call.
We will miss you immensely on the dates, and we will be thinking of you with great admiration and affection during that run. It seemed so right to have you out on tour with the so-called ‘Big Four’ since you obviously were one of the main reasons that the four bands even exist.
Your ears will definitely be burning during those two weeks because all of us will be talking, reminiscing and sharing stories about how knowing you has made our lives that much better.
Ronnie, your voice impacted and empowered me, your music inspired and influenced me, and your kindness touched and moved me. Thank you.
Much love.”
– Lars Ulrich

“Words cannot express my feelings at this time. My thoughts are with Wendy and the extended DIO family at this time. Ronnie truly was the the finest rawk voice I ever heard.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   – Doogie White