Dio's Iconic 'Holy Diver' Could Easily Have Been On A Black Sabbath Album

It's plain to see that Ronnie James Dio's influence on Black Sabbath's sound went far beyond his fantastical lyrical themes.

There are a lot of similarities between Dio's early solo albums and his legendary two-album run with Sabbath in the early-'80s.

In fact, Ronnie's widow, Wendy Dio, said in a new interview with Full Metal Jackie that her late-husband's biggest solo hit, "Holy Diver," could easily have been a Black Sabbath song.

"He had written 'Holy Diver' and 'Don't Talk to Strangers' during the time he was in Black Sabbath, so they were supposed to be Sabbath songs," Wendy explained. "We he left Sabbath, we had a solo [record] deal for him, and he just [took] those songs and got the band together, wrote more songs and it came out. Everyone was blown away about the reception that we got and how great the album was and how it's stood the test of time. It'll be 40 years next year."

"Holy Diver" might have been on a third Dio Sabbath album, but Ronnie became dissatisfied with life in the band and departed in 1982, taking drummer Vinny Appice with him.

His Holy Diver solo debut album was eventually certified two-times Platinum in the U.S. But Wendy added that chart success or failure never changed much about Ronnie's music; he wanted to make what he wanted to hear.

"Ronnie always did what he wanted to do," Wendy said. "He never listened to what the record label wanted or anyone else. He always stuck to his guns in making the album. He hoped it would be successful — none of us realized how successful it was going to be."

Ronnie, who passed away from stomach cancer in 2010, would have turned 80 years old on July 10, 2022. His Rainbow in the Dark autobiography finally arrived last year after being finished by Wendy and rock journalist Mick Wall.