Dio

NEW YORK — Even as he endured grueling chemotherapy treatments to rid his stomach of cancer, Ronnie James Dio showed the fiery passion that made him a metal legend, flashing his famous devil's horns signal as he lay in a hospital bed.

"This hasn't really been a problem for me. Cancer? I'll kick the hell out of you," declared Dio in March in an interview in Houston, where he was being treated.

On Sunday, Dio, 67, whose famous wailing vocals gave Black Sabbath a second life, succumbed to the disease..

Dio, who grew up in upstate New York in the town of Cortland, had his first taste of rock fame as the lead singer of the band Elf. From there, the spotlight grew, and in 1975, he became the first lead singer of Rainbow, the heavy metal band put together by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who had just quit Deep Purple. Dio recorded three albums with the group until creative differences led him to leave.

But there was another band that needed his help. In 1980, after Ozzy Osbourne left the hugely successful and groundbreaking metal band Black Sabbath, the band tapped Dio to fill his spot.