Famous heavy metal frontman Ronnie James Dio died on May 16th, 2010 after a lengthy battle with stomach cancer.  As I sat down to write something about his death, I realized that I knew very little about Ronnie James Dio.  I knew he had crazy long black curly hair and was the “devil horns” guy.  I’ve heard countless Dio references (I’ve even made Dio jokes in the past), but I couldn’t tell you anything he’s done musically.

When I mentioned this fact to a colleague, someone standing nearby said.

“You gonna write something bad about Dio?” in a shocked, disappointed manner.

I replied, “No, but can you name a Ronnie James Dio song?”

Silence.

My point was proven!

Somewhere along the line Ronnie James Dio became more important as a cultural reference than musician.  He became the representation of heavy metal, both good and bad.  The love of evil and darkness, the More >