On Sunday May 16 legendary heavy metal and hard rock singer Ronnie James Dio passed away after a short bout with stomach cancer. I always have a spot in my playlist for Dio, his vocals were incredible and he was the man who breathed new life into the greatest hard rock band ever, Black Sabbath when he replaced Ozzy Osbourne. Between Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio I have a lot of his records but the two that stand out the most are Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. These were his first two records with Sabbath and to me they stand up to any of the great Sabbath records with Ozzy. Another great thing about him was that any record with Dio singing was almost guaranteed to have at least one "evil woman of the night" songs that one could rock out to while perhaps feeling a little broken-hearted. Always a plus.
One last Dio sidenote, he is the man who first started doing the devil horns, the world-recognized symbol of metal started with this man. Enough said.
You can read about the man and his passing here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/arts/music/17dio.html?scp=1&sq=ronnie%20james%20dio&st=cse
Neon Knights is my favorite Dio-era Sabbath song. Enjoy.
Black Sabbath - Neon Knights
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