From Black Sabbath’s upcoming album “13”. The first with Ozzy for 35, though without Bill Ward it’s not a real Sabbath reunion. Not too sure about this one, maybe a grower.

Do know the female backing vocals are a touch annoying.

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Brother Dege slide-Dobro version of Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut”.

This version of “Supernaut” includes the ancient practice of “mishearing” lyrics. All songs are organic compositions that go through many mutations over the years as they are learned and played by others, thus giving them new life. Brother Dege

And here’s the original Black Sabbath track – Ozzy: vocals, Tony Iommi: guitar, Geezer Butler: bass, Bill Ward: drums – from their classic 1972 album “Vol. 4”.

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Hard to believe today March 19th 2012 is the 30th anniversary of the death of Randy Rhoads.

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1939, “Cherokee” is recorded for the first time by Charlie Barnet and his orchestra … the tune will be recorded by scores of jazz greats and often played at a breakneck pace to humble neophytes …

1953, a young sideburned truck driver—last name of Presley—drops in at the Memphis Recording Service studio, plunks down his four bucks, and records “My Happiness” as a gift for his mother …

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1954, Elvis is back in Sun Studios to record the first commercially available Elvis single, “That’s Alright Mama” … that same week, Presley turns up at the grand opening of a Memphis drugstore where he performs on the back of a flatbed truck …

1958, following a backstage fight between a member of The Drifters and the manager of New York’s Apollo Theater, the group’s manager, George Treadwell, fires the entire lineup, then recruits the members of the opening act, The Five Crowns, to become a new incarnation of The Drifters with Ben E. King handling lead vocals … this is one more chapter in a bewildering history during which rival groups billed as The Drifters will tour simultaneously and band rosters will change dozens of times …

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1960, Duane Eddy appears on Dick Clark’s prime time show and performs “Ramrod,” a work in progress … the appearance spurs orders for 150,000 copies, but there’s no way to fill them since the record hasn’t been finished … producer Lee Hazelwood hits the studio and adds sax and vocal overdubs so the single can be rushed to the pressing plant … it later turns out that the remix probably doesn’t include Eddy on guitar … the twangalicious work having been done by studio vet Al Casey …

1963, The Essex score a #1 R&B hit with “Easier Said Than Done” … it’ll later clinch the top spot on the pop chart too … all the members of the group are active Marines and they have to get the Corps’ approval to tour behind their hit …

1964, The Rolling Stones cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” makes it to #48 on the chart … it is the first in their long line of hits …

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1965, Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” is released … it turns out to be his biggest hit ever, climbing to #2 on the U.S. pop chart …

1966, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker get together to form one of rock’s most celebrated trios, Cream … 50-year-old crooner Frank Sinatra marries Mia Farrow, 30 years his junior …

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1968, Jane Asher calls it quits with Paul McCartney … the announcement that they are no longer engaged is made on the British television show Dee Time while McCartney, who hasn’t been told yet, is watching … Asher came home unexpectedly one night to find Paul with another woman … Asher left the home soon after … despite this occurrence, Asher and McCartney are seen together in public appearances … however, the relationship is acknowledged over when McCartney shows up alone at the Yellow Submarine premiere later in the week … the album In-a-Gadda-da-Vida from Iron Butterfly debuts on the U.S. charts … the title track, clocking in at a whopping 17 minutes, features one of the longest drum solos in rock history … according to producer Jim Hilton, the song’s title results from singer Doug Ingle’s slurred pronunciation of “In Our Garden of Eden” when he was asked for the name of a new song the band was rehearsing … the producer jotted the title down phonetically … Hilton recollects, “I felt it was more interesting and a lot more mystical than the straight title … the band thought I had lost my mind, but it was too late to change it, I had already given my OK on the cover for printing” …

1970, British pop star Arthur Brown is held overnight in a Sicilian jail and faces a prison sentence of up to five years after being charged with committing obscene acts in a public place … Brown was performing at the Palermo Pop Festival when he inexplicably stripped naked on stage in front of 15,000 people … the crowd throws things at him and he is arrested and put in solitary confinement for four days … while in solitary, he receives a petition signed by 200 locals requesting that he leave Italy and never return …

1972, a bomb explodes near a Rolling Stones equipment truck in Montreal … the bomb was placed under a ramp and blows the cones out of a lot of PA cabs … nobody is hurt, it’s never determined who placed the bomb … the show goes on as planned …

1973, The Everly Brothers arrive at an ignominious career low when the sweet-harmonizing siblings’ set at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, is stopped by the theme park’s entertainment director who feels Don is doing a poor job … brother Phil sees red, smashes his guitar, and stalks offstage … ironically, Don performs the third set as a solo and announces that the Everly Brothers are history … Clarence White, singer and guitarist for the Byrds, is run down and killed by a drunk driver while loading equipment after a gig in Palmdale, California …

1974, John Lennon is given two months to leave the United States by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, who have denied him an extension on his visa, supposedly because he pled guilty to a pot charge in England in 1968 … it will be revealed later that he is under surveillance by the FBI … Joey Ramone slides out from behind the drum kit and steps up to the mic to assume vocal duties for The Ramones …

1978, as Bob Dylan leaves England after completion of his U.K. tour, over 200,000 gather at Blackbushe Airport to see him off …

1982, Moon Unit Zappa, still a young teenager, makes her debut with dad, Frank, recording “Valley Girl,” which becomes FZ’s highest-charting single at #32 and wins Grammy nominations for father and daughter alike …

1986, after 28 years of collaboration, Columbia Records drops Johnny Cash, who then signs with Mercury … the film Sid and Nancy premieres at the Limelight Club in London … the film relates the mostly true biographical tale of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen … the raw, dark film culminates in the stabbing death of Nancy, Sid’s arrest for suspicion of murder, and his heroin OD shortly thereafter …

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1988, a California appeals court puts the quash on the old “let’s-blame-our-child’s-suicide-on-a-rock-band” game when it upholds a lower court’s decision dismissing a suit against Ozzy Osbourne and CBS … the suit held Ozzy and CBS responsible for the death of a teen who committed suicide after listening to Osbourne’s “Suicide Solution” …

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1989, Venice, Italy, is overrun by 200,000 loonies who show up in town for a free Pink Floyd concert and annoy the locals with noise, littering, and drug use …

1991, former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler files suit against the band, claiming they peer-pressured him into heroin addiction, then ousted him from the band when he entered a rehab program … eventually, Adler will accept an out-of-court settlement to the tune of 2.5 million bucks …

1995, a bear-bone flute is found in an archaeological dig in the Indrijca River Valley in Slovenia … at an estimated 45,000 years old, it is the oldest musical instrument ever found …

