Rainbow in the Dark: The Autobiography by Ronnie James DioMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Any metal fan worth his salt already knows the outline of the Ronnie James Dio story: making some of the most classic albums in hard rock/metal, first with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, then with the even more legendary Black Sabbath before forming his own band, Dio.
But there's much more to the story, especially in the beginning. Most people know that Ronnie was in ELF prior to Rainbow, but the story goes back even farther than that to the very birth of rock and roll itself. In fact Ronnie's recording career predates even The Beatles as he already had a number of singles recorded in the very early 60s with various bands before forming The Electric Elves (then The Elves and finally just ELF).
Ronnie (along with wife Wendy Dio and journalist Mick Wall) does a fantastic job of telling his story. In person he was always eloquent and well-spoken and in written form even more so, you feel as if Ronnie is having a casual conversation with you over a cup of wine as he relates how he met first Roger Glover of Deep Purple and then Ritchie Blackmore who would really turn his life around.
He goes in depth into the erratic relationship with both Blackmore and then Tony Iommi of Sabbath as well as his own personal musical, financial and personal ups and downs.
The only drawback here is that the book ends too soon, with the last chapter covering up to the live album Intermission. Of course there were more Dio albums after that as well as his reunion with Sabbath but that's not covered here, possibly because Ronnie didn't get around to writing those parts. But as it is this is still probably the best rock bio I've ever read - highly recommended.
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