Ronnie James Dio's wife reveals "Holy Diver" was written for Black Sabbath

Around the occasion of what would have been Ronnie James' Dio's 80th birthday, Wendy Dio made a notable reveal.

When Ronnie James Dio exited Black Sabbath in 1982 and started the band that bore his name with a debut album in 1983, there was bound to be some overlap of song ideas.

July 10 would have Dio’s 80th birthday, and a super deluxe edition of that Dio debut album, Holy Diver, was released around the event.

In a recent interview on Full Metal Jackie, Dio’s widow Wendy Dio made a notable reveal (h/t to Ultimate Classic Rock).

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,” “When he left Sabbath, we had a solo 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.”

In particular, “Holy Diver” has become so ingrained in its original form that it’s hard to imagine it any other way. “Don’t Talk To Strangers” is an underappreciated excellent Dio song. They could have been first Dio-era Black Sabbath songs….but it wasn’t meant to be.