1996, Kim Thayil of Soundgarden is arrested for assault and released the same day in North Carolina … the band had just wrapped up their day as main-stage headliners on the Lollapalooza festival stop at Rockingham Dragway … from his own mouth: “It wasn’t even a fan and it wasn’t even at our show. It was in the lobby of our hotel in North Carolina. These people heard that we were staying in the hotel so they’re sneaking out to look and they had been drinking so they were a little bit verbally abusive. I told one of them to go away with a twist of the wrist and that was it, just once. It wouldn’t have been a big deal had I not been who I am—a guy in a rock band.” … thanks for the clarification, Kim …

2002, Bob Seger wins the Port Huron to Mackinac Island Sailboat Race, his second sailing title in two years …

2004, singer Linda Ronstadt not only gets booed, she gets the boot after lauding filmmaker Michael Moore and his new movie Fahrenheit 9/11 during a performance at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas …

2006, the Boston jam band Dispatch sells out three 20,000-seat shows at Madison Square Garden with proceeds going to poverty-stricken and AIDS-infested Zimbabwe … near uninterrupted touring builds huge buzz for the band and MySpace proves to be a major force in helping to sell the tickets … Rolling Stone Keith Richards receives a pardon from the state of Arkansas over a 31-year-old conviction for reckless driving … The Vatican, upset by aspects of Madonna’s Confessions Tour stage show, calls for the singer’s excommunication …

2007, Prince angers the music industry and stirs up trouble among British retailers by giving away his new album with a tabloid newspaper for a weekend …

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2008, pre-grunge superstar band Green River reunites to play at record label Sub Pop’s 20th anniversary party … though the band never saw much success outside of the ’80s Seattle scene, members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament went on to great success with Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam, while Mark Arm and Steve Turner became grunge legends themselves with Mudhoney …

2009, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch announces that he has a “very treatable” tumor in his salivary gland … the B-Boys cancel their planned tour so MCA can focus on his treatment …

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

July 14: American folk legend Woody Guthrie (1912), influential Atlanta DJ Zenas “Daddy” Sears (1913), Cliff Trenier of ’50s doo-wop group The Treniers (1919), Lowman Pauling of The “5″ Royales (1926), Bob Scholl, member of The Mello-Kings (1938), expatriate British rocker Vince Taylor, role model for Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust (1939), Detroit soul singer Ty Hunter (1940), Trevor Horn of Buggles and Yes (1949), singer-songwriter Christopher Cross (1952), singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tanya Donelly of Belly (1966), keyboardist-vocalist Ellen Reid of Crash Test Dummies (1966), singer-songwriter Tameka “Tiny” Cottle of Xscape (1975), rapper Taboo of Black Eyed Peas, born Jaime Luis Gómez (1975)

July 15: Cowboy Copas, country singing star who died in the same plane as Patsy Cline (1913), Motown house drummer William “Benny” Benjamin (1925), singer-actress Nina, Baroness van Pallandt (1932), soul star Millie Jackson (1944), guitarist (and son of actress Loretta Young) Peter Lewis of Moby Grape (1945), singer-songwriter-producer Linda Ronstadt (1946), flamboyant New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale Jr. (1952), guitarist for .38 Special Jeff Carlisi (1952), Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis (1956), instrumental rock guitarist Joe Satriani (1956)

July 16: Sollie McElroy of The Flamingos (1934), soul songstress Denise LaSalle (1939), Ruben Blades (1948), Stewart Copeland (1952), Ed Kowalczyk of Live (1971)

July 17: Texas R&B singer Peppermint Harris (1925), Spencer Davis (1941), The Sweet’s Mick Tucker (1948), Black Sabbath’s Terry “Geezer” Butler (1949), Nicolette Larson (1952), Doobie Brother Chet McCracken (1952), Phoebe Snow (1952), JC of PM Dawn (1973)

July 18: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (1929), Papa Dee Allen of War (1931), Dion DiMucci (1937), Rolling Stones pianist-road manager Ian Stewart (1938), Brian Auger (1939), Martha Reeves (1941), Tim Lynch of The Flamin’ Groovies (1946), Golden Earring’s Caesar Zuiderwijk (1950), Ricky Skaggs (1954), drummer Terry Chambers of XTC (1955), Pearl Jam’s Jack Irons (1962), Tony Fagenson of Eve 6 (1962)

July 19: ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (1902), singer-guitarist Buster Benton (1932), Bo Diddley’s fellow guitarist-vocalist Lady Bo born Peggy Jones (1940), pop singer Vikki Carr (1941), Clarence White of The Byrds (1944), Average White Band’s Alan Gorrie (1946), Bobby Neal of the Stone Canyon Band (1947), Brian May (1947), The Eagles’ Bernie Leadon (1947), Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux (1948), Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952), Kevin Haskins of Love & Rockets (1960)

July 20: Buddy Knox (1933), Kim Carnes (1945), The Moody Blues’ John Lodge (1945), Carlos Santana (1947), Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French (1954), Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols (1956), Simple Minds’ Mick McNeil (1958), Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave (1964), Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam (1966), Vitamin C (1972)

Departures:

July 14: Beryl Bryden, dubbed the “British Queen of the Blues” (1998), Phillippe Wynne of the Spinners (1984), Malcolm Owen of the Rutts (1980), progressive country guitarist Clarence White of The Byrds (1973)

July 15: country songwriter Hank Cochran (2010), rapper Too Poetic, born Anthony Berkeley (2001), Bizarros drummer Rick Garberson (1979)

July 16: singer and radio star Jo Stafford (2008), agent-manager Don Arden (2007), salsa singer Celia Cruz (2003), Styx drummer John Panozzo (1996), Sun Records’ Bill Justis (1982), Harry Chapin (1981), Peter Cowap of Herman’s Hermits (1977)

July 17: Gordon Waller of ’60s duo Peter & Gordon (2009), opera singer Teresa Stich-Randell (2007), Paul Young of Mike and the Mechanics (2000), Marc Hunter of Dragon (1998), Hendrix manager Chas Chandler (1996), blues pianist Roosevelt Sykes (1983), sax giant John Coltrane (1967), “Lady Day” Billie Holiday (1959), harpin’ bluesman Henry Strong (1954)

July 18: tenor Jerry Hadley (2007), Haroon Shamsher of Joi (1999), Velvet Underground chanteuse Nico, born Christa Päffgen (1988), bandleader Jimmy Liggins (1983), Hi Records owner Joe Cuoghi (1970), Bobby Fuller (1966)

July 19: Big Star bassist Andy Hummel (2010), highlife bandleader Emmanuel Tettey “E.T.” Mensah (1996), R&B sax man Red Prysock (1993)

July 20: guitarist-producer-songwriter Artie Traum (2008), singer-guitarist Buster Benton (2007), musician-music executive-manager Jim Tyrrell (1998), recording engineer Gary Kellgren (1977), Roy Hamilton (1969)

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It’s a quarter of a century since Randy Rhoads died in that plane crash, amazing to think it’s that long ago.

