Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010)

Damn.

RIP Ronnie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUJH7y1yK_E

Is it blasphemous to admit I like Dio-Sabbath at least as much as I like Ozzy-Sabbath?

as long as it's the same and not more, it is acceptable in my book.

Dio had better lyrics i think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR5ZPsJ-Yfc&feature=related

oh my.


just...... wow.

I like them both too, but in very different ways. Ozzy was political and drug-ridden. RJ Dio was magical.

i have a sort of 6 degrees of seperation with Mr. Dio, in the 80's in toronto, a fellow workers boyfriend had been a roadie for Crowbar (http://www.canadianclassicrock.com/roster/crowbar.shtml) back in ,as they say, the day, through them he met (and through him i also met) Dave Stone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Stone_%28keyboardist%29), who was in a band called Symphonic Slam, and Mr. Stone went on to play in Rainbow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Live_Rock_%27n%27_Roll)

so, while i know nothing of Mr. Dio or his music, i have had a few beers now and again with someone who was in a band with him

I don't know how dark melodic music like his so strongly affects hormonal teenage bodies. But, I would be taken out of myself completely when listening to Heaven and Hell and transported to Somewhere Else. Actually, it can still do that to me sometimes. I never thought of Black Sabbath (with either singer) was depressing or satanic. I thought it was evoking, even lovely.

Aw...

I was pretty taken in with all the dark imagery. I remember how terrifying it all seemed at the time. In retrospect, of course, all that black clothing and arcane iconography seems pretty harmless, even clichéd.

On a side note, I have a friend who's convinced "Rainbow in the Dark" was Ronnie's way of coming out of the closet.