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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
5 Top 40 singles from Black Sabbath (no, really)
5 Top 40 singles from Black Sabbath (no, really) originally appeared on Goldmine. Few listeners would ever consider Black Sabbath a 'singles band.' Pioneers of drop-tuned, doomy heavy metal, the Birmingham, England quartet exerted a massive influence on hard rock of the 1970s and beyond. Critical praise came much later: early volumes of Rolling Stone's Record Guide awarded most Sabbath albums a bullet or one star. More recent editions ranked most of the band's Ozzy Osbourne-era albums at four or even five stars. All of Black Sabbath's albums with the original lineup – the eight released between 1970 and 1979 – went Gold or better in the U.S. Yet not once during those years did Black Sabbath place a single on the U.S. Top 40 chart. In their home of England, however, it was a different story: the Ozzy-fronted group landed three singles on the U.K. charts. And when Osbourne was replaced by American vocalist Ronnie James Dio, Black Sabbath scored two more. All in all, five Top 40 singles from an 'album band' is an impressive feat, and one that's too often overlooked. So on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Black Sabbath's sixth hit LP Sabotage, here are five songs from the group that put them on the singles charts in Britain. 'Paranoid' from Paranoid (1970) The group's second single reached No. 19 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 pop singles chart, an achievement the group wouldn't repeat for more than a decade. However, the title track from their second LP, 'Paranoid' is a prime exemplar of the Sabbath aesthetic. It made it to No. 4 on the U.K. singles chart. 'Never Say Die' from (1978) After their self-titled debut and Paranoid, Black Sabbath's run of '70s albums – Master of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage and 1976's Technical Ecstasy – each sold well and expanded the group's fan base. What those albums didn't do is reward Black Sabbath with a hit single in the U.S. or U.K. Oddly enough, the band's second placing on the U.K. singles charts was the title cut from their 1978 LP Never Say Die! The single reached No. 21 in Britain. 'Hard Road' from (1978) In retrospect, Never Say Die! is often considered the least remarkable among Black Sabbath's first eight albums, all made with Ozzy Osbourne as singer. Yet the album spawned not one but two hit singles in the U.K. The second of those, 'Hard Road' (renamed 'A Hard Road' for its U.S. release) scored the quartet a No. 33 single in the U.K. 'Neon Knights' from (1980) When Ronnie James Dio joined Black Sabbath, his commanding presence and powerful vocals breathed new life into the group. Listeners agreed, sending the first single from the new lineup's debut Heaven and Hell to the No. 21 spot on the U.K. chart. The album itself did quite well, too, earning a Platinum award in the U.S., the first Black Sabbath album to earn that designation since 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. 'Turn Up the Night' from (1981) Again with Dio out front, Black Sabbath landed a song off of their ninth album, Mob Rules, on the U.K. singles chart. The speedy 'Turn Up the Night' bears the influence of the then-burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and of guitarists like Eddie Van Halen, but flashes of classic Sabbath remain. 'Turn Up the Night' gave Black Sabbath its final U.K. Top 40 single, placing at No. 37. In his initial run with the group, Dio would only remain with Black Sabbath for a short time, leaving after the release of 1981's Mob Rules. The group would experience a revolving door lineup of singers – six, plus a returning Dio – before Osbourne returned in 1998. (Ozzy would leave yet again, with Dio replacing him yet a third time before Ozzy returned for a final run that ended with a live concert in July 2025. Go to Goldmine Shop for exclusive vinyl, box sets, collectibles and more! This story was originally reported by Goldmine on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
Edmonton Journal
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Edmonton Journal
REVIEW: Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Queensrÿche a killer kickoff to Rockin' Thunder