1929, pianist Clarence “Pine Top” Smith, who helped start the boogie-woogie craze the year before with “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie” is shot dead in a Chicago night club while dancing with a young lady … the errant slug is fired by a waiter trying to break up a fight … Pine Top was only 25 …

1954, The Chords record “Sh-Boom,” which becomes the first top 10 pop hit by a rhythm and blues group … a white group, The Crew Cuts (from Canada), releases a less hip cover version that goes to #1 …

1958, Chess Records releases the LP One Dozen Berrys by Chuck Berry … songs include “Rock And Roll Music,” “Sweet Little Sixteen,” and “Reelin’ And Rockin’” … Chuck records the tunes between concert dates where he’s now using a pick-up band of local musicians in each town … the savings from not have a touring band mean Chuck flies to gigs and has enough time to rehearse with the musicians … which would be nice if Chuck didn’t have the habit of changing the song keys and arrangements while onstage …

1964, touted as “America’s answer to The Beatles,” the one-hit wonders The Pyramids sport shaved bald heads and are known as “the crazies of the surf scene” … their lone hit, “Penetration” punctures its way to #18 on the charts … the group appears on American Bandstand and Hullabaloo … they even manage a brief appearance in Frankie and Annette’s third beach movie Bikini Beach …

1965, from the Building-A-Rebel-Image Workbook: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones are arrested and fined five pounds after urinating on a London gas station wall when they are refused access to the men’s room … they’re told it was out of order … but we know it’s because of their long hair and scruffy appearance … fun and games compared to the Stones’ drug bust of 1967 …

1968, Eric Clapton and the Buffalo Springfield’s Neil Young, Richie Furay, and Jim Messina are arrested on drug charges in Los Angeles …

1970, Tammi Terrell, who had 10 chart hit duets with Marvin Gaye, dies of a brain tumor while onstage … she was 24 …

1971, a hard-to-believe entry from the One Hit Wonders Department is Janis Joplin … her recording of Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobbie McGee” graces #1 on the pop charts … Janis isn’t around to enjoy the hit … she died of a heroin overdose the previous October … Marvin Gaye finishes recording the basic tracks for What’s Going On, the album that revitalizes his career after the death of Tammi Terrell … along with other serious topics, the album deals with the Vietnam war and the toll it is taking on Marvin’s brother Frankie and the many thousands of others serving there … the LP also marks the first time that Motown’s Funk Brothers, including legendary bassist James Jamerson, get credits on the sleeve …

1975, electric guitar pioneer and bluesman Aaron “T-Bone” Walker dies after complications from a stroke … he was one of the first to take advantage of the electric guitar in blues … artists from B.B. King to the Allman Brothers cite him as an influence, the latter having a hit with a cover of his song “Stormy Monday”…

1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court overturns the conviction of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who had been convicted of murdering three white men in 1967 during a robbery … Carter had garnered the support of Bob Dylan during his incarceration, and Dylan had penned the song “Hurricane” in support of Carter’s claims … the song and subsequent benefit concert are credited with helping Carter’s cause…

1982, Randy Rhoads, lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne’s band, is killed when a plane he is flying in crashes into a home and explodes … the band is stopped at the Leesburg, FL, home of its bus driver, Andrew Aycock, a licensed pilot … Aycock “borrows” a plane from a nearby airfield and invites Rhoads and costume designer Rachel Youngblood to take a quick flight … as Ozzy and the rest of the band sleep on the bus, Aycock circles and buzzes it three times without incident … on the fourth pass, the aircraft bumps the bus, clips a wing, and crashes into a nearby house, erupting in flames … all three onboard are killed … a postmortem finds cocaine in Aycock’s system…

1989, America’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark, announces that he will no longer be hosting the show American Bandstand … he had been the host for 33 years …

1990, Gloria Estefan is badly injured when her group’s tour bus is rammed by a tractor-trailer near Scranton, Pennsylvania … though suffering a fractured and dislocated vertebra in her spine, she is back onstage performing at the American Music Awards less than 11 months later …

1991, Leo Fender, who revolutionized the electric guitar by inventing the Telecaster in 1950 and the Stratocaster in 1954, dies at home in Fullerton, California, of Parkinson’s disease … although he studied piano and saxophone as a youth, Leo never played guitar …

2003, protesters in Louisiana destroy Dixie Chicks CDs with a 33,000-pound tractor, in protest over singer Natalie Maines’ comments about President George W. Bush … Maines, who like the President is from Texas, said between songs during a concert in London: “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas” … the South Carolina House of Representatives passes a resolution urging the Dixie Chicks to make a public apology … which Maines does, but the damage is done as the group is boycotted and fans are split over whether the comment should have been made or the apology issued …

2004, a restraining order sought by Axl Rose that would prevent Universal Music Group from releasing a Guns N’ Roses greatest hits album is denied by a federal judge … the label argues that it has every right to release the record since Rose has failed to deliver on his contract to produce the long-threatened Chinese Democracy album … after four years, many canceled gigs, and no new material, Buckethead leaves Guns N’ Roses … his manager tells MTV that the avant-garde guitarist became fed up with the band’s “inertia” …

2006, Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer withdraws a civil suit he filed against Prince resulting from the Purple One’s redecoration of the mansion he rents from the basketballer … among Prince’s “improvements”: lavender stripes painted on various surfaces, installation of purple-and-black carpets, and modifications to the plumbing system to accommodate several beauty-salon chairs … Aerosmith is obliged to cancel the rest of its tour dates when Steven Tyler is operated on for unspecified throat problems …

And that was the week that was.

