Ronnie James Dio Dies At 67

Legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio lost his battle with cancer on Sunday morning, according to his wife and manager Wendy Dio, who posted the following message of Ronnie's official website:

"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."

It was only a month ago that Dio, 67, spoke about his battle with cancer on the "black carpet" of the Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which took place on April 8 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. When asked about how he had been feeling since he was diagnosed with the disease late last year, Dio said, "Well, I feel good and bad at times. It's a long process. Chemotherapy is a... I never realized what a difficult thing it was to go through. It's a real cumulative effect — the more you have, the more it piles up on top and it takes longer and longer to get over it. I find it very difficult to eat. I don't like to eat anyway, so I guess that's OK. But I know I have to.

"But this makes it very, very hard. But if you're determined to beat it, then you have to go with what you believe is going to beat it for you, and in this case it's that. I go to a great hospital in Houston called M.D. Anderson, which I think is the best hospital in the world, I have the best doctor in the world, Dr. Ajani, who I really trust and I really believe in, so I think I've done all the right things. It makes me feel positive about my life and positive that there is a lot more of it to live."

Earlier this month, Heaven & Hell canceled its summer tour plans in Europe due to Dio's treatment for stomach cancer. The band said in a statement that Dio wasn't "well enough to tour this summer. We hope that everyone understands and want to thank fans and industry colleagues for their continuing support at this time."

Dio's death brings an end to a prolific and accomplished hard rock career that spanned 53 years and established Dio as one of the leading voices of his genre. With a powerful vocal delivery that belied his 5-foot-2 build, he was considered "a king, one of the greatest voices of our time and a prototypical headbanger," according to Twisted Sister's Dee Snider.

Dio leaves behind a litany of hits - from "Man On The Silver Mountain" by Blackmore's Rainbow to "The Mob Rules" and "Heaven And Hell" with Black Sabbath and his own "Holy Diver" and "Rainbow In The Dark."

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian told Billboard.com on Sunday that, "Ronnie was the nicest man in metal. Every day on tour he'd have a kind word, a smile and a clap on the back. I feel honored and privileged to even have shaken hands with Ronnie let alone be able to say we were friends. The world truly is a lesser place today. Long live rock & roll."

Ultimate-Guitar.com columnist / interviewer Robert Gray wanted to share the following words on Ronnie James Dio's passing:

"I logged onto the internet on Sunday morning, and heard that rumours of Ronnie James Dio's passing had circulated and were false. I was quite relieved, and hoped the man would pull through. Unfortunately however, cancer has claimed yet another victim. I'd like to express my condolences to the friends / band members and family of Ronnie, who are in my thoughts right now - particularly Wendy, who has stuck with him through thick and thin. He might've been 67, but his vocals were still vastly superior to most if not all other vocalists, and he still had much more to offer the world of hard rock / metal. Whenever the man blessed a recording with his vocals, he gave them a rich, potent and majestic quality that no other could, something that could even be heard as recently as 2009 on 'The Devil You Know'. Besides his special work with Tony Iommi and co., other material he'll be especially remembered for will be early Rainbow, and his early Dio work.

"As an interviewer, I only got to speak to the man once. I might sound selfish, but I wish I spoke to him much more than that. I spoke to him in October 2009 regarding the Dio band, who were planning a European trek around that time. Sadly, Ronnie's illness came to late just a month later, scuppering those plans. We spoke for almost half an hour, and he was truly the nicest musician I've ever spoken to. A real gentleman, and someone all other musicians can look up to. That's exactly how you should treat others, especially the fans - in that regard, he certainly set an example that very few others will rival. I could've sat there for hours listening to him speak, which tells you how engaging a talker he was. Despite being a great talker, he had zero ego however, and didn't bullshit - he called a spade a spade, and nothing more.

"The world of music has truly lossed a giant. Let's all give Ronnie's music a spin, and raise a glass. Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010)."

Source:Ronnie James Dio Dies At 67 | News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com

This one is very close to home for me since Ronnie was a major influence for me. He's the reason I got into metal, he was model for me as a musician, and someone I truly respected. After battling cancer for so long and being such a larger than life person many felt he could not die. One thing not mentioned in the article above is that Ronnie gave to metal and rock something that in universal and that is "the horns".

We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line

Ronnie we always knew your were divine.... See More
Rock on forever in heaven.