Ronnie James Dio born Ronald James Padavona July 10 1942 May 16 2010 was an American rock and heavy metal vocalist and songwriter He performed with Elf Rainbow Black Sabbath Heaven Hell and his own band Dio among others Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear n Aid He was widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal renowned for his consistently powerful voice He is credited with popularizing the metal horns hand gesture in metal culture Before his death he was collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice under the moniker Heaven Hell whose only studio album The Devil You Know was released on April 28 2009 He has sold over 47 million copies of albums with all of the bands he has worked with He died of stomach cancer on May 16 2010 at St Josephs Hospital in Burbank CA One of the last songs he recorded was titled Metal Will Never Die
HydraHD