The monumental Rock of Ages is easily one of Def Leppard's defining heights of song — but it's also a nice way to describe the inaugural Rockin' Thunder music fest, kicking off with eight hours of straight, plugged-in, eternal AM radio rock Friday to an enormous party crowd. Article content Up top, headlining as night crept in: the aforementioned British quintet — ever in a tight race with Iron Maiden and Metallica in the 'most-seen T-shirts' contest around here. Article content Article content As such, arena-level masses of high thousands were no surprise, dancing, grinding and getting otherwise impressively pornographic in front of a bunch of elder blonde dudes, culminating in a scream-along Pour Some Sugar On Me in front of computer-graphic space motorbikes spewing lightning. Article content Article content Starting off with the deliciously proggy spoken opening to Queen of the Reich — just so we knew who was playing, perhaps — 13-year-member, Bob-Seger-vibed lead singer Todd La Torre quickly demonstrated his ceiling shattering tones to heights we really wouldn't quite hear again today, holding notes long enough to make all the resident dragonflies crash land. Article content Article content Queensrÿche, in a word, ruled, as anyone who enjoys the Ronnie James Dio era of Black Sabbath might tell you, the show ranging from a Priest-y-feeling Breaking the Silence to a wall-of-sound, guitar-explosive Warning, and sing-alongs I Don't Believe in Love and The Needle Lies, with co-founder Michael Wilton riff-blasting that sick skull guitar into our faces with his wicked metal scowl, back to back with evil-looking Mike Stone. Article content Article content They nodded to Ozzy and just-laid-to-rest Black Sabbath, but for my money, the growly, soaring Empire was the height, which the band capped off with Eyes of a Stranger after La Torre thanked their dedicated fans, or as he called them, 'repeat offenders.' Article content Hell of a start, already checking my watch, wondering how to handle such an onslaught for seven more hours. Article content Next up, after some hellos from the amicable and big-hearted Terry Evans, were Prairie rockers Toque, who I honestly did not know leaned into the covers so hard. But hey, in a crumbling world where we're waving in the ultimate karaoke of A.I. with such blind enthusiasm, may as well lie back and enjoy it!
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A tribute to Ronnie James Dio: July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Ronnie James Dio died 15 years ago, on May 16, 2010, less than six months after announcing he was battling stomach cancer. Classic Rock's Paul Elliott, who first saw Dio onstage at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1984 and interviewed him many times, paid tribute. The man whose mighty voice lit up the music of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven And Hell was truly a unique talent: a vocalist of immense power, expression and innate melodic flair, an elegant lyricist, and a storyteller of rich imagination. There is magic in the words and voice of Ronnie James Dio. Music was central to his life from an early age. Although he never received any formal vocal training, as a child he mastered French horn and trumpet, to which he later attributed the breathing control pivotal to his singing power. He played bass guitar in his first professional group, the Vegas Kings, a rockabilly outfit formed in 1957 and based in New York State. But it didn't take him long to answer his true calling. By the end of 1958, he was lead singer of a new-look band, Ronnie & The Red Caps, later renamed Ronnie Dio & The Prophets after Ronnie had adopted a stage name appropriated from mobster Johnny Dio. Success did not come quickly. As the rock era dawned in the 60s, Dio toiled in obscurity as leader of the Electric Elves, subsequently shortened to Elf. But in the early 70s came the break that he had longed for, when Deep Purple's Roger Glover and Ian Paice saw potential in Elf and elected to produce the band's self-titled debut album. And from there, a strong connection was formed between the two bands – a connection that led Dio to the man who would transform his career and change his life. Ritchie Blackmore, Deep Purple's moody guitar hero, took a shine to Elf – and especially their singer – when the two bands toured together between 1972 and 1974. And when Blackmore chose to make a solo record, having openly voiced his displeasure over Purple's funk-influenced albums Burn and Stormbringer, he enlisted Dio and the other members of Elf, minus guitarist Steve Edwards. That album, titled Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, was released in 1975 shortly after the guitarist quit Deep Purple. And it was immediately apparent that Blackmore had found the perfect foil in Dio, a singer whose voice and imagery were ideally suited to Blackmore's baroque taste. