During an appearance on Planet Rock Live, Vivian Campbell (Dio, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Last in Line) looked back on the ’80s, his role in the original lineup of the Dio band and the Whitesnake stint that followed.
Focusing on one peculiar difference between Ronnie James Dio and David Coverdale, the guitarist said:
“I always wanted to sing a bit, you know? I never wanted to really be a singer, but I wanted to develop my voice.
“And I remember when I was in Dio, I asked Ronnie, ‘Can I sing some background vocals?’. He got very upset about that, stuck his finger in my face and waved it, ‘No! Ritchie Blackmore never sings, Tony Iommi never sings. Guitar players don’t sing. They play guitar!’
“And I’m thinking, ‘Wow…’ Rory Gallagher… I’m thinking of all these guitar players that influenced me, who sang… I mean, maybe not great singers, but they had personality and character.
“By contrast, David was really supportive. Like, we used to sing in the showers afterward. He was really into soul music… with separate showers. [Laughs]
“Because all these lockers, you’re playing these arenas in America, so we literally couldn’t see each other. He’s, like, in another shower, but we’d be singing harmony to like Sam Cooke songs and stuff like that.
“I was really into soul music – I still am – and those sort of singers were the singers that really kind of influenced me and David, I think, is more of a blues/soul singer than a metal/rock singer, you know, he’s got a real, rich timbre to his tone.”