Arrivals:

March 15: Lightnin’ Hopkins (1912), Phil Lesh (1940), Beach Boy Mike Love (1944), Sly Stone aka Sylvester Stewart (1944), War’s Howard Scott (1946), Ry Cooder (1947), Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider (1955), Terence Trent D’Arby (1962), Brett Michaels of Poison (1963), Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray (1970), Mark Hoppus of blink-182 (1972), Joseph Hahn of Linkin Park (1977)

March 16: Jerry Jeff Walker born Paul Crosby (1942), Heart’s Nancy Wilson (1954), Flavor Flav of Public Enemy (1959), Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen (1991)

March 17: Nat King Cole (1917), Clarence Collins of Little Anthony & The Imperials (1939), Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane (1941), John Sebastian (1944), Harold Brown of War (1946), Ian Gomm of Brinsley Schwartz (1947), Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham (1951), Los Lobos Conrad Lozano (1951), Mike Lindup of Level 42 (1959), Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan (1967), Melissa Auf der Maur of Hole (1972)

March 18: Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844), Lester “Big Daddy” Kinsey (1927), Robert Lee Smith of The Tams (1936), Charley Pride (1938), Wilson Pickett (1941), dub-style reggae pioneer Keith Hudson (1946), B.J. Wilson of Procol Harum (1947), John Hartman of The Doobie Brothers (1950), Bill Frisell (1951), Irene Cara (1959), Vanessa Williams (1963), Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains (1966), Queen Latifah born Dana Owens (1970), Jamiroquai’s Stuart Zender (1974)

March 19: Moms Mabley (1894), Chicago blues singer Sam Myers (1936), Clarence “Frogman” Henry (1937), R&B artist Walter Jackson (1938), The Monkees’ Mickey Dolenz (1945), The Zombies’ Paul Atkinson (1946), Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters (1946), The B-52s’ Ricky Wilson (1953), Bay City Rollers’ Derek Longmuir (1955), Terry Hall of The Specials (1959)

March 20: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1921), Jerry Reed (1937), blues saxist Eddie Shaw (1937), Carl Palmer (1951), Jimmy Vaughan (1951), Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats (1961), Tracy Chapman (1964), Chester Bennington of Linkin Park (1976)

March 21: Delta blues legend Son House (1902), Chicago bluesman Otis “Big Smokey” Smothers (1929), blues pianist Otis Spann (1930), Vivian Stanshall of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (1943), Rosemary Stone of Sly and the Family Stone born Rosemary Stewart (1945), Eddie Money (1949), Roger Hodgson of Supertramp (1950), Conrad Lozano of Los Lobos (1951), Prodigy’s MC Maxim (1967), Ace of Base’s Jonas Berggren (1967), Andrew Copeland of Sister Hazel (1968), rapper Notorious B.I.G. born Christopher Wallace (1972)

Departures:

March 15: violinist Olga Rudge (1996), Lester “Pres” Young (1959)

March 16: ska pioneer Justin Hinds (2005), drummer and cofounder of Blackfoot – Jakson Spires (2005), pop and country singer-songwriter Johnny Cymbal (1993), Reflections member John Simmons (1990), legendary electric bluesman Aaron “T-Bone” Walker (1975), Tammi Terrell (1970)

March 17: MTV VJ J.J. Jackson (2004), Trumpet Records co-founder Lillian McMurry (1999), ’80s R&B pop figure Jermaine Stewart (1997), Chicago blues pianist Sunnyland Slim (1995), Chantels member and James Brown backup vocalist Yvonne Fair (1994), Ric Grech bassist for Blind Faith and Traffic (1990), New Orleans R&B singer Bobby Mitchell (1989), Samuel George Jr. of The Capitols (1982), James “Jimmie” Davis, bassist for Fats Domino (1920)

March 18: session bassist Wayne Pedzwater (2005), The Mamas & the Papas co-founder John Phillips (2001)

March 19: drummer Jeff Ward of Nine Inch Nails and Ministry (1993), Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood (1990), Randy Rhoads (1982), Chicago’s first big blues star, bottleneck slide man Tampa Red (1981), Paul Kossoff of Free (1976)

March 20: Eric’s son Conor Clapton (1991), jazz and R&B guitarist Billy Butler (1991), Cadence Records founder Archie Bleyer (1989)

March 21: songwriter Fred Spielman (1997), Leo Fender (1991)

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Yup Ozzy’s search for a new guitar player has been called off.

Ozzy would like to thank everyone who took the time to send in submissions to be his new guitar player. At the time we announced the search, Zakk Wylde’s itinerary with Black Label Society was quite overwhelming. Fortunately, Zakk has now been able to go back and rearrange his schedule to make sure that he would be available to write, record and tour with Ozzy in 2006 and beyond.

Therefore, the search for a new axe man has been called off. We sincerely apologize to all of the talented musicians (and there were lots of them) who were excited by this incredible opportunity and we wish you the best of luck with all of your future musical endeavors. - Ozz.com

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After Iron Maiden’s last show on this years Ozzfest, at Devore, CA was sabotaged by “Sharon Osbourne and assorted hangers-on” – the band were pelted with various objects while onstage eggs lighters etc, their sound was cut or interupted with chants of “Ozzy”, Eddie the band’s “mascot” was prevented from getting onstage, an individual ran on with a US flag while Bruce was waving a Union Flag during the song “The Trooper” (more on that later) and at the end of their set Sharon Osbourne took the mic onstage to tell everyone how she thinks singer Bruce Dickinson is a prick.

Ron Smallwood, Maiden’s manager, and their record company EMI have come out fighting with the following statements.

Ron Smallwood’s official response -

Maiden are currently returning from America and preparing for UK festivals this weekend and don’t wish to waste time giving Sharon Osbourne’s statement the dignity of a reply. Considering the disgraceful nature of the events that occurred they feel it’s a pretty dismal effort at self justification and they don’t think Metal fans are at all gullible and that they will easily see through it.

They want no more to do with this sorry incident and are very much looking forward to headlining Reading and Leeds Festivals this weekend. I would however like to add my own comment on this.

In 30 years in this business and after attending hundreds of gigs I have never seen anything anywhere near as disgusting and unprofessional as what went on that night. I was standing on our sound desk out front as usual but ran to the stage as soon as the hail of missiles began and from then on watched from the front of the stage right next to Bruce’s walkway. The scale, viciousness and concentration of the throwing made it obvious that this was a premeditated and co-ordinated attack. Assaulting musicians while performing by throwing bottle tops, lighters and eggs at them from just a few yards away is vile, dangerous, criminal and cowardly. It is incredible that Ozzfest security apparently did nothing about it – aren’t they there to protect the bands too? Especially when the band is concentrating on a performance in front of 45,000 people and the missiles are coming out of the glare of the spotlights. And to spit at a band on stage is unforgivable.

Iron Maiden, like all the bands on Ozzfest, had to sign quite onerous legal documents part of which was promising not to throw anything into the audience, even wristbands!!! Ironic isn’t it It is well documented on the web who was responsible for planning and participating in this attack and for musicians to join in this assault on other musicians is a shocking disgrace akin to treachery. You should all be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves. We know who authorised the making of the “Ozzy – Ozzy” chant tape the day before and how it was played secretly through the PA at the very beginning and end of our set. We also know who continually turned off the power interrupting our set at crucial moments. It is a good thing that the power was turned back on before there was a riot as you could sense on stage a lot of the huge audience were getting totally pissed off at this continual onslaught on the band.

