What The Final 12 Months Of Ronnie James Dio's Life Were Like

May 2024 · 2 minute read

Less than a month after his appearance at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards, Dio issued a statement on May 4, 2010, commenting on the cancellation of Heaven and Hell's summer tour. As quoted by Sleaze Roxx, the frontman wrote that he was very disappointed by the "devastating" setback but still hopeful that he and his musical projects "will carry on and thrive" with the support of his fan base. "There will be other tours, more music, more life and much more magic," he added.

Ten days after sharing that statement, Dio was hospitalized after he told his wife that he wasn't feeling well. He went into a coma soon after, and on May 16, 2010, Ronnie James Dio was dead at 67.

In a March 2021 interview with U.K. digital radio station Planet Rock (via Blabbermouth), Wendy Dio recalled that she and her husband's other loved ones were optimistic that he would eventually "[kill] the dragon" and successfully recover from his stomach cancer. This was especially true during the Revolver ceremony, where he was seemingly "doing fine." However, it was during his final hospitalization — when Ronnie was supposedly in "extreme pain" and "agony" — that she realized he wasn't going to make it.

Dio may no longer be with us, but his long-delayed memoir, Rainbow in the Dark: An Autobiography, will be posthumously released on July 27, 2021. Per Billboard, fans can also look forward to an upcoming documentary from BMG covering the late vocalist's life and career, though details on that project's release date still remain unclear.

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