R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio

With one of my other great passions being music, it saddened me to hear about the passing of one of the most amazing talents of all time...Ronnie James Dio. 

For anyone that isn't familiar with RJD or his work, he is regarded as one of the most powerful singers in all of heavy metal and hard rock.  Ronnie has been the front man for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, his own band DIO, and most recently, the current incarnation of Black Sabbath known as Heaven & Hell with Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, and Vinny Appice.  Ronnie is perhaps more famous, at least in popular culture by the masses that don't know his music, as being credited with the popularization of the "devil horns" gesture that everyone has used at some point or another to voice their love of a band or music at a concert.

Ronnie finally lost his battle with with stomach cancer that he had been fighting since last November.  He died on Sunday morning (the Sabbath day) after saying his goodbyes to his friends and family.  I never met RJD in person but I had the chance to see him perform live on a number of occasions.  His voice was more powerful and consistent than any singer I have ever heard each and everytime he held the mic.  His stage presence was monsterous, despite his diminuative stature.  I have always heard stories of how he was one of the nicest, most approachable, and generous people in the music industry.  From seeing him live, he was always extrememly grateful to all the fans that continued to support him through his career. 

Those of you out there with Sirius/XM radio, today's Eddie Trunk show will be a tribute to RJD.  His show is on at 6:00PM Eastern Time on the Boneyard.

RIP Ronnie.  We have lost one of the greatest but your music will last forever. 
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Possibly one of the hokiest, ridiculous videos of all time for one of the greatest songs of all time.  I LOVE IT!!  We will miss you, Ronnie.