We Fans Still Miss You, Ronnie...

It's hard to believe that 8 years ago on this day we lost one of metal's elite singer/songwriters...the great Ronnie James Dio. Many years ago, when we had Sam Goody as a CD retailer, I bought a bargain cassette tape (remember those?), with two Black Sabbath albums on one tape. One was PARANOID (what I had originally bought the tape for) and the other side was HEAVEN AND HELL. I had never heard the Dio era Sabbath and when I DID hear it I was pleasantly surprised. His vocals and lyrics completely changed the dynamic of the band. In fact, many years later when they decided to call that line-up Heaven & Hell I didn't object. They always felt like a completely different band from the Ozzy era. And being an instant fan of the Dio era Sabbath, I went back and discovered Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. I was already a Deep Purple fan so it was just more great music for me to consume. And of course his solo career was amazing as well.
It's as if you never left us because I always have some of that music on my phone, or listen to it on my computer. The music (for me, at least) is very much alive and well.
So thank you Ronnie James Dio for your magic and music. And it goes on and on and on...it's Heaven and Hell!