Rudy Sarzo

Rudy Sarzo is the bassist of Dio's final line-up, a member between 2004 and 2010, and one of the musicians with the longest résumé in American hard rock. Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1950, he emigrated to the United States as a child. His path crosses much of the genre's history. He was Quiet Riot's bassist during its most successful phase, was part of Ozzy Osbourne's band during the Randy Rhoads era — he is on the live Speak of the Devil (1982) — played in Whitesnake at the group's commercial peak in the late 1980s, and later passed through Blue Öyster Cult. It is the path of a player called precisely because he delivers what the music asks for, without imposing a signature of his own. In Dio his function was support within a repertoire already established for two decades, and he stayed until Ronnie James Dio's death in 2010. Beyond the instrument he has published work as an author and photographer, an activity through which he documented much of the bands he passed through.