Rainbow in the Dark

The long-awaited autobiography by one of heavy metal's most revered icons, treasured vocalists, and front man for three legendary bands, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and Dio. 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, 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 gang of friends that gave him his start in music, 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 meeting that made him the second singer of Black Sabbath, taking them to new levels of success, the surprising story behind the birth of the Devil Horns, his marriage to Wendy, and the huge bet they placed together to launch the most successful endeavor of his career, his own band, Dio. Everything is described in detail, from his fallout with Blackmore, to the drugs that derailed the resurrection of Black Sabbath, to the personality clashes that frayed each band. Written with friend and music writer, Mick Wall, “Rainbow in the Dark” is a frank, often hilarious, sometimes sad testament to dedication and ambition.