The late legendary vocalist Ronnie James Dio is considered one of the best Heavy Metal singers of all time and was an inspiration to countless musicians over the decades. He was born in Portsmouth in 1942, starting his musical career in his own country, but it was after he joined Rainbow, the band created by Ritchie Blackmore in 1975, that his career took off. He became an even bigger name after replacing Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath and recording, during his first stint with the band, the acclaimed albums “Heaven & Hell” (1980) and “Mob Rules” (1981).
During his career with his own band, Dio, the frontman hired many British musicians to be part of the group, and one of the reasons for that was that he believed artists from the United Kingdom were better at that kind of music.
Why Dio believed British Metal musicians were better than the Americans
Answering fans’ questions in an interview with Hit Parader, Ronnie James Dio was asked how he discovered the acclaimed guitarist Vivian Campbell, who played on his first albums. He answered by praising British musicians: “To me, heavy metal has always been a European form. I don’t think there’s any question that the best metal music has always been created by English metal bands”.
“I’m certainly not putting down American rock — after all, I am American — but to my ears there’s a major difference between the way European guitarists play and the way American guitarists approach their craft. There’s an intensity there that American guitarists don’t have. They tend to be more concerned with flash effects than emotion.”
“The type of music I play is very emotional, and when I was looking for a guitarist I wanted someone with that European feel. When I heard Vivian, I knew I had found my man. He had been recommended to me by some friends, and from the moment he plugged in his amps, I knew he was a star,” Ronnie James Dio said in 1986.