Ronnie James Dio was born Ronald James Padavona, an only child to a family of Italian heritage. The family moved to Cortland, New York early in his life. His parents raised him in the Roman Catholic church, an experience he ultimately found unsatisfactory.He initially played the trumpet and even recorded several singles with various rockabilly bands when he was a kid. When he was in high school, he joined a band called The Vegas Kings, in which he played the bass guitar. He eventually became the lead singer of this band, which changed its name to Ronnie & The Rumblers and finally to Ronnie And The Red Caps. Their first 7-inch single was released in 1958.Ronnie took up the name "Dio" after mafia member Johnny Dio, and first used it professionally in the early 1960s, playing in a band called Ronnie Dio and the Prophets. This was essentially the same band as Ronnie And The Red Caps, but with a different name. Dio is the Italian word for God.Many of the details of Dio's early life are not known for certain. Some say he earned a degree in pharmacology and was offered but declined a position at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music, but this has not been verified by independent sources.
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