Former Heaven and Hell drummer Vinny Appice answered a question about Ronnie James Dio with a short video on Syncin’ Stanley YouTube. The musician claimed that Dio used backing tracks only once throughout his career and expressed his opinion about using musical enhancements at live performances.
Heaven and Hell’s former vocalist was an admired musician when he passed away in 2010. Behind this admiration, there was curiosity about whether he used anything to enhance his vocals during live performances, especially since the usage of backing tracks is a commonly discussed topic. Luckily, Vinny Appice satisfied fans’ curiosity.
The drummer explained that around 2007-2008, Ronnie James Dio’s cancer started and affected his musical capabilities, prompting him to use backing tracks for Black Sabbath’s ‘I.’ He added that he and the late vocalist hated using ‘that stuff,’ criticizing the musicians who did.
Appice recalled the time Dio turned to technological enhancements as follows:
“Hey, Stanley! Vinny Appice here from all most bands. Anyway, good point. The chorus of ‘I,’ we just needed some more background on it, so it was Ronnie on a keyboard. And that’s the only time we ever used it. Ronnie hate[d] that stuff. And to do anything more than that, he would have hated it. I don’t think it’s right, either. Especially if you’re singing the lyrics to a song, that’s pretty bad if you can’t sing it live. You might as well just play the tape and mime it. And that was the only time we ever used that — on ‘I.’ And you’ve gotta remember, too, that was 2007, 2009; he was starting to have cancer and stuff. So, he wasn’t Ronnie James Dio in the ’80s or ’90s.
Anyway, be good, kick a**, and be safe! Very straw for you to pick that out. Alright, you take care, Stanley. Bye-bye!”
According to Vinny Appice, Ronnie James Dio was not fond of using enhancements during live performances but had to use backing tracks once for ‘I,’ as he was influenced by the beginning of his sickness. Apart from that, neither Dio nor Appice approved those who didn’t sing live without intervention at their shows.