The great majority of the Ozzfest crew throughout the tour were terrific and we thank them. Those who participated or stood idly by and watched as this all went down should also be ashamed of themselves and I would certainly hope they never come near a tour with which we are involved. There is little point in my commenting on the chap with the flag or their trying to hold up Eddie or Sharon’s speech as the audience made their feelings very clear on each occasion. And in the end what was all this about?? If l had any sort of problem or misunderstanding with a band working on a tour we were involved in I would go and talk to them or their manager – not wait until the end of a tour and assault and ambush them. Or was that really it?

I find it staggering that this ambush would take place in front of any audience, let alone in San Bernardino, the biggest audience of the tour. Didn’t that audience merit any consideration? They pay an awful lot to be there in terms of prices for tickets, parking, food, beer etc. Surely if they spend this sort of money they deserve to watch the bands they paid to see be able to put in a full unhindered performance. Free of danger and intimidation. If I had paid I would ask for my money back! And this audience really were outstanding, giving the band incredible support and many voting with their feet in disgust after the set and the speech, which to many was the final insult.

I have to say I was immensely proud of Maiden who stood up to it all and showed great courage and just got better and better through the adversity. Their heads never dropped, instead they went on the offensive. It was a truly memorable moment when Bruce went to the very front of the stage during ‘The Trooper’ – something which he never normally does as he is usually on the ramps – waving the flag whilst avoiding the hail of missiles and yelling “This is a fucking British flag, and these colours don’t fucking run!”. The imperturbable attitude and ability of the band shone through and in the end made this a truly remarkable rock and roll event, even if for all the wrong reasons.

We will have no more to say on this matter except that I do think the band deserve an apology from a number of people, and you know who you are. - ROD SMALLWOOD MANAGER, IRON MAIDEN CHAIRMAN, SANCTUARY ARTIST MANAGEMENT

EMI, Iron Maiden’s record company had the following to say.

Sharon Osbourne and assorted hangers-on dramatically and deliberately sabotaged Iron Maiden’s final performance on the Ozzfest on Saturday 20th August in Los Angeles. There is an inital statement from the band on Iron Maiden’s website but as a result of further developments Iron Maiden will respond to Sharon and co’s inflammatory and upsetting behaviour later today.

In the meantime for a full, frank and unbiased report of the events of Saturday night I’d like to refer you to this eye-witness, backstage account by a manager of a fellow band playing the festival, who was disgusted by what transpired.

The manager of a well-known heavy metal band (*NOT* Iron Maiden) who attended this past weekend’s Ozzfest show at the Hyundai Pavillion in Devore, California has submitted the following first-hand account of the evening that will surely go down as one of the most shameful moments in recent rock history. – EMI

This is that account -

Saturday night’s Ozzfest at the Hyundai Pavillion near Los Angeles was a debacle on so many levels, I am still in shock as I write this. As a fan of many of the bands [Saturday] night, one can only hope this was an isolated incident, but sadly, it most likely wasn’t. As many of you have heard already, co-headliners and metal legends Iron Maiden were pelted with eggs, bottle caps, beer cups, spit on, had people from the Ozzfest camp talking over the PA during their set, had ‘Eddie’ delayed from his onstage entrance, had members of the [Black Label Society] entourage rush the stage with American flags, and had the PA intentionally turned off over six times, all by the OSBOURNE CAMP.

While it’s still unclear as to the exact reasons why the terrorizing started (rumors abounded as to why, with everything from Bruce calling out Ozzy in the U.K. rock magazine Kerrang! on the widely known fact that Ozzy uses a teleprompter, to various vague references said on stage about a ‘reality show’ at an Ozzfest stop in Detroit), one thing was very clear: The whole thing stunk, and left me, and nearly all of the 40,000+ heavy metal fans in attendance angered and disappointed. Not that behind the scenes bickering or magazine trash-talking is anything new to rock fans, but the shocking lack of professionalism at one of the largest stops in North America in front of 40,000+ spectators, at the hand of the Osbournes was nothing short of disgusting.

It all began early in the afternoon, when many side stage bands were openly approached in clear view of everyone backstage by Sharon and Kelly Osbourne to ‘join them in throwing eggs at Iron Maiden this evening.’ All the bands were encouraged to rally the other side-stage bands to do so. Members and/or friends of the hardcore band Bury your Dead were seen actively trying to encourage other side-stage bands to ‘join in the fun.’ Thankfully, many side stage bands angrily declined.

Later that evening, as Iron Maiden came on stage, their intro was interrupted by [BLS] hanger-on and biker wannabe Big Dave, who was at the soundboard loudly chanting ‘Ozzy, Ozzy’ over the PA. Iron Maiden opened their set and the entire band was pelted from the front row with eggs, beer, beer cups, spit, and various other objects by an Ozzfest-credentialed, bandana-wearing, Osbourne entourage. Iron Maiden, ever the professionals, continued through their set, and by the time they launched into their second song, ‘The Trooper’, Bruce changed into a civil war-era, red coat and began waving a Union Jack – British flag. Then, someone in, or associated with, BLS tried to rush the stage waving and American Flag with the words ‘Don’t fuck with Ozzy’ scrawled across his bare chest. He was tackled and beaten by Iron Maiden crew and promptly thrown off stage.

As ‘The Trooper’ ended, frontman Bruce Dickinson, with characteristic spunk, launched into a scathing attack on the people terrorizing his band, calling them ‘a sorry excuse for an Ozzy Osbourne fan,’ and wondering aloud how, ‘three dozen eggs could get snuck into the front row of Ozzfest by people with Ozzfest laminates?’ Though he never named names, all in attendance could understand who he was referring to. Nicko McBrain ran up to the front asking Bruce to hold on while he cleaned egg off his drums. He then stated the the next song wouldn’t be heard on ‘Your local cocksucking corporate radio station, wouldn’t be seen on MTV anymore, and sure as hell wouldn’t be played on a fucking reality TV show,’ met by a huge roar from the crowd.

During the song ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’, Bruce, after only the first two lines, stopped singing and ran to the front row, firing back at his terrorizers, saying ‘That asswipe right there, with the curly hair, the fucking glasses, and Ozzfest laminate throw his fucking ass out of here right now. It’s gonna take more than eggs to stop Iron Maiden, and if it wasn’t for a lawsuit, I’d rip your fucking head off right now, you piece of shit!!!!’ He had the various attackers ejected and continued with a blistering version of the song until right before the big sing long at the end, the PA was INTENTIONALLY cut off. When it came back, Bruce launched into another scathing attack saying that they were supposed to play a shorter set than normal today, and only play 55 minutes, but Iron Maiden can’t drive 55, or play 55, and were going to play our whole fucking set tonight.

