Sad news for Rock fans, singer Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, his own band Dio and latterly Heaven & Hell lost his 6 month battle with stomach cancer earlier today.
Not only was he a great vocalist, but he was the first frontman to introduce the world to the 'Devil's Horns' hand gesture.

This was the statement posted by his wife (and manager) earlier

"Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever."
- Wendy Dio


RIP Ronnie.

 

:O

Dio!!!!!!
That's too bad!

 

R.I.P. Ronnie!

 

Wow! Another amazing musician gone. I guess we all have our time. I'm sure he lived an amazing life.

 

Wow, I got tears in my eyes
RIP Dio, a legend always.

 

An amazing musician. RIP

 

Damn!

Some of the funnest times of my life were spent rocking on some Dio. (sigh)
What a bummer.

 

And another one bites the dust! RIP Dio!

 

R.I.P.
View attachment
R.J.D.

ELF
​

 

R.I.P. Dio

Another legend Dies.....May he and his family both find their own respective peace.

As a tribute.....This was the part of the Tenacious D movie Dio was in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvvjiE4AdUI&feature=related

 

Fucking Sucks....

Saw Dio in Sheveport in 1984 on the "Holy Diver Tour". One of the most kick ass concerts I ever saw.

 

Dio has gone silently into the night. At least his friends and family got a chance to say their final farewells.

 

There's been a couple of other threads started about this, so I'm going to try to draw them all together, here's what some of the other guys have said:

There have also been tributes from a lot of other musicians;

Brian May of Queen:

It's a shock to hear that Ronnie has gone. Even though we had all known he was battling with cancer for some time, he was such a wiry fighter, and of such an amazingly optimistic nature, I think I assumed he would go on forever.

Well, he fought to the very end ... was gearing up to go back out on tour ... I know this will be a very hard blow for my friend Tony Iommi. When I last saw Ronnie in Los Angeles, he was as full of life and positivity as anybody I've ever known ... and sang up a storm with Heaven and Hell in the Universal Amphitheatre. In my opinion, Ronnie was one of the creators of the genre of Heavy Metal. I'm not an expert on his work - there are many people much more knowledgeable than me ... but our paths crossed many times over the years, and I had clear glimpses of his unique spirit and personality. He was in many ways the antithesis of the current mould of TV-bred singers. He had no apparent desire for fame, in the sense that so many X-factor contestants seem to. He was not a TV face, a 'celebrity'. He just loved doing what he did. So, to his millions of fans, there was an unquestionable feeling of reality to his persona, his song-writing, and his performances. His lyric-writing was very distinctive, and set a style in Heavy Metal which has influenced many bands over the years. To me, it was as if his mind operated in layers - on the surface, a hard-working honest singer, with a great humanity and strong sense of humour - and underneath, in the world of his songs, his subconscious seemed to be populated by hobgoblins of all kinds, and palpable evil forever on the march. His lyrics, dark and mysterious, in tune with the Metal ethos, always represented the sword of goodness in triumph over evil. I don't know if he invented the Devil-Horn Salute, but he was certainly the man who, more than ever, made it a universal symbol, a world wide salute of Metal. He was universally loved in the community of Rock Music, and will be sorely missed.



Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell bandmate Tony Iommi:

"Yesterday 16th May my dear, dear friend Ronnie James Dio passed away at 7.45am LA time. I’ve been in total shock I just can’t believe he’s gone. Ronnie was one of the nicest people you could ever meet, we had some fantastic times together. Ronnie loved what he did, making music and performing on stage. He loved his fans so much. He was a kind man and would put himself out to help others. I can honestly say it’s truly been an honor to play at his side for all these years, his music will live on forever. Our thoughts are with Wendy Dio who stood by Ronnie until the end, he loved her very much. The man with the magic voice is a star amongst stars, a true professional. I’ll miss you so much my dear friend."


And even Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow/Deep Purple);

"Ronnie had a unique and wonderful voice. He will be sadly missed in the rock and roll world."

Our national classic rock radio station here in the UK is doing a tribute to him at 8 pm local (30 mins from now).
I've got my hankies ready

 

[YOUTUBE]H7KTRpmeTdM[/YOUTUBE]

The last 3 years have flown by.

\m/

 

The ultimate band in heaven/hell:
drums: John Bonham
bass guitar: Cliff Burton
Duoling lead guitars: Jimi Hendrix & Randy Rhoads
lead vocals: Ronnie James Dio

I almost can't wait to die so I can see that fucking band.

 

Band manager : God
Roadie : Jesus
Groupie : Mary Magdalene.