Ronnie James Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner. HEAVEN & HELL released an album called "The Devil You Know" in 2009.
In a new interview with Danny Stoakes, Ronnie's wife and longtime manager Wendy Dio reflected on the challenges the singer faced when he first joined SABBATH, saying (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[Ozzy's shoes were] very hard shoes to fill, definitely. Ozzy, when Ozzy was on top form, was one of the best frontmen ever, along with David Lee Roth. He wasn't a great singer — Ronnie was a great singer — so the band, when [Ronnie] went into the band, the music changed a little; it was more melodic and completely different.
Ronnie passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.
Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer was diagnosed with cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.
Ronnie's autobiography, titled "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography", was released in July 2021 via Permuted Press.
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