The band endured six more ‘PA cuts,’ including having the power to their amps turned off at one point. When the PA would come back on, they would simply launch into the next Iron Maiden classic, never missing a beat. Frankly, with every PA cut, the band just got meaner and meaner, playing each new song with an anger and a fire that was at times, simply astonishing to watch. Bruce began the introduction to Iron Maiden with a speech about ‘Your constitution has something about ‘We The People.’ Well let me tell you, the only reason we are up here tolerating this bullshit, is because of you people. You have been amazing Glen Helen, and there are A LOT of Iron Maiden fans here tonight,’ eliciting a huge roar from the crowd. He continued, ‘It’s gonna take more than eggs to stop Iron Maiden, NOTHING is going to come between us and our fans, and it will be death before dishonor, this is ‘Iron fucking Maiden’,’ which was greeted by a thunderous applause. During ‘Iron Maiden’, longtime Iron Maiden mascot Eddie was purposely delayed from making his entrance, making a brief appearance at the end, and one could only wonder as to how. As the band closed there set with a furious version of ‘Sanctuary’, the PA was again cut only to have Big Dave repeatedly chant ‘Ozzy’ over the PA, while the band tried to say goodbye to their fans. The now-furious crowd angrily drowned him out with chants of ‘Maiden, Maiden.’

Then, not 10 seconds after Maiden left the stage, Sharon Osbourne walked on stage and predictably, tried to give Maiden some fake, half-hearted praise about how they’d like to ‘thank Iron Maiden,’ and what a wonderful band Iron Maiden are, and how their crew were ‘fantastic,’ then sneering, ‘But Bruce Dickinson is a prick.’ The entire crowd, now fed up with the entire affair, began loudly booing her, pelting her with beer cups, and yelling ‘bitch.’ She tried to carry on, adding that ‘Bruce had disrespected Ozzfest,’ only to be drowned out by an ocean of boos, and soaked with beer. She slammed the microphone down and stormed off stage. Many in the crowd, fed up with what they had just witnessed, especially considering that many had come solely for Maiden, and paid upwards of $150 to do so, left in droves. Sabbath played to maybe half the audience that was there prior, and seemed stagnate compared to the band preceding them. As a huge fan of SABBATH, I honestly couldn’t stand to watch them.

I’ve seen Iron Maiden probably 10 times in my life, and frankly this was the very best Iron Maiden show I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing. You DON’T want to fuck with Iron Maiden. The more the Osbournes tried to fuck with them, the better they got! Iron Maiden was on fucking overdrive! Considering the amount of terrorizing and intimidation that Iron Maiden had to deal with at the hands of the Osbournes and the other side stage and main stage bands participating, they were the consummate professionals. They had the crowd in the palms of their hands, and Iron Maiden and Bruce Dickinson proved beyond a shadow of a doubt why they are the greatest metal band on earth right now, and quite possibly, the classiest, too.

The Osbournes are drunk with power. Shame on them, and shame on ANY of the bands that participated in the terrorizing and intimidation. It was disgusting display, that NO BAND should have had to endure, but especially a legend like Iron Maiden. That fact that it happened in front of 40,000+ people, at a Clear Channel-sponsored event, while Hyundai Pavilion Security turned a blind eye and let the Osbourne camp pelt one of the main headlining bands with eggs, beer, and spit, was simply inexcusable.

I will proudly be attending next year’s Maiden fest, and as much as I hate to say it, I can’t bring myself to spend another dime on the Osbournes. – Eyewitness

Ozzfest, hang your head in shame.

Some more eyewitness reports of the events that took place

In a tit-for-tat exchange like this between Maiden & Osbourne nobody comes out of it looking the best, but I’m tending to strongly side with Maiden. After all Sharon was taught by father Don and his methods weren’t exactly on the up and up, she’s done her best to make Ozzy into a laughing stock with the reality TV show, yeah you laughed along with the first few episodes but how many old Sabbath fans cringe at him now, she does seem more interested in fame and cash with the crappy TV “talent” shows. With the crap posted on the Ozzfest website about Bruce waving the flag during “The Trooper” being the most idiotic thing spouted.

It also offended me every night how he took out the English flag in America. There are American boys going to war alongside the English boys every day. How dare he forget the American troops on their home turf.

Well one it’s the Union Flag not the English one and two it’s a song about the Crimean war, a war that had nothing to do with the US – British, French, Turks vs Russia – and absolutely nothing to do with any current military actions. Never heard an American complain about the flag waving, never heard anyone in any country do so, except once in Argentina after the Falklands, to try and stir up some sort of national hatred because of it is pathetic.

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A wanted ad has been posted on Ozzy’s official site -

Ozzy is looking for a guitar player to write his next studio album with. This is your big chance! All interested parties should send a package showcasing their guitar skills to:

Ozzy Osbourne Guitar Player
P.O. Box 5249
Beverly Hills, CA 90209
- Ozzy.com

Yup Ozzy Osbourne is looking for someone to follow in the footsteps of Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde. But you don’t have to be the flashiest kid in town just the right one.

When I audition guitar players, I go, ‘I don’t want to know how fast you can play, I don’t want to know if you can stand on your head and play it through your butt, or whatever – just give me a riff that’ll make a kid want to go out and buy a guitar,’ Simple, but effective – how more simple can you get than ‘You Really Got Me’? Just go (sings opening guitar part). - Ozzy Osbourne

Though who knws when all this will take place as Sharon has said they are taking a break for a couple of years, with a bit of travelling and spending time in New Zealand. Whilst also talking about her boob job.

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Sadly the week we lost Muddy Waters.

