Ronnie James Dio (born
Ronald James Padavona; July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) was an
American heavy metal vocalist and
songwriter. He performed with
Elf,
Rainbow,
Black Sabbath,
Heaven & Hell, and his own band
Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser
Hear 'n Aid. He was widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal,
[1] renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "
devil's horns" hand gesture in metal culture. He was collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath bandmates
Tony Iommi,
Geezer Butler and
Vinny Appice, under the moniker
Heaven & Hell, whose first and only studio album,
The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009.
[2] On the morning of May 16, 2010, he died after a six-month battle with stomach cancer. He was 67 years old
