I admit that I was never a big, big fan of Dio. Most of his songs were too dark for my tastes. Even still, there were a few songs that I really, really liked. Whenever "Rainbow in the Dark" or "Last in Line" were to come on the radio, for example, I cranked it. The opening chords of "Rainbow", with the keyboard arpeggios just rocked so hard. I loved it.
I always had a hard time figuring out his lyrics, too. They always seemed to be just vague, rambling expressions of angst and "misplacement". Maybe that's why they resonated with their audience so well.
His sound did influence me a time or two, most notably in "Dance With the Devil". In a lot of ways, I was thinking about those sorts of "dark" rock musicians, and the darker parts of me when I wrote that one.
One thing that I've always admired of about Dio, is that he never gave up. He started small, he got pretty big in the 80's, and then his popularity faded as the 90's came. Still, he never went away. He kept reworking his act and presenting it back to the public. In spite of the fact that he never recaptured his former glory, he just kept on going. That kind of tenacity and persistence I admire.
So, today, I will crank out "Last in Line", and then "Dance with the Devil" in tribute.
Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.
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