A heavy Metal legend, Ronnie James Dio, left this world on Sunday May 16th 2010, according to a statement from his wife and manager. He was 67.
Dio revealed last summer that he was suffering from stomach cancer.
Dio rose to fame in 1975 as the first lead singer of Rainbow, the heavy metal band put together by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who had just quit Deep Purple.
Dio then replaced legendary vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath in 1980.
He also enjoyed a successful solo career with his self-titled band, Dio, in between his three stints with Black Sabbath (1980-82; 1992; and 2007-2009, when the band toured as Heaven And Hell, to differentiate it from Osbourne-led versions of Sabbath).
___
Illustration by GeeksofDoom