Chicago Tribune is reporting that metal icon Ronnie James Dio has died.
Dio is best known for fronting Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osborne’s departure in 1979. He fronted the band until 1983. After leaving Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio started his own band entitled Dio. Dio scored several hit singles with tracks like “Holy Diver”, “Rainbow in the Dark”, “Mystery”, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children”, “Hungry for Heaven”, and “I Could Have Been a Dreamer”. Dio was most recently in the news for Heaven and Hell, a reunion of Dio’s Black Sabbath line-up. The group toured playing Dio-era Sabbath songs and went on to record new original material in the form of 2009’s The Devil You Know.
Dio revealed last year that he was battling stomach cancer. Dio lost that battle this morning according to sources. He was 67 years old. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
MP3: Dio “Rainbow in the Dark (Live At Spokane’s Coliseum 1984)”