OZZY: Cause of Death Revealed

Ozzy Osbourne's cause of death has been revealed to be a heart attack. The New York Times obtained a copy of the death certificate that was filed in London by Osbourne’s daughter Aimée this week. The document lists cardiac arrest and coronary artery disease among the causes of death, adding that he had Parkinson’s disease. Osbourne’s occupation is recorded as “Songwriter, Performer and Rock Legend.” The certificate says Osbourne died of “(a) Out of hospital cardiac arrest (b) Acute myocardial infarction (c) Coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction (Joint Causes).”

The Times also reported that Thames Valley Air Ambulance had sent a helicopter "to provide advanced critical care at an incident near Chalfront St. Giles on July 22nd” but didn't confirm that it was for Osbourne. After stopping near the singer’s home, the ambulance flew about eight miles southwest to Harefield Hospital, in the London suburb Uxbridge. The helicopter spent “about an hour” at the hospital with its engines running, according to Flightradar24, a company that collates data on aircraft movements. Ozzy Osbourne was 76 and was buried last Thursday on his estate in Buckinghamshire, England.

OZZY: Exhibition Extended

The Ozzy Osbourne exhibition that opened in his hometown of Birmingham, England has been extened into next year. Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero opened at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on June 25th ahead of the Back to Beginning concert on July 5th. It was originally set to close on September 28th, but the museum has extended its run through January 18th in the wake of Ozzy's passing last month. Working Class Hero features memorabilia from throughout Ozzy's career, including Grammy Awards, his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame statues, a selection of his platinum and gold discs plus photos and performance videos.

METALLICA: Black Album Passes Another Chart Mark

Metallica's 1991 self-titled album - a.k.a. The Black Album -- has just passed another chart milestone. This week marks its 800th week on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the fourth album to spend that long on the album chart. The other albums to cross that threshold are Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, the all-time champ with 990 weeks, Bob Marley and the Wailers' Legend with 898 weeks and Journey's Greatest Hits with 868 weeks. The Black Album is the biggest selling album since Soundscan technology was unveiled in 1991, with 17.3-million copies sold. Back in May the RIAA certified the album as double diamond for 20-million copies in the U.S. (The RIAA counts streams and shipments to record stores in its figures.)

DEF LEPPARD: Stick to Your Day Job

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott posted a comical and frustrating video on Instagram showing him trying to play the piano. For the first time in 46 years of touring, he was assigned a room that had a piano, so why not try and play it, despite it being out of tune. In the clip, a frustrated Elliott attempts to play David Bowie's "Changes" before saying he can't sing and play at the same time. He also took a stab at Elton John's "Rocket Man" and Mott the Hoople's "All the Way From Memphis." Elliott and Def Leppard resume their U.S. tour on Saturday in Placer County, California.

Warning!!! Do not broadcast this video as a frustrated Elliott lets loose with F-bombs!!!

Elton John Marks 35 Years Of Sobriety

Elton John is celebrating what he calls his "sobriety birthday." Sir Elton marked 35 years of sobriety with a post on Instagram, commenting "Grateful for all the love on my sobriety birthday." John told CBS News in 2019 his addictions to alcohol, pot and cocaine "nearly destroyed his soul." He had become friends with teenage AIDS activist Ryan White and when White died in 1990, that's when the Rocket Man checked himself into a Chicago hospital and began the process of his recovery.

BILLY JOEL: And So, Which Is It?

Billy Joel recently said he didn’t "hate" his HBO documentary, And So it Goes, adding that to him, "is the real compliment.” But his daughter, Alexa Ray, explains what that really means, telling the New York Post, “He’s like, well you know I’m kind of bored by it because it’s a lot about me and I get sick of me.” She goes onto say, "You know my father is really funny because [he’s] like the most self-effacing person on the planet right? He never buys in his own hype. “I’m like, ‘You should be so proud of yourself!’ He’s like, ‘Eh.' “He’s just not a typical, like narcissistic guy in the spotlight — he just does not buy into any of it — he’s a true artist. He so deeply introverted, he’s really actually a shy person.” The two-part documentary is airing now on HBO Max.

