Hear It First! Motörhead and Saxon's Biff Byford Team Up to Honor Ronnie James Dio

Few rock icons are as loved by both fans and peers as much as the late Ronnie James Dio, who passed away as a result of stomach cancer in 2010. In celebration of his large-and-loud life, an all-star group of his friends and fans recorded 13 of his tracks from various points in his career for a tribute album earmarked to raise funds for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.

Produced by his longtime manager and wife Wendy Dio, the album, "This Is Your Life," includes contributions by such metal heavyweights as Metallica, Motörhead, Scorpions, Anthrax, and Rob Halford, as well as appearances by many of the musicians who performed with Dio over the years.

[Related: Metallica, Tenacious D, Rob Halford Pay Respects to Ronnie James Dio on Tribute Album]

We at Yahoo Music are thriled to offer the first listen to one of these tunes, a smokin' rendition of Rainbow's "Starstruck" covered by Motörhead with Biff Byford from Saxon that pays tribute to Dio's famous tenure with that band.

Motörhead frontman Lemmy himself had this to say about Dio: "Ronnie was a proper rock'n'roller, a true knight of the highest order, a great singer and frontman who walked the walk. He was the real deal and he will always be missed."

Meanwhile, Byford had this to say: "The 'Lady Starstruck' harks back to a time of groupies and rock 'n' roll excess of the '70s and '80s. This song has great riffs, and great vocals to go along with it, so it was really cool to sing the song and be a part of the compilation."

"This Is Your Life" will be released April 1. If you'd like to join Wendy Dio, Rob Halford, Corey Taylor and others in celebrating the release and the life of Ronnie James Dio, a This Is Your Life pre-release listening party will be held Monday, March 17 at The Avalon in Hollywood, CA. You can purchase tickets here.