There probably aren’t many conversations that guitar whiz Craig Goldy has where the legendary name of Ronnie James Dio does not arise.
A true blue metal music deity, Dio’s expansive and breathtakingly prolific career as a vocalist and songwriter rank him amongst the most successful, influential and important artists to have ever graced a rock and roll stage. From his pioneering work in Ritchie Blackmore’s initial versions of Rainbow, through his epoch shattering times working with Black Sabbath (and the 21st Century spin-off Heaven and Hell), through his 10 solo albums, there is no question of Dio’s magnificence.
Through his days fronting his own band, he was also known for the way he offered opportunities for rising young musical stars – usually axe-slingers – to strut their stuff on a massive international platform. When his first guitar player Vivian Campbell departed to join Whitesnake (he is now a long-standing member of Def Leppard) relative unknown Craig Goldy was drafted to take his place.
The lessons he learned while performing and writing alongside Ronnie James Dio continue to inform Goldy as a musician, a songwriter and as a human being. So it is no surprise that there is more than a sprinkle of Dio mojo in Goldy’s latest musical project, Resurrection Kings. The band’s self-titled debut album will be released Jan. 29 through Frontiers Music, and is yet another conglomeration of renowned hard rock talent but together by the Italian label.
Already working on songs with vocalist Chas West (Jason Bonham Band, Lynch Mob) a few years back, Goldy responded to an inquiry from Frontiers seeking to work with him on a musical project. The creation of Resurrection Kings, which also features former Dokken and Great White bassist Sean McNabb and legendary former Dio/Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell drummer Vinny Appice, was actually a fairly convoluted task.
“Chas and I were doing a thing called the Hollywood All Stars, which was a band made up of famous guys who would go and do shows together. Once in a while Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot) would be in it, Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Dio, Foreigner), and on drums it would sometimes be Vinny or Alan Krigger the drummer from Giuffria and sometimes Dio’s Jimmy Bain. But Chas was always the singer. They asked me to do some concerts and sent me a DVD of them playing all these great rock and metal covers. And I was amazed by Chas’ voice, how he was hitting all those high notes that the original guys couldn’t even hit any more. So we did a bunch of shows and it sounded amazing, so I suggested we do some writing together and we came up with the song Livin’ Out Loud, which made it all the way to the Resurrection Kings album,” Goldy explained from his home in San Diego, California.
“We were also talking to Sean, but then touring and other commitments and opportunities came up so we put a halt to it. But not long after I get an email from the president of Frontiers asking if I would like to do an album working with guys who had made a name for themselves in the 1980s, with a Whitesnake/Dio-ish vibe. And I said absolutely.”
But Goldy explained the road to completing the album was kind of rocky. Initially they had another bass player in mind who would also do lead vocals. When that arrangement fell apart Goldy put forward the demo for Livin’ Out Loud with West singing. That sealed the deal and he too was in. They then brought McNabb back into the fold and when the original drummer had to drop out, Goldy decided to keep it in the Dio family and sought out Appice, with whom he was already working in the studio on another project.
“By the naked eye, it looked like the project was always in danger of falling apart, seam by seam, thread by thread. But the project was actually being rebuilt with a much stronger lineup, which made the songs stronger. It ended up being a good collaboration between the record company and the band members and producer. Alessandro Del Vecchio is an amazing songwriter, excellent producer and a wonderful singer too.”
The songs on the Resurrection Kings album sound, as billed in the promo material, in the vein of Dio with a healthy dash of late 1980s Whitesnake bluesy bombast. Goldy said that even on the songs that were primarily penned by the album’s producer Del Vecchio (Frontier’s in-house producer and songwriter), the Dio ‘sound’ and style still come shining through.
“I think you really hear that on Livin’ Out Loud and Fallin’ For You and Silent Wonder. I had worked so long with Ronnie and been friends with him for so many years and I learned so much from him by working side by side with him that I decided if I was ever going to do original material again I would try to implement what he had taught me in such a way that hopefully would have made him proud,” he said.
“And there were portions on this record where we actually had the chance to implement his approach to songwriting and recording. And I was also very fortunate to have Vinny along, because he worked with Ronnie so much in Dio, Black Sabbath and Heaven and Hell. And all the other guys in the band had known Ronnie’s legacy and had such respect and love for him and his music, so we were all on the same page.”
Goldy played with Dio on three separate occasions, including being part of his final solo band. He played on and co-wrote the albums Dream Evil (1987), Magica (2000) and Dio’s final solo album, Master of the Moon, released in 2004. “He was definitely a mentor, but we were also friends. I realize that I am not every Dio fan’s favourite guitar player, but I was in learning mode the whole time I was with him and I didn’t even realize what he was doing. A lot of times when we would write and work together I didn’t realize how much he was pouring into me. I was like a sponge and I wanted to learn everything I could possibly learn,” he explained.
“Ronnie and his wife Wendy really brought me under their wing. It wasn’t really until now that I could piece all the pieces of the puzzle together. It’s just now that I am able to create my best playing, my best recording techniques and my best songwriting.”
