''Elf'' is the first studio album by Ronnie James Dio's blues rock band called

Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

. Produced by Ian Paice and Roger Glover of Deep Purple, the record was released in 1972. On this album, Dio is credited by his birth name, Ronald Padavona. Though Dio had used "Padavona" for songwriting credits on earlier singles, Dio explained in an interview in 1994 that he used his birth name on this album as a tribute to his parents so that they could see their family name on an album at least once. After this album, Steve Edwards replaced David Feinstein on guitar, and Craig Gruber took over bass duties, leaving Dio solely as the lead singer. This future lineup, minus Edwards, became the first incarnation of

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow ''Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'' (sometimes stylised ''Ritchie Blackmore's R-A-I-N-B-O-W'') is the debut studio album by American/British rock band Rainbow, released in 1975. Recording During studio sessions in Tampa Bay, Florida on 12 December ...

when guitarist

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guita ...

formed it after leaving Deep Purple.

Track listing

Personnel

* Ronald Padavona (later Ronnie James Dio) –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* David Feinstein –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

s * Micky Lee Soule –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, organ * Gary Driscoll – drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elf (Album) Elf (band) albums 1972 debut albums Albums produced by Roger Glover