Wendy Dio, Interview – Talking ‘Dio: Dreamers Never Die’
Ronnie James Dio – Story by Anne Erickson, photo courtesy of Gene Kirkland
Wendy Dio and “Dio: Dreamers Never Die” co-directors Don Argott and Demian Fenton join Anne Erickson to discuss the metal singer’s legacy
Wendy Dio is on a mission to keep the legacy of her late husband, Ronnie James Dio, alive. The metal vocalist passed away in 2010, and Wendy has spent the past decades creating content that honors his musical legacy.
Wendy’s latest project is a new documentary on the life and times of Ronnie, “Dio: Dreamers Never Die.” The show will be screened in more than 500 cinemas worldwide by Trafalgar Releasing and BMG for two days only on Sept. 28 and Oct. 2.
Wendy and the film’s co-directors, Don Argott and Demian Fenton of the Philadelphia-based production company 9.14 Pictures, caught up with Audio Ink Radio for an extensive interview.
Many famous faces appear in the documentary, all of whom were good friends of Ronnie, from Rob Halford to Jack Black to Tony Iommi. When asked who Ronnie James Dio’s best friend was, Wendy responds, “Geezer Butler. Probably Geezer Butler,” before naming a slew of other friends, as well, such as Halford and Glenn Hughes.
“Ronnie had a lot of very close friends,” she says. “He didn’t go out a lot when he was home, but we have a bar in our house that we actually bought from a pub from England, and he liked to have his friends over. Glenn Hughes would come over and hang out in Ronnie’s bar, and that’s what he did. All these people. Lita Ford is a really good friend of mine. All these people are really good friends of ours.”
“I just think that Ronnie was always overlooked during the time that he was alive,” Wendy says. “After his passing, I felt that his music was something that he wrote for the fans, he performed for the fans. He loved his fans and that should continue on and carry on. That’s one of the reasons we did the documentary- so people could understand him and understand his life and where he came from and the trials and tribulations that he had. It wasn’t an overnight success. He paid his dues, for sure. And also to get the message out. Ronnie’s message was always- follow your heart. Follow your dreams. Don’t give up.
For Wendy, the most emotional part of the process of making the film was the first time she saw it completed. “When they put the film together and we had a private screening for me, it was my first chance to see all the little bits put together, and it was very bittersweet,” she says. “I broke down and cried, and it was just exactly how I wanted Ronnie to be portrayed. They had done such a magnificent job job. After all the hard work that we all put into it, it was like, I think fans are absolutely going to love it.”
Listen to the full interview with Wendy Dio via the Audio Ink Radio podcast on Apple Podcasts here and Spotify here.
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