According to a statement on his official website, heavy metal god Ronnie James Dio — who fronted Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osbourne’s departure in 1979, then went on to found his own eponymous band — has died at the (reported) age of 67. In the statement, wife and manager Wendy Dio wrote, “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.”
Dio was battling stomach cancer diagnosed last fall, and cancelled this summer’s tour with his current band, Heaven & Hell, due to his deteriorating health.
The ‘little guy with the powerful voice,’ the most powerful voice, most recognized voice in Rock & Roll is gone. RIP Ronnie, I hope you made your peace with God before leaving us into the new world…
yeah , i love 10yeargap~.~com hope i can meet a nice one tonight ……………
Good bye and God Bless, Ronnie. Thanks for being you, and everything you did for all of us.
Satan must have taken this fellow back to Hell.
Mr. Dio did seveal christian songs with kerry livgren. look up the album “seeds of change”
Surely you are not suggesting that Dio had any semblance of a saving Christian faith after spending his entire lifetime singing about the glories of evil and “throwing up the horns” at every opportunity?
Ron was an entertainer. He thrived on this. It wasn’t who he was when not on stage. The man I knew all those years ago was polite, respectful, albeit a bit quirky. He was an artist. Don’t throw stones here..think of his family!.RIP Ron..You will be missed..Kat
He may have been an entertainer, but what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with dark? If you truly believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and the Saviour of mankind, then you have no business doing such things, entertainer or not. We can only pray that before Ron passed away God revealed the truth of the Gospel of Christ to him, and that he repented and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Joe and Mike, you are idiots. If your so worried about his faith, pray for him. Otherwise, shut the hell up. There is no god.
Or he reincarnates as a grizzly bear. Both possibilities are equally likely. Buddha loves ya!
I agree with Joe blow and Mike.
I hope Ronnie did repent and accept the free gift of grace from God before he passed away.
P.S.
Stating a truth is not not throwing stones.
If any of you idiots talking about god took a moment to look up exactly what Ronnie was saluting when he would put his hand up like that, maybe you would be half as righteous as he was.
What Mike said only proves how powerful of an entertainer this man was. What an inspiration, what an inspiration.
RIP Ronnie. Met you back in 87, it was a pleasure. Very funny free spirited man. Great Singer, great writer. You will surely be missed. As far as his faith, I’m a Christian, I’m praying for him and his family no matter what. In reading some articles about him. He was a believer in God, but also in life. You all have to realize that the show is the show, and what people paid to see is what he did. That does not me that he lived it in his personal life. What I saw back in 87, while working backstage for one of his shows was a fun loving kinda guy who could crack some pretty good jokes. I pray that he is in a better place now. He truly gave so much while he was here. RIP Ronnie!!!
Why are you so quick to judge Mike? Before you try to take the splinter out of ones eye, take the log out of yours.
Hey Joe Blow aka Hypochristian…
we are saved by grace, not by works. Jesus taught that.
Therefore…JOE…you’re WRONG…
Hypochristians typically do not know squat about the Bible..they only know it makes a great weapon.
Why would you say something like that. How would you associate Ronnie with Satan. Your a sick piece of sheet!
Anyone who is a Dio fan knows that “the horns” was used by his Italian grandmother to ward off the evil eye (which is known as malocchio, Dio’s term for the gesture). Dio began using the sign soon after joining (1979) the metal band Black Sabbath.
Christians are the most un-christian people. God-speed Ronnie James
You are an evil person!
I am a Christian, and the Bible says only God has the right to judge, not you. Show some compassion, millions of fans just lost someone dear to them. A woman is now a widow, surely she is in tears at her loss. I am amazed at how cruel some Christians can be at times like this, Perhaps you should take you sorry excuse for a Christian to Phelp’s church – Its full of narrowminded bigots like you!
God bless you Dio! See ya on the other side, Bro!
Why does it seems like it’s always the most religious who celebrate the most when people die?
Thank you for being an adult…I wish all Christians were like you. I am an atheist, but I do not judge people who are religious, and I expect the same from them. Unfortunately most “Christians” are anything but…they live to judge and belittle anyone who is not exactly like them. So thank you for being a good person and showing respect. Ronnie was an incredibly kind and talented person, I will miss him, and my sympathies go to his wife and family.
Define “most religious”. I know you can’t, that is why I’m typing this.
Just so its clear to the comments made about dio going to hell or having ANYTHING to do with satanism. PISS OFF. dio was a man of faith. and so its perfectly clear dio himself told the history of the “horns” he said that its actually an old jewish gesture for warding off evil spirits.
If he believed in Jesus Christ, he is not lost.
Yeah this guy worshiped evil and the devil. All the people he misled . He was an evil man
Jeff, you are an illiterate dunce.
RIP Ronnie,one of the all time greats.
Godspeed Mr. Dio. I was privelidged to meet you in the 80′s. to paraphrase a lyric from a song you did with Kerry Livgren, you will now Live with the King!
You will be greatly missed
R.I.P. YOU ARE AND WERE A GREAT AND WONDERFUL SINGER AND WILL ALWAYS WILL BE THAT IN MY HEART !!
My guess is that now Ronnie knows for sure that the devil is real and not just a marketing gimmick that helps sell concert tickets and CDs.
What a stupid, disrespectful comment.
Nobody cares. You pretend to be so righteous yet you speak in vain of someone who just died. The man was an entertainer, no more, no less. He never hurt anyone.
Go phuck yourself.
jerk
jackass
Joe Blow’s comments are the epitome of the evil he seems to revere so much.
RJD was a family man and a great entertainer and that’s all.
The comments you are leaving here simply identify you as the troll that you are.
Your comments in no way detract from RJD, they detract only from you.
you are evil man get help people like you make this world a sad one
A**hats like you are the reason that real Christians have no credibility anymore.
Amen!!!! My fellow Christians: Stop being such judgemental a**holes like Joe Blow. Show some compassion.
RIP RJD Will be truly missed
RIP! Through your music you will never be gone! Thanks for sharing your talent to Rock bro!
RIP RONNIE 1 OF THE BEST SINGERS IN THE WORLD <33333333
your music is timeless, and it touched so many of us. you will be missed
Timeless fits it well… I can put on some of his older stuff and think… Man, he really WAS a talented singer… Rip brother, u will be missed’
\m/ Dio \m/
RIP Ronnie. Thank you for sharing your gift with us. You will be missed.
R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio…thank you for all of the great music & memories over the years!!!
I knew him when he played in a Central PA band called the Elves in late ’69. He was amazing then.