Dio’s the man. They play Dio on the local hard rock station along with the new stuff. Fits right in and doesn’t sound dated at all. You can also tell alot of people ripped him off.
Believe it or not,Dio's early work with Elf wasn't heavy metal,but really bluesy stuff..I found a CD with his Elf years and it's definately different from his later music which I think started with his work with Blackmore's Rainbow and got even heavier with Sabbath.I had read somewhere that Jim Dandy Mangrum of Black Oak Arkansas was considered to take Ozzy's place before Dio stepped in.Jim Dandy by the way turned 59 this year.To me,that was the ultimate southern rock band and one of my favorites.