The news of the death of Ronnie James Dio this morning hit me hard. But the fact that he was 67 years old hit me almost as hard. Could it be that one of my youth heroes had passed away an old man?

Ronnie will always be synonymous with Rainbow in my eyes. Maybe he is better known for his involvment  with Black Sabbath, but Rainbow came out at a time when I was a mere teenager and very much into hard rock. The Rainbow concert at CCH Hamburg in 1977 is still one of the best concerts I have ever seen – this diminuitive figure with a voice that defied his stature on a stage with a huge Rainbow spanning it, making him look even smaller. But what a performer, what a voice!!!

But, now at 67 years of age, he has gone to “Catch The Rainbow”. The Great Gig In The Sky is getting even better, but down ion earth, his departure has ripped a hole in millions of  hearts  - not all of the hard rock fans .

Ronnie James Dio will be sadly missed, but his legacy lives on

“When evening falls
She’ll run to me
Like whispered dreams
Your eyes can’t see
Soft and warm
She’ll touch my face
A bed of straw
Against the lace

We believed we’d catch the rainbow
Ride the wind to the sun
Sail away on ships of wonder
But life’s not a wheel
With chains made of steel
So bless me come the dawn
Come the dawn”

Dio pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/3336/ / CC BY 2.0