Rainbow in the Dark

The Autobiography

By: Ronnie James Dio, Mick Wall - contributor, Wendy Dio - contributor

Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

Prior to his tragic death in 2010, Ronnie James Dio had been writing his autobiography, looking back on the remarkable life that led him from his hometown in Upstate New York to the biggest stages in the world, including the arena that represented the pinnacle of success to him - Madison Square Garden, where this book begins and ends.

As Ronnie contemplates the achievement of a dream, he reflects on the key aspects that coalesced into this moment - the close gang of friends that gave him his start in music, playing parties, bars, frats, and clubs; the sudden transition that moved him to the microphone and changed his life forever; the luck that led to the birth of Rainbow and a productive but difficult collaboration with Ritchie Blackmore; the chance meeting that made him the second singer of Black Sabbath, taking them to new levels of success; the surprisingly tender story behind the birth of the Devil Horns, the lasting symbol of heavy metal; his marriage to Wendy, which stabilized his life, and the huge bet they placed together to launch the most successful endeavor of his career...his own band, Dio.

Everything is described in great detail and in the frankest terms, from his fallout with Blackmore, to the drugs that derailed the resurrection of Black Sabbath, to the personality clashes that frayed each band.

©2021 Niji Entertainment Group Inc. (P)2021 Tantor

Great first half of a an incredible story!

This is a great audio book of Ronnie James Dion’s life. It goes up through 1986- 1987 era of his life. Beginning from a young man giving up baseball to pursue music which his dad believed would make him a better person in life.

Near raider needs to learn how to pronounce the names

As a fan who knows how all of these various rockers names are pronounce it was very jarring to hear the narrator mangle the names. Otherwise this is an absolute must read for any DIO fan or any heavy metal fan in general…

Fantastic Story of the Beginning of Dio

It's a great story which fills in many gaps from the beginning of his wonderful career. Several interesting facts you could have never guessed that happened prior to his fame. Definitely worth the listen. Although not a complete autobiography, time line appears to end around 1986, it still gives you an insight into all the hard work it took to make "Dio" into one of the very best.

Well Done

What gets me is his incredible work ethic. He did more than most in a decade. He rode the momentum of hard rock when it was the most popular. If he was born today he would be a world known rapper. Because it was his non stop working that made him. Not Richie nor Tony. God bless RIP!

Stand up and shout!!!!

Up front, I’m a huge fan of RJD. The book is well written. Great stories. The narrator was perfect. Only negative, I WISH IT WAS A LONGER LISTEN! Seven hours only scratched the surface. I waited for years to get this and at some point I thought it would never get released. Spend a token on this one. You’ll love it!

Bravo!!

I loved this book. I need a hard copy! I’ve been a fan my entire life. I am so thankful for such a thoughtful autobiography!

The Voice, the legend, and the ride

I’m a big Dio fan and his band mates. Some of the stuff I knew the stories, and some stuff I learned. I really enjoyed the early years and the path to stardom. This story basically goes up to the prime of the Dio albums. The audio version is performed well. Good read.

Very enjoyable listening

This was a very interesting book I knew most of Ronnie’s career but not the beginning of his career stemming from a child into his 30s . This is very detailed and enjoyable.