Possibly the greatest singer in metal history, Ronnie James Dio was born Ronald James Padavona in 1942. The immortal vocalist first put the "Dio" moniker, which means "God" in Italian, on the 1961 release of Ronnie Dio and  the Prophets' second album.

However, Ronnie was inspired to acquire the pseudonym from mobster Giovanni Ignazio Dioguardi, who went by the name of Johnny Dio. The singer used his legendary name in Rainbow, Elf, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell until his tragic death from stomach cancer in 2010.

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