In this episode, we have one of the greatest heavy metal vocalists of all time, Ronnie James Dio. At the time of the interview in 1985, Dio was 43 years old and was promoting his Sacred Heart album and tour. 

In the interview, Dio talks about filling Ozzy Osbourne’s shoes in Black Sabbath, a mystical experience that almost killed his wife, his thoughts on Ritchie Blackmore’s playing, and his metal all-star project Hear ‘n Aid.

The interview is conducted by a new Tapes Archive contributor, Canadian music journalist and author Steve Newton. During his four decades as a freelance music writer, he has interviewed everyone from AC/DC to ZZTop. We highly recommend that you head over to his Patreon page patreon.com/earofnewt and check out over 340 of his exclusive interviews. For only $5, you get full access. We are not paid for this endorsement; we truly feel it’s money well spent.

Link to Newton's Patreon page: https://bit.ly/3WQBr9S

For zero money, you can head over to Newton’s website, earofnewt.com, where he has posted more than 3,000 of his interviews, album reviews, concert reviews, and horror movie reviews.

Link to Newton's website: https://bit.ly/3ij9GIa

00:00 - Intro

01:41 - Start of the Ronnie James Dio interview

01:53 - The Sacred Heart tour

02:42 - His project Hear ’n Aid and whose playing on it

04:05 - How he writes music while watching sports

04:33 - What his first instrument was and if he liked it

05:10 - His love for classical music and how it relates to guitar players

06:21 - Why anyone can like classical music

07:15 - What other singers he admires

08:12 - How well Sacred Heart is doing sales wise

08:58 - If the PMRC has affected him

09:24 - If he’s interested in the occult

09:53 - His strange mystical experience while recording Rainbow’s “Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll”

10:15 - An evil spirit who tried to kill his wife, Wendy Dio

10:55 - Filling Ozzy Osbourne’s shoes in his former band Black Sabbath

12:50 - What he thinks of Ozzy’s solo music

13:37 - If he thinks Heaven and Hell paved the way for a resurgence of heavy metal

13:49 - His favorite tunes he did with Black Sabbath

14:19 - If he wants to produce other bands

14:55 - If it’s true he has a degree in Pharmacy

15:05 - If he’s still friends with Ritchie Blackmore and what he thinks of his guitar playing

15:41 - His thoughts on Yngwie Malmsteen

16:05 - His kindness to Steve Newton

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