In other Joel news, he's posted another archival clip on his YouTube channel. This one is a performance of "This Night" off An Innocent Man, recorded on June 9th, 1984 at London's Wembley Arena. The previous clips released over the past few weeks are:

·A 1975 performance of “Piano Man”

·An a cappella performance of “The Longest Time”

·A performance of “Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel)” from a Columbia Records convention in 1993

·And a 1979 performance of “Zanzibar” from the Houston Summit

LED ZEPPELIN: Another "Part" of Their History Passes

A week after it was announced that a Go Fund Me page had been set up for Terry Reid, the British singer and guitarist who was Jimmy Page’s first choice to front Led Zeppelin, comes word that he died. Known as "Super Lungs" due to his emotive singing style, he succumbed to cancer at 75. Not only did Reid turn down Page's offer, but he had a solution as he explained in a 2023 interview with Uncut magazine. He said, “Jimmy asked me what he should do with the band. He needed a singer who could sing around those guitar licks, and not everybody could do that. I’d seen Robert [Plant] with John Bonham, so I said to him, ‘Not only is Robert perfect, you’ve got to get the drummer – he’s an animal!’”

And Page wasn't the only one interested in Reid. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore also reached out to him to front Deep Purple, which he also turned down. But he had no regrets, saying, "When you’re in a band, you’re committed to that style. You’re not gonna be able to play any of that Brazilian music you like, cos they don’t do that. And all those folk things you like, well, forget that.” Reid went on to record seven albums, four live collections, and, when not headlining his own shows, he toured with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Cream, Jethro Tull, and Fleetwood Mac, as well as doing numerous collaborations with Graham Nash, session work with Joe Perry, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, and some of his songs were featured in movies, including Up in the Air and The Devil’s Rejects.

Nash has issued a statement saying, "Finding it hard to put into words how sad I am about the passing of my dear friend Terry. How was it just a few short months ago we were smiling on my bus together? He was such a force. A talent beyond what I can express right now. It is still one of my proudest moments having produced his beautiful album Seed of Memory. That voice. That guitar playing. That wonderful person we will all miss so dearly. "My love goes out to his family and everyone who loved him."

THE WHO: Back Over to Zak

Zak Starkey has responded to Roger Daltrey recently telling The Times that Starkey's comments following his firing from The Who were "kind of a character assassination and it was incredibly upsetting.” Explaining that the drums used during Who concerts are electronic so that he can hear them through his in-ear monitors, Daltrey added, “It is controlled by a guy on the side, and we had so much sub-bass on the sound of the drums that I couldn’t pitch. [At our last show with Zak -- the Teenage Cancer Trust benefit in March at London's Royal Albert Hall] I was pointing to the bass drum and screaming at him because it was like flying a plane without seeing the horizon. So when Zak thought I was having a go at him, I wasn’t. That’s all that happened.”

So, Zak, in an effort to once again set the record straight, posted the following on Instagram:

"This is bloody everywhere, and I didn’t make any nasty comments about Roger when I got fired. I think it’s about the public comments about Roger on my Instagram -- which I have taken down. And I didn’t think Roger was having a go at me on stage because he was shouting into a special microphone that he only uses to communicate with the sound guy. "There was no conflict and no argument before the show or after as I was in my car on my way home before Pete [Townshend] and Roger had finished the last song ‘Tea and Theatre’, which is an acoustic duet and doesn’t feature any of the band. "I thought the gig was okay. I had no idea about getting fired or any problems at all until a week after the show. So either The Times

misunderstood or…confusion reigns O’er me and everyone else! "I thought this had blown over. The Who has a new drummer and they’ve played some shows. They’re about to do their farewell tour… so this is old news and it’s completely wrong. When I first saw it I was gonna leave it but now it’s been picked up by every outlet in the cosmos it’s a bit annoying cos it’s rubbish. I love Roger and he’s an amazing singer -- we go back too long for grudges."

The Who replaced Starkey with Scott Devours from Daltrey's band. The Who start The Song Is Over North American Farewell Tour on August 16th in Sunrise, Florida.