1967, Elvis Presley marries Priscilla Beaulieu at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, of course … little Lisa Marie will join the family nine months later…

1969, Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrest Jimi Hendrix at Toronto International Airport for possession of heroin … Hendrix is released on $10,000 bail and claims that the drugs were planted .. the charges will later be dropped…

1974, the #1 Billboard Pop Hit is “Loco-Motion” by Grand Funk Railroad … the original 1962 version by Little Eva had also hit the top of the pops … the song will hit pay dirt one more time when Kylie Minogue rides it to #3 in 1988…

1976, Bruce Springsteen is given the bum’s rush by security guards when he’s caught trying to scale the fence at Graceland…

1976, Paul McCartney returns to the stage in the U.S. for the first time in a decade as the “Wings Over America” tour takes flight in Ft. Worth, Texas…

1981, Ringo Starr marries actress Barbara Bach … the two met and fell in love the year before while filming Caveman”…

1984, Mick Fleetwood files for bankruptcy…

1994, the historic San Francisco Fillmore reopens after 27 years … performers at the show include American Music Club, Ry Cooder and David Lindley, and headliners Smashing Pumpkins … promoters originally hoped to secure Neil Young or Bruce Springsteen for the opening, but settled on the Pumpkins as a last resort…

1995, Tupac Shakur marries girlfriend Keisha Morris while incarcerated at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York … the rapper is in jail on a felony sexual abuse conviction…

1998, somewhere between doing the splits and a backflip while onstage in Anchorage, Alaska, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler injures his knee … luckily for the Alaskan fans, the injury occurred during the last encore … fans in other cities aren’t as lucky, as the band must cancel the remaining 14 dates of its North American tour so Tyler can have surgery and recover…

1999, citing the lack of a strong enough lineup, organizers say Lollapalooza will not happen for the second consecutive year…

1999, at a Des Moines, Iowa, show, shock-rocker Marilyn Manson stalks off the stage upon noticing that someone has slapped a big yellow smiley face sticker on one of his props … in the resulting melee, 23 are arrested…

1999, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame…

2002, Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Mike Clark dislocates his shoulder in a motocross accident … he will make a full recovery…

2002, Metallica resumes work on their eighth original album, St. Anger … the rocky sessions, interrupted for guitarist-vocalist James Hetfield to enter rehab and for group therapy sessions with the band, are filmed by a documentary crew for the film Some Kind of Monster…

2002, Sharon Osbourne announces that her family will return for another season of their hit reality show The Osbournes on MTV … the show, which chronicles the daily lives of Sharon, Ozzy, Jack, and Kelly, is the most successful for MTV in its 21-year history…

2003, on his official website, KISS bassist Gene Simmons blasts musicians and actors who have spoken out recently against the U.S. war in Iraq … says Gene, “I don’t think celebs make very much impact with the masses at all” … this despite the fact that Simmons has used his site twice before to voice his support for the operation, going so far as to say,” …everyone who is marching today in a war protest can line up to my left to suck my b***s”…

2004, to celebrate the first anniversary of iTunes, Apple announces that the online music store will soon be featuring music videos and movie trailers … users will also be able to play purchased songs on up to five different machines instead of the original limit of three … the service sold over 70 million songs its debut year…

And that was the week that was.

Arrivals
April 27: countdown DJ Casey Kasem (1932), Jimmy Cross (1939), Main Ingredient’s Cuba Gooding Sr. (1944), Badfinger’s Pete Ham (1947), soul songstress Ann Peebles (1947), Kate Pierson of The B-52′s (1948), Ace Frehley (1951), Sheena Easton (1959), Marco Pirroni of Siouxsie and the Banshees (1959)

April 28: John Walters of Dr. Hook (1945), Steve Gilpin (1950), Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth (1953), Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals (1961), Too Short (1966), Daisy Berkowitz of Marilyn Manson (1968)

April 29: Duke Ellington (1899), Carl Gardner of The Coasters (1928), Lonnie Donegan (1931), Klaus Voorman (1942), Duane Allen of the Oak Ridge Boys (1943), Soft Machine’s Hugh Hopper (1945), Tammi Terrell (1945), Tommy James (1947), keyboardist-accordian player John Cascella (1947), Francis Rossi of Status Quo (1949), Mark Kendall of Great White (1958), Carnie Wilson of Wilson Phillips (1968), Master P (1970), Mike Hogan of The Cranberries (1973)

April 30: Willie Nelson (1933), Jerry Lordan (1934), Bobby Vee (1943), Chris “Choc” Dalyrimple of Soul For Real (1971), J.R. Richards of Dishwalla (1972), Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees (1973)

May 1: pioneering Delta blues singer Charley Patton (1891), Big Maybelle born Mabel Louis Smith (1924), Harry Belafonte (1927), Sonny James (1929), Little Walter born Marion Walter Jacobs (1930), Titus Turner (1933), Judy Collins (1939), Rita Coolidge (1944), Mimi Farina (1945), Ray Parker Jr. (1954), Johnny Colt of the Black Crowes (1966), Tim McGraw (1967), D’Arcy Wretsky-Brown of Smashing Pumpkins (1968), punk rocker Nick Traina (1978)

May 2: Bing Crosby (1903 [or '01 or '04 depending on your reference]), Link Wray born Frederick Lincoln Wray, Jr. (1929), organist Richard “Groove” Holmes (1931), John Lee Gardner of the Mothers of Invention (1933), Hilton Valentine of The Animals (1943), Goldy McJohn of Steppenwolf (1945), Lesley Gore (1946), Larry Gatlin (1948), Lou Gramm of Foreigner (1950), Prescott Niles of The Knack (1954), Joe Callis of Human League (1955)

May 3: Pete Seeger (1919), James Brown (1933), Engelbert Humperdinck (1936), Frankie Valli born Frank Castelluccio (1937), Mary Hopkin of “Those Were the Days” fame (1950), Christopher Cross (1951), Bruce Hall of REO Speedwagon (1953)

Departures
April 27: Al Hirt (1999), blues and soul singer Z.Z. Hill (1984), Phil King of Blue Oyster Cult (1972)

April 28: The (Five) Willows singer John Steele (1997), B.W. “Buckwheat” Stevenson (1988), T. Rex bassist Steve Currie (1981), Tommy Caldwell of The Marshall Tucker Band (1980), Charley Patton (1934)

April 29: Fabulous Thunderbirds bassist Keith Ferguson (1997), Mick Ronson (1993), Friends of Distinction leader Floyd Butler (1990), J.B. Lenoir (1967), blues pianist Leroy Carr (1935)

April 30: Nazareth drummer Darrell Sweet (1999), Body Count drummer Victor Ray Wilson (1996), Muddy Waters (1983), rock writer Lester Bangs (1982), Richard Farina (1966)

May 1: Sergio Franchi (1990), Spike Jones (1964)

May 2: jazz drummer Billy Higgins (2001)

May 3: Dion bandmember Peter Falcaglia (1995), Paul Butterfield (1987), Triumvirat bassist/guitarist Helmet Koellen (1977), guitarist Les Harvey (1972)

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1969, John and Yoko are married in Gibraltar…two days later they begin their famous “bed-in for peace”…

1975, electric guitar pioneer and bluesman Aaron “T-Bone” Walker dies after complications from a stroke…he was one of the first to take advantage of the electric guitar in blues…artists from B.B. King to the Allman Brothers cite him as an influence, the latter having a hit with a cover of his song “Stormy Monday”…

1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court overturns the conviction of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who had been convicted of murdering three white men in 1967 during a robbery…Carter had garnered the support of Bob Dylan during his incarceration, and Dylan had penned the song “Hurricane” in support of Carter’s claims…the song and subsequent benefit concert are credited with helping Carter’s cause…

