Drummer Zak Starkey regrets turning down offer to back Ozzy Osbourne & Black Sabbath

July 24, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

In the wake of Ozzy Osbourne’s death Tuesday at age 76, drummer Zak Starkey is sharing his regret at turning down an offer to play with the Prince of Darkness.

In a post on Instagram, Starkey, who has worked with The Who and Oasis, shared a message he once got from Ozzy’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, offering him a gig backing Black Sabbath.

Sharon wrote at the time that they were looking for a drummer to back the band at Download Festival and Lollapalooza, which Sabbath played in 2012. The message also said they needed a drummer to play on an album they were working on with producer Rick Rubin, a reference to 2013’s 13. It would become Sabbath’s final album, which ended up featuring Rage Against The Machine’s Brad Wilk on drums.

Sharon ended the message by joking, “Also, Ozzy wants to have sex with you while he is singing Iron Man.”

“Regrets I’ve had a few -this is one – (not the sex part!),” Starkey shared in a caption to the post. “Ozzy will always be one of the greatest, natural, brilliant singers of all time. I send much love and strength to his family at this sad sad time.”

He added, “If u aren’t familiar with the never say die record – get into it – it’s so far out – X,” referring to Sabbath’s 1978 album.

Paul McCartney adds San Antonio date to Got Back tour

July 24, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Paul McCartney has added another city to the upcoming North American leg of his Got Back tour.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is now set to play the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 25.

A ticket pre-sale starts on July 29 at 10 a.m. local time, although fans will need to pre-register for access. Tickets go on sale to the public Aug. 1.

McCartney will now be headlining 20 dates on this leg of the Got Back tour, which is his first North American tour since 2022. The trek kicks off Sept. 29 in Palm Desert, California, and wraps with a two-night stand in Chicago, Nov. 24 and 25.

A complete list of dates can be found at PaulMcCartney.com.

Led Zeppelin celebrates 50th anniversary of ‘Physical Graffiti’ with live EP & deluxe edition

July 24, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio album, Physical Graffiti, and the band has announced some new releases to celebrate, including a new live EP and a deluxe edition of the album.

The EP, titled Live E.P. will be released on CD, vinyl and digitally. It will feature performances of four songs: “In My Time of Dying” and “Trampled Underfoot,” both recorded live at London’s Earls Court in 1975, and “Sick Again” and “Kashmir,” both recorded at the Knebworth Festival in England in 1979.

As a preview, the performance of “Trampled Underfoot (Live From Earls Court, 1975)” is now available via digital outlets, with a performance video now on YouTube.

The band will also release an update of 2015’s three-LP Physical Graffiti Deluxe Edition, which includes the remastered version of the album, the bonus album featuring rough mixes and early versions of songs, and a new replica Physical Graffiti poster.

Both releases are due out Sept. 12 and are available for preorder now.

Physical Graffiti, released on Feb. 24, 1975, was Led Zeppelin’s first album to be released under their own label, Swan Song Records. The double album, produced by Jimmy Page, spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, and also hit #1 in the U.K. and Canada. It was the first album to go Platinum from preorders alone and has since been certified 17-times Platinum in the U.S.

Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi reflects on last gig with Ozzy Osbourne

July 24, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Ozzy Osbourne‘s Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi reflects on his final performance with the late Prince of Darkness in a new interview with the U.K.’s ITV News.

Iommi reunited with Ozzy, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward for the massive Back to the Beginning concert on July 5, which was promoted as the final live performance by the original Sabbath lineup, as well as Ozzy’s last-ever show. Just over two weeks later, on July 22, Ozzy’s family announced that he had died at age 76.

“I think [Ozzy] must have had something in his head that said, ‘Well, this is going to be it, the last thing I’m ever gonna do,'” Iommi says of the concert, which was held in Sabbath’s hometown of Birmingham, England.

“Whether he thought he was going to die, I don’t know,” Iommi continues. “But he really wanted to do it and he was determined to do it.”

Iommi says that hearing that Ozzy had passed “was a shock for us.”

“It couldn’t sink in,” Iommi says. “I thought, ‘It can’t be.'”

Meanwhile, Lita Ford, who collaborated with Ozzy on the 1989 hit “Close My Eyes Forever,” has written an essay for Rolling Stone remembering him.

“‘Close My Eyes Forever’ is something a lot of people play at funerals,” Ford writes. “A lot of people have love for that song because it’s beautiful. In Ozzy’s name, keep rocking. Great rock stars never truly die.”

Additionally, artists are continuing to pay tribute to Ozzy during their concerts, including Judas Priest, David Lee Roth and Rod Stewart.

On This Day, July 24, 2022: Joni Mitchell surprises with performance at Newport Folk Festival A

July 24, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, July 24, 2022 …

Joni Mitchell was the surprise musical performer at the Newport Folk Festival, joining Brandi Carlile for a special set that featured the legendary musician performing with a variety of guests.

The so-called Joni Jam was Joni’s first public performance since surviving a brain aneurysm in 2015.

During the set, a seated Joni was joined by artists like Wynonna Judd, Marcus Mumford and Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith, performing 13 songs, including some of her classic tunes like “Both Sides Now,” “A Case of You” and “Big Yellow Taxi.”

An album from the performance, Joni Mitchell at Newport, was released in July 2023.

The appearance turned out to be the catalyst for more Joni Jams. She held one in June 2023 at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, and then headlined two similar concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in October 2024.

Documentary about the making of Tom Petty’s ‘Wildflowers’ coming to Blu-ray

July 24, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

The 2021 documentary about the making of Tom Petty’s second solo album, Wildflowers, is getting its first-ever physical release.

Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, directed by Mary Wharton, will be released on Blu-ray Sept. 12. It features 30 minutes of extra material made up of outtakes and music videos.

Originally released on YouTube, the film follows Petty as he works on Wildflowers with producer Rick Rubin. It features archival footage of the pair in the studio, which was unearthed following Petty’s death in 2017.

The making of Wildflowers will also be chronicled in a new book being released in December. Also titled Wildflowers, the limited-edition book will feature rare photography, handwritten lyrics and personal stories from Petty, the Heartbreakers and his musical collaborators.

It is available for preorder now.

Released in November 1994, Wildflowers was the first of three albums produced by Rubin. Although credited to just Petty, Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein played on the record, which peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200. It featured the singles “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” “You Wreck Me” and the title track.

Dead & Company’s San Francisco shows to be livestreamed

July 23, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Dead & Company is giving fans yet another way to enjoy the upcoming shows in San Francisco celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead.

The Aug. 1, 2 and 3 shows at Golden Gate Park will now be available to watch on nugs.

Fans will be able to stream each night in either HD or 4K, with pay-per-view tickets priced at $39.99 and $49.99, respectively. There will also be a three-night bundle for $99.99 or $129. Each ticket can be used to stream the concerts live, or within 48 hours of the show.

And in honor of the The Dead’s 60th anniversary, those who buy a pay-per-view ticket will also receive 60 days of streaming on nugs for free.

Tickets for the livestream are on sale now.

In addition to the livestream, Dead & Company’s final concert on Aug. 3 will screen live at 30 IMAX theaters nationwide. Tickets for the screening are on sale now, and each ticket comes with a collectible mini poster and lanyard.

Metallica members remember the first time they heard Black Sabbath

July 23, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Metallica has shared a video in which each of the four band members remember the first time they heard Black Sabbath.

The video was first filmed ahead of the Back to the Beginning concert on July 5, which marked the final live performance by the original Sabbath lineup and Ozzy Osbourne. Metallica decided to post it now following Ozzy’s death Tuesday at age 76.

“We all have very vivid memories of the first time we listened to Black Sabbath,” Metallica writes in the caption. “It changed all of our lives. We love you, Ozzy, and will miss you so, so much.”

Here are some of the other tributes that have come through:

Slash: “It’s with a heavy heart that I mourn the passing of the great Ozzy Osbourne. I know a great many people cried all around the world at this profound loss. I’m with you. He was an awesome motherf*****. We all loved him dearly. I’ll miss him as a friend. & a pillar of the spirit of rock n roll. But I’m so happy Ozzy had that last show that we all could share with him, it truly meant the world to one of the greatest of all time. RIP.”

Aerosmith: “We’re heartbroken to hear about the passing of our brother in rock, Ozzy Osbourne. A voice that changed music forever. From Black Sabbath to his solo work, Ozzy redefined what it meant to be heavy. He did it all with heart, grit, and that wild spirit only he could bring. Our love goes out to Sharon, his family, his band, and the millions around the world who felt his fire. Rock on, Ozzy. You will be missed, but never forgotten!”

Zakk Wylde: “THANK YOU FOR BLESSING THE WORLD w/YOUR KINDNESS & GREATNESS OZ – YOU BROUGHT LIGHT INTO SO MANY LIVES & MADE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE – YOU LIVED w/THE HEART OF A LION – I THANK THE GOOD LORD EVERY DAY FOR BLESSING MY LIFE w/YOU IN IT.”

Gene Simmons remembers ‘pure soul’ Ozzy Osbourne: ‘He was unique and a giant’

July 23, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne passed away Tuesday at the age of 76, and while he may have been known as the Prince of Darkness, KISS rocker Gene Simmons says he was far from a scary person.

Simmons met Ozzy 50 years ago when KISS and Black Sabbath were first starting out. He tells ABC News, “The Ozzy I got to know was decidedly different than the Prince of Darkness that millions of people around the world think of as Ozzy.”

Simmons says Ozzy was a “pure soul” who “never said anything bad about anybody.”

“Even onstage, the Prince of Darkness would jump up and you know what he’d say to his fans? He’d blow kisses at them and saying, ‘I love you,’” Simmons shares. “That’s not the best way to scare people. He was a sweetheart … and that’s what makes it even more devastating.”

For Simmons there was no one quite like Ozzy; he suggests that while many artists are inspired by other musicians, that wasn’t the case with Ozzy.

“There was no Ozzy before Ozzy,” he says. “Ozzy was what scientists call a singularity.”

And while Ozzy never copied anyone, Simmons has no doubt there will be plenty of musicians copying Ozzy.

“Trust me, there are going to be a lot of Ozzys from now on,” he says. “They’re all going to studying him, but he was unique and a giant.”

Exhibit exploring Bob Dylan’s early career to open at New York University

July 23, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

A Bob Dylan exhibit highlighting his early career and the political and social messages in his music is set to open at New York University in August.

How Many Roads: Bob Dylan and His Changing Times, 1961-1964 originally opened in 2024 at the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It examines how Dylan used his music to respond to current events, particularly the Civil Rights Movement, using archival material, as well as new original documentary films. It also highlights artists who were influential to his career, including Pete Seeger and Joan Baez.

“The exhibit centers on Dylan’s music as a lens through which to view some of the most defining events of the 20th century,” said Mark Davidson, curator of the exhibit. “The early ’60s were a time of rapid change for America, and Dylan paced alongside, documenting—this exhibit shows you how.”

How Many Roads: Bob Dylan and His Changing Times, 1961-1964 will run from Aug. 25 to Oct. 15 at NYU’s Gallatin Galleries in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan.

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