He is effusive in his praise of Ronnie James Dio, who Goldy said treated his band and the crew around it as a family. His voice still chokes up when he talks about the importance of Dio in his life.
“He and I were friends and sometimes it would be just me and him hanging out, watching old Rainbow videos and talking. And if it would get too late, he would make a bed for me and get sheets and pillowcases and blankets – almost like he was tucking me in,” Goldy said with a laugh.
“He just went out of his way for me and for all his friends. We also collaborated well together. I was so influenced by his era of Rainbow, that when he and I wrote together it was almost like a Ritchie Blackmore/Dio kind of collaboration right from the beginning, because that music was already a part of me.”
Goldy cited Dio’s steadfast refusal to compromise his creativity or integrity, as well as his prodigious work ethic as being inspiring to all the musicians he worked with, including himself.
“His work ethic was outstanding. I mean than man could plow through anything. I remember one time asking if we could work 12 days on and two days off because he would just work 24/7. I would move into his house so he could have 24-hour access to me so we would write and record demos for the whole entire album before we’d go into the studio and record it for real. That man was an absolute powerhouse, but also just a good man,” he said.
“And his music has a strength and integrity to it because that’s who he was to his core. And it was amazing how he laboured over his lyrics. I was a songwriter for Warner Brothers for about six years and the main law in songwriting is melody first, lyrics second. A song is a conversation or a story you’re telling within a musical environment. But if you have to do the melody first it actually limits the amount of syllables you can use to tell your story. In order to punch someone’s heart so deeply that they just have to have that song is hard to do; but Ronnie was a master of it. And I got a chance to see that and I know some of that has come out on this Resurrection Kings album.”
Dio’s passing in March of 2010 was brought to the top of the conversation with www.musiclifemagazine.net when we spoke about the recent sudden, shocking loss of three other iconic music figures – Lemmy Kilmister, Scott Weiland and David Bowie.
While admitting he didn’t really know Weiland or Bowie, he acknowledged the huge loss they both are to the music world and was saddened by their deaths. But Lemmy’s extraordinarily rapid exit from the world is still a raw wound.
“I knew Earl Slick, who played with David Bowie and I heard some really great stories about David. Scott I didn’t know personally but I loved his voice. But Lemmy was very close to the Dio family because he and Ronnie were very close. When I rejoined the band prior to the Magica album we toured with Motorhead and then toured with them a few more times. I learned how special those guys were and how special Lemmy was personally,” Goldy said.
“When we toured with Lemmy you could just see it in his eyes, even though he was a rock star, he was a good guy. Ronnie was the other way around – Ronnie was a good guy who was perceived as a rock star. Lemmy was a true rock star, but also was a nice guy. And I always felt like a nerd around those guys. I am not a rock star; I am just a musician and a fan who happened to make it into my favourite singer’s band. When Lemmy would talk sometimes I couldn’t understand him because of his thick accent but Ronnie would know exactly what he was saying. It was almost like they had a completely different language that only they understood. It feels like we’re coming to an end of an era of the greats.”
Goldy is ecstatic with the songs and dynamism of Resurrection Kings and is hoping that there will be a tour and another album down the road.
“Right now we are in the midst of negotiations with managers and agents because we were all so impressed with how the album came out that we would like to try to go on tour and support this and do another record,” he said.
“And because of our different backgrounds, it would be a cool live show for sure with what we could throw into the mix with all the bands we’ve worked with. It would be the best of both worlds – all the songs from Resurrection Kings plus all the songs from our back catalogue.”
He also said he is in the process of putting together another band writing material for another strictly solo project. In the past he released solo albums in 1991 (Hidden in Plain Sight), 1993 (Insufficient Therapy and 1995s Better Late Than Never. He also played on Giuffria’s 1984 debut album, and the Rough Cutt album Try A Little Harder, released in 1983 when Goldy was just 22. For the past number of years, as a way of keeping Dio’s music alive, he has also been part of the Dio Disciples band, which has seen a rotating cast of superstar players, including Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, Rudy Sarzo, Simon Wright and others.
“At every Dio Disciples concert there is a moment when the audience and band really connect. I am getting chills just talking about it. There are people in the audience looking up to the sky and singing at the top of their lungs with tears in their eyes, singing to Ronnie in heaven saying they miss him. It’s just beautiful, and that’s what the project was for,” Goldy explained.
He also wrote and recorded two heartbreaking, but emboldening tribute songs to Dio in 2014. Dark Rainbow and Hole in My Heart featured former Quiet Riot singer Mark Huff.
“I had to write those songs. Listen, I grew up in an abusive family and was living on the streets as a teenager. And then five years later I am headlining Madison Square Garden with my favourite singer doing music that we wrote together. I owe him and the entire Dio family everything.”
For more information on Resurrection Kings visit www.frontiers.it or the Resurrection Kings’ Facebook page. For more information on Goldy, visit his Facebook page or www.craiggoldy.com.
* Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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