1982, Randy Rhoads, lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne’s band, is killed when a plane he is flying in crashes into a home and explodes…the band is stopped at the Leesburg, FL. home of its bus driver, Andrew Aycock, a licensed pilot…Aycock “borrows” a plane from a nearby airfield and invites Rhoads and costume designer Rachel Younglood to take a quick flight…as Ozzy and the rest of the band sleep on the bus, Aycock circles and buzzes it three times without incident…on the fourth pass, the aircraft bumps the bus, clips a wing, and crashes into a nearby house, erupting in flames…all three onboard are killed…a postmortem finds cocaine in Aycock’s system…

1991, seven members of Reba McEntire’s touring band and her road manager are killed when their plane crashes into a mountainous area near the California/Mexico border…McEntire was traveling in a separate plane…

1991, guitar legend Eddie Van Halen and his wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli, celebrate the birth of their son…they name the boy Wolfgang…

1991, Eric Clapton’s 4-year-old son, Conor, falls 56 floors out the window of a New York apartment building in a freak accident…the little boy is in the custody of his mother, Italian actress, Lori Del Santo…they are visiting New York and staying in a friend’s apartment…the housekeeper has just cleaned a room and opened the window to air it out when young Conor comes dashing by and falls out the window…Clapton is in his hotel nearby…he has just taken Conor to the circus the previous evening…”Tears in Heaven,” “The Circus Left Town,” and “Lonely Stranger” are all inspired by the deep impact the accident has on Conor’s aggrieved father…

1994, The Foo Fighters announce that former Alanis Morissette drummer Taylor Hawkins will be hitting the skins for the band…their former drummer William Goldsmith departed a few weeks earlier “to pursue a variety of other musical interests”…

1994, Bruce Springsteen wins the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Streets of Philadelphia”…the song is from the film Philadelphia and is the first ever written by Springsteen specifically for a film…

1999, Lillian McMurry, the co-founder of Trumpet Records in Jackson, Mississippi, dies of a heart attack at age 78…the label, which she ran out of the back of her furniture store, released sides by the masterful harp player Sonny Boy Williamson II as well as Elmore James, B.B. King, Big Joe Williams, and Little Milton…McMurry enjoyed a sterling reputation as someone who treated blues artists fairly…

1999, Radiohead debuts its behind-the-scenes film, Meeting People is Easy, at the South By Southwest Music and Film Festival in Austin, Texas…

1999, rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard is arrested yet again, this time in New York City after police claim to have found crack cocaine in his vehicle after pulling him over for not having license plates on his vehicle…ODB will be charged with a misdemeanor drug possession charge and for driving with a suspended license…he will be arrested again five days later after police pull him over because once again the vehicle he is driving has no license plates…

2000, the Recording Industry Association of America certifies 17 million copies sold of Shania Twain’s album Come On Over, making it the best-selling album by a solo female artist…

…and that was the week that was.

Arrivals
March 16: Jerry Jeff Walker born Paul Crosby (1942), Heart’s Nancy Wilson (1954), Flavor Flav of Public Enemy (1959), Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen (1991)

March 17: Nat King Cole (1917), Clarence Collins of Little Anthony & The Imperials (1939), Paul Kantner of The Jefferson Airplane (1941), John Sebastian (1944), Harold Brown of War (1946), Ian Gomm of Brinsley Schwartz (1947), Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham (1951), Mike Lindup of Level 42 (1959), Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan (1967), Melissa Auf der Maur of Hole (1972)

March 18: Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844), Robert Lee Smith of The Tams (1936), Charley Pride (1938), Wilson Pickett (1941), dub-style reggae pioneer Keith Hudson (1946), B.J. Wilson of Procol Harum (1947), John Hartman of The Doobie Brothers (1950), Bill Frisell (1951), Irene Cara (1959), Vanessa Williams (1963), Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains (1966), Queen Latifah born Dana Owens (1970), Jamiroquai’s Stuart Zender (1974)

March 19: Moms Mabley (1894), Clarence “Frogman” Henry (1937), R&B artist Walter Jackson (1938), The Monkees’ Mickey Dolenz (1945), The Zombies’ Paul Atkinson (1946), Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters (1946), The B-52s’ Ricky Wilson (1953), Bay City Rollers’ Derek Longmuir (1955), Terry Hall of The Specials (1959)

March 20: Jerry Reed (1937), Carl Palmer (1951), Jimmy Vaughan (1951), Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats (1961), Tracy Chapman (1964), Chester Bennington of Linkin Park (1976)

March 21: Delta blues legend Son House (1902), blues pianist Otis Span (1930), Rosemary Stone of Sly and the Family Stone born Rosemary Stewart (1945), Eddie Money (1949), Roger Hodgson of Supertramp (1950), Conrad Lozano of Los Lobos (1951), Prodigy’s MC Maxim (1967), Ace of Base’s Jonas Berggren (1967), Andrew Copeland of Sister Hazel (1968), rapper Notorious B.I.G. born Christopher Wallace (1972)

March 22: Keith Relf of the Yardbirds (1943), George Benson (1943), Jeremy Clyde of Chad & Jeremy (1944), Tony McPhee of The Groundhogs (1944), Harry Janda of The Easybeats (1947), Patrick Olive of Hot Chocolate (1947), Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948), Stephanie Mills (1957), Richard Ploog of The Church (1962)

Departures
March 16: pop and country singer-songwriter Johnny Cymbal (1993), legendary electric bluesman Aaron “T-Bone” Walker (1975), Tammi Terrell (1970)

March 17: MTV VJ J.J. Jackson (2004), Trumpet Records co-founder Lillian McMurry (1999), Chantels member and James Brown backup vocalist Yvonne Fair (1994), Rick Grech (1990), New Orleans R&B singer Bobby Mitchell (1989), Samuel George Jr. of The Capitols (1982), James “Jimmie” Davis, bassist for Fats Domino (1920)

March 18: The Mamas & the Papas co-founder John Phillips (2001)

March 19: drummer Jeff Ward of Revolting Cocks (1993), Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood (1990), Randy Rhoads (1982), Paul Kossoff of Free (1976)

March 20: Eric’s son Conor Clapton (1991), jazz and R&B guitarist Billy Butler (1991), Cadence Records founder Archie Bleyer (1989)

March 21: songwriter Fred Spielman (1997), electric guitar revolutionary Leo Fender (1991)

March 22: saxophone player George Howard of Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes (1998), former Turtles drummer Don Murray (1996), singer-songwriter Dan Hartman (1994), Mark Dinning of “Teen Angel” fame (1986)

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