DAVID BYRNE, HAYLEY WILLIAMS: Collab on Twits Theme

David Byrne of Talking Heads and Hayley Williams of Paramore have collaborated on yet another track. Byrne previously announced that Williams sings on his upcoming album Who Is the Sky, which comes out September 5th. Now he's revealed that he and Williams co-wrote "Open the Door" for the end credits of the Netflix animated film The Twits. The film, based upon the Roald Dahl children's book, will debut on the streamer on October 17th. Byrne wrote three other songs for the film that will be sung by the cast, which includes Timothy Simons,

Nicole Byer, Jason Mantzoukas and Alan Tudyk. Byrne said in a statement, “This was a fun project. Like other Roald Dahl books, this one has its share of dreadful characters -- this time two of them are front and center."

Williams added, "Being a part of this movie is like one pinch-me moment after another... I owe David Byrne for pulling me into the music for this. It was so fun and so surreal starting a song from scratch with him.”

ASIA: Talk About Heat of the Moment

Asia featuring John Payne, a spin-off of the original band, which still exists, needs a new guitarist as their latest hire, Francis Dunnery, quit after one show. After performing Saturday at the Ulster County Fair in New Paltz, New York, Dunnery took to social media to explain his decision, saying, "I just want to let you know that I won't be doing the rest of the Asia tour. So, if you've bought tickets to see me, then I apologize. John needs a guitar player who can come in and play all the styles and all the sounds that are on the records and unfortunately, that's not what I do. There are much better people at doing that than me. It is impossible for me to adapt to that role, as I don't have the personality or the playing style to fulfill what he needs. And I understand fully because it's what I ask my band, It Bites, to do... "I love old John. He's a good lad. There are absolutely no weird or hard feelings, and I wish him and the band all the success in the world. But now I have to close this brief chapter and go back to my crazy life. I'm more comfortable in my crazy life. Ha ha. It's what I do best. I should stick to that and do myself and everyone else a favor."

Payne has not commented on this news as he no doubt scrambling to hire someone for the next show, August 12th in Tomball, Texas. The original Asia, which only has one original member, Geoff Downes, toured the UK and Japan in April and are now on hiatus as Downes prepares to tour with Yes in the fall.

Doobie Brothers/Coral Reefer Band Launch North American Leg Of Tour

A little bit "China Grove," a little bit "Margaritaville." The Doobie Brothers and special guests The Coral Reefer Band kicked of the North American leg of the "Walk This Road" tour Monday night at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Detroit.The Coral Reefer Band are on their first national tour since the 2023 death of frontman Jimmy Buffet. The Doobies -- with Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons -- are touring in support of their new album "Walk This Road." The tour resumes tonight at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, about 25 miles west of Pittsburgh.

IN OTHER NEWS

Linkin Park have released a live video for "The Emptiness Machine" filmed at London's Wembley Stadium back in June. Check it out on YouTube.

Stone Temple Pilots will perform at halftime of the Denver Broncos - Las Vegas Raiders game on December 7th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

With Bruce Springsteen's third album, 1975's Born to Run, turning 50 next month (August 25th), music journalist Peter Ames Carlin has written Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run, which was published today (Tuesday). Carlin wrote a Springsteen biography, Bruce, in 2012.

Green Day's “One Eyed Bastard” and Lenny Kravitz's "Honey" are among the nominees for Best Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards. The show, which will air on CBS for the first time, will take place September 7th at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.

Green Day have teamed up with the makers of Garbage Pail Kids for a special card set called "Battle of the Bands." The 100-card set tells the history of the trio and some sets will come with an autographed card from Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt or Tre Cool. It can be ordered through the Topps website.

Devon Allman and Duane Betts, the sons of the late Allman Brothers Band members Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts, will kick off their ninth annual Allman Betts Family Revival tour in November. Joining them in select cities are Robert Randolph, Eric Johnson, Dweezil Zappa and others. The tour starts November 29th with 20 dates through December 21st in San Francisco.

Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman will warm up for their appearance as The Guess Who aboard next February's Rock Legends Cruise with a warm-up show on January 31st at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. There will be no U.S. dates prior to the cruise, which departs Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 23rd.

Bob Weir posted a photo on social media of Dead & Company taking a bow Sunday night at their third and final show at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in celebration of the Grateful Dead's 60th anniversary. He captioned it with, "60 years… I’d say that’s a damn good start."

John Fogerty has posted a video on Instagram of him re-recording CCR's "Proud Mary" with producer Don Was for his new album, Legacy, which will be out on August 22nd.

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