[kj] Ronnie James Dio R.I.P.

[TB]

Dio passed away this morning after a 6+ month battle with stomach cancer.

I've always liked Dio's stuff in Rainbow, Black Sabbath and at least the first 3 solo albums he did in the 80's.  I actually prefer
Black Sabbath w/Dio over the Ozzy era.  I saw him on Black Sabbath's original Heaven and Hell tour in 1980 as well as his "Holy
Diver" solo tour (which was pretty Spinal Tappish).  I lost interest in his solo work after that but when I saw him open for Iron
Maiden around 2003 I was really impressed with his set and how well his voice still sounded and kind of got back into his stuff.  It
was a real treat to catch Heaven and Hell early on their reunion tour a couple years ago.

T.B.