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow was the album on which Ronnie James Dio came of age. After all the lean years before and with Elf, this was Ronnie's golden opportunity, and he responded with a performance of complete authority. The album's opening track, Man On The Silver Mountain, set the template for so much to come: an epic, mystical tale rendered in a voice that soared and thundered. And Dio proved equally adept on the album's gentler songs, the poetic Catch The Rainbow, and The Temple Of The King, perhaps the most beautiful and elegiac song he ever recorded. What followed was one of rock's all-time classic albums, establishing this new band – now simply named Rainbow – as a major force, and confirming Dio as a singer of unrivalled power. Released in June 1976, Rainbow Rising is the model of what aficionados like to call 'castle rock': heroic, fantasy-themed, progressive heavy metal built to a monolithic scale, and most potently illustrated by Stargazer, the album's vast quasi-symphonic centrepiece. Classic Rock's Geoff Barton, then writing for Sounds, summed up Rising perfectly, describing it as 'thermonuclear rock'n'roll'. How to top that? Ronnie almost did on Rainbow's third studio album Long Live Rock'N'Roll with the track Gates Of Babylon, another Stargazer-sized set-piece. But that record, best known for its anthemic title track, was to be Dio's swansong for Rainbow, Blackmore replacing him with dapper Englishman Graham Bonnet as he pursued a more radio-friendly direction. It was hard on Ronnie, being out of a job after just four years with Rainbow. But within a year he would be courted by another world-famous rock band – and this would present him with the greatest challenge of his career. When announced as the new singer in Black Sabbath – succeeding the much-loved Ozzy Osbourne – Dio faced hostility from the media and from hardcore Sabbath fans. To further complicate the issue, Dio was an American joining a quintessentially British band. But Dio's debut with Sabbath, 1980's Heaven And Hell, silenced his critics. In Sounds, Peter Makowski stated: 'Ronnie James Dio has injected a whole new energy into the group… Just sit back, turn it up and feel your brain implode. Simply put, Dio made Black Sabbath great again. His gift for melody, and his poetic sensibility, brought a lyrical quality to Sabbath's music and inspired Tony Iommi in particular, whose lead guitar work on the album's phenomenal title track is the best he has ever played. And crucially, Dio could also handle the really heavy stuff, as he proved emphatically on Neon Knights, arguably the heaviest of all Sabs songs. Nobody has ever sung a heavy metal song better than Ronnie did with Neon Knights. He would make another great album with Sabbath, Mob Rules, released in 1981. But as so often happens, a combination of heavy touring and personality clashes led to a split in 1982 amid rumours that the rival parties had been tampering with the mix of the live-in-concert album Live Evil. Many years later, Ronnie would dismiss these stories as 'bullshit', but on the cover of Live Evil there was a small detail that spoke volumes of the animosity between Sabbath and Dio: the singer was billed not as Ronnie James Dio but as plain Ronnie Dio. It was a cheap shot to which Ronnie reacted by forming a new band under his own name, a band whose first album would blow Sabbath out of the water. Holy Diver, released in June 1983, is one of the great heavy metal debuts. The band Ronnie put together featured two familiar faces – former Rainbow colleague Jimmy Bain on bass, and fellow Sabbath fugitive Vinny Appice on drums – plus a relatively unknown and inexperienced guitarist in 19-year-old Vivian Campbell, previously of Irish band Sweet Savage. But they made a tight unit: Bain and Appice rock solid, Campbell flashy and fiery. With Ronnie now undisputed group leader for the first time since Elf, Holy Diver was the album on which his singular artistic vision was finally realised. It's a record packed with classic songs, not just Dio classics but genre-defining heavy metal classics: Stand Up And Shout, Holy Diver, Rainbow In The Dark, Don't Talk To Strangers. By comparison, Sabbath's Born Again, featuring Dio's surprise replacement Ian Gillan, was widely regarded as a joke, even before Spinal Tap lampooned the Sabs' Stonehenge stage set. Throughout the 80s, Dio - the man and the band - maintained a large and loyal following. Band