"Rainbow in the Dark" was the second single released by heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band Dio

Dio (band)

Dio was an American heavy metal band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice. Naming the band Dio made sense from a commercial...

, taken from their 1983 album, Holy Diver

Holy Diver

Holy Diver is the debut album from American heavy metal band Dio.-History:Released on May 25, 1983, the album has been hailed by critics as Dio's best work and a classic staple in the heavy metal genre. The album was eventually certified Gold in the US on September 12, 1984 and Platinum on March...

. It was numbered 13 on VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

's "Top 40 Greatest Metal Songs."
Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio

Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...

 said in a 2005 interview that he was originally displeased with the song, considering it to sound too "pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

". He said that after the recording was finished he almost destroyed the tape. However, the other members of the band talked him out of it. Despite Ronnie's initial thoughts about the song, he still thanked the band for talking him out of it; it has gone on to become one of his signature song

Signature song

A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...

s and still remains a fan favorite.

In a VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 documentary, Dio also stated that the lyrics reflected his feelings after leaving Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

, as he felt alone and rejected, hence a "Rainbow in the Dark". It should also be noted that the title may refer to Dio's other band, Rainbow

Rainbow (band)

Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...

.

In popular culture

• In Dungeons and Dragons Online, the quest, Rainbow In The Dark, is notorious for having an ambiance akin to the lyrics.
• It is featured in Rock Band 3
  Rock Band 3
  Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
  
  .
• It is featured in Bad Teacher
  Bad Teacher
  Bad Teacher is a 2011 comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan based on a screenplay by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, and Jason Segel...
  
  .
• It is featured in Ricky Six
  Ricky 6
  Ricky 6 is a 2000 film loosely based on the life of Ricky Kasso, a suburban teenager accused of Satanism and murder in the 1980s. The film was written and directed by Peter Filardi. Vincent Kartheiser played the disturbed protagonist, renamed Ricky Cowen, in the film.The movie also stars Chad...
  
  .
• The band Goldfinger
  Goldfinger (band)
  Goldfinger is a Los Angeles pop punk/ska punk band that formed in 1994. Currently, the band is composed of vocalist/guitarist John Feldmann, guitarist Charlie Paulson, bassist Kelly LeMieux, and drummer Darrin Pfeiffer...
  
   briefly plays the song in a cover of the Duran Duran
  Duran Duran
  Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
  
   song Rio
  Rio (song)
  "Rio" is the seventh single by Duran Duran, released on 1 November 1982.The song was the fourth, final, and title single lifted from the band's album of the same name, and was edited for its release...
  
  . The last chorus pays tribute to Dio.
• It is used as the namesake of an independently-published graphic novel, written and illustrated by Comfort Love and Adam Withers.