It’s hard to believe that it’s been six years since Ronnie James Dio passed away from stomach cancer. A true original, his powerful vocals and mystical lyricism propelled him through Elf, Mountain, three stints in Black Sabbath and of course his solo career. Even after his death, a cover of “The Last In Line” on his tribute album performed by Tenacious D won a Grammy. We’ve written about this before, but there still might be some that aren’t aware that he did a commercial for Budweiser (or America, as it’s being called now apparently). In the mid-80s, as his solo career was on a roll. In 1985, Westwood One syndicated a Dio concert that was recorded the previous year in Spokane, WA. It was distributed to radio stations nationwide and contained a custom Budweiser commercial sang by Dio that’s pretty much a straight cover of Holy Diver‘s “Rainbow in the Dark.” The cover was never officially released, but it lives on in internet infamy. So raise a Bud, or whatever else you’re drinking, to Ronnie James Dio.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/5MwMXXuWKAc[/youtube]