members came and went, beginning with Vivian Campbell, who went on to Whitesnake and then Def Leppard. In '86 Ronnie organised Hear 'N Aid, heavy metal's answer to Band Aid, a charity project for African famine relief that produced a hit single, Stars, written by Ronnie and sung by a hairy ensemble cast featuring members of Motley Crue, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. And if no subsequent Dio album ever matched Holy Diver, Ronnie continued to deliver great songs (We Rock, The Last In Line, Sacred Heart, Rock'N'Roll Children) and spectacular live shows. (Nobody who saw Ronnie battling Dean The Dragon on stage could ever forget the experience!) Then, in the early 90s, came an astonishing volte-face. Ronnie rejoined Black Sabbath. It didn't last. They made a half-decent album, Dehumanizer, but when Sabbath were invited to support Ozzy on what was billed as the Double-O's farewell tour, Ronnie pulled out and Rob Halford of Judas Priest acted as stand-in. Ronnie re-launched Dio in 1994, and in the next 10 years the band recorded five albums with varying line-ups. But for Ronnie, Black Sabbath was unfinished business, and in 2007 he reunited with Iommi, Appice and bassist Geezer Butler as Heaven And Hell. This would prove to be Ronnie James Dio's last hurrah. Initially, Ronnie had intended to reform Dio after Heaven And Hell's world tour, but such was the success of that tour, and so strong was the vibe in the band after recording three new tracks for the Black Sabbath compilation The Dio Years, it was decided that Heaven And Hell would record a brand new album. That album, The Devil You Know, was released to widespread acclaim in 2009. It would be the last of Ronnie's recordings released in his lifetime. The death of Ronnie James Dio has had a profound effect both on those who knew him and those who simply loved his music. For this writer, there are many memories to cherish. Ronnie was the first rock star I interviewed as a professional journalist, back in 1985, when he was promoting Dio's Sacred Heart album. It was a huge thrill for me to meet him. Since 1980 – when I unwrapped a Christmas present from my brother, a cassette of Heaven And Hell – I have been a Ronnie James Dio fan. I first saw Ronnie on stage with Dio at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1984, on The Last In Line tour. And across the years I've seen Ronnie play so many great shows: at Birmingham NEC with that bloody dragon, at London's Astoria performing the whole of Holy Diver, and the last time, at Brighton Centre with Heaven And Hell. My last interview with Ronnie was just a couple of years ago, when he was in London with Heaven And Hell. What I remember most of all was the warmth of the rapport between him and Tony, Geezer and Vinny. I asked Ronnie about a phrase he used many times in his lyrics, a phrase that had become akin to a trademark: 'Look out!' He'd used it in Holy Diver, in Rainbow In The Dark, and a record-breaking five times in Sabbath's Children Of The Sea. He smiled. 'It's funny. Whenever I play in Phoenix, this one guy is always there, and every time I'm going to sing it he holds up sign that says 'Look Out!' I take it as a compliment!' He was right: it is a compliment. When I had a leaving party after 10 years working for Kerrang!, the invitations featured a photo of Ronnie with a stuffed eagle and the headline: Look Out! It was a tribute to the man who, for me, best epitomises the spirit of heavy metal. In a 2009 issue of Classic Rock, I stated: 'Of all the legendary heavy metal singers, Ronnie James Dio is the greatest.' And there are many, all over the world, who share that opinion. I recall a drunken night with friends in Brighton when the conversation inevitably turned to heavy metal, and, specifically, singers – at which point one friend, Andy Hunns, threatened to walk out of the pub unless we all agreed that Ronnie James Dio is the No.1 metal singer of all time. We agreed, Andy stayed. Rob Halford was voted No.2. Ronnie James Dio sang so many great songs: Man On The Silver Mountain, Sixteenth Century Greensleeves, The Temple Of The King, Stargazer, Tarot Woman, Starstruck, Kill The King, Long Live Rock'N'Roll, Neon Knights, Children Of The Sea, Heaven And Hell, Die Young, Stand Up And Shout, Holy Diver, Rainbow In The Dark, The Last In Line, We Rock. But if there is one song, above all others, with a lyric that best captures the essence of Ronnie James Dio, it is Sacred Heart: 'Whenever we dream, that's when we fly.' He dared to dream, and he flew high. Rest in peace, Ronnie.
