Me too,even though in my youth I never allowed myself to be a big fan but damn was he awesome!
I'm completely serious. I didn't even know he was in Sabbath until the whole Heaven And Hell thing started. I only knew him for his solo stuff. Ozzy was the only Sabbath to me. Imagine my shock when I learned they had like 4-5 singers!That's possible although I think in my case I still had a little Sabbath bias in me. I always preferred Ozzy in Sabbath so I think I ignored Dio's solo stuff for longer than I should have. I still prefer Sabbath with Ozzy, but I've stopped thinking Dio wasn't worthy of his slot in the band like I used to.
Send Me Back To Hell - Vadar