An American heavy metal singer by the name of Ronnie James Dio, Ronald James Padavona, was born on July 10, 1942. Throughout his career, he fronted and created various bands, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven & Hell.
Patrick and Anna Padavona, both Italian Americans from Cortland, New York, were the parents of Ronnie James “Dio” Padavona, who was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
As part of his father’s World War II military service, his family relocated from Cortland to Portsmouth, where they only lived for a brief while before moving back to Cortland. Growing up, Padavona listened to a lot of opera and took vocal cues from American tenor Mario Lanza.
At age 5, he had his first official musical instruction, learning to play the trumpet. Padavona took part in the band program at his high school and was one of the youngest students chosen to play in the group that performed at school dances.
In addition, Padavona started his first rock ‘n’ roll band in high school, The Vegas Kings, which eventually changed its name to Ronnie and the Rumblers and finally to Ronnie and the Red Caps.
Despite having started his rock ‘n’ roll career on trumpet, Padavona later added singing to his repertoire and took on the bass guitar duties for the bands.
Was Ronnie James Dio in Deep Purple?
Yes, Ronnie was in Deep Purple and he was the lead singer. The band was founded by Ritchie Blackmore, a guitarist.
