OZZY: Laid to Rest

Ozzy Osbourne was laid to rest today on the grounds of his 250-acre estate in Buckinghamshire, England. In his 2010 memoir, I Am Ozzy, he wrote, “I’ve said to Sharon: ‘Don’t cremate me, whatever you do.’ I want to be put in the ground, in a nice garden somewhere, with a tree planted over my head.'” And she honored his wishes as he was buried near a lake on the property. On the bank of the lake was a floral arrangement that spelled out "OZZY [EFFING] OSBOURNE." Joining his family at the private service were members of Black Sabbath and Metallica, along with Elton John, Zakk Wylde, Rob Zombie, Corey Taylor and

Marilyn Manson who says it was "a reverent, beautiful ceremony." Ozzy died on July 22nd at 76. The cause of death has not been announced, but he did have Parkinson's disease and other ailments.

Southern White Rhino Born The Day Ozzy Osbourne Died Named After Him

The tributes continue to come in from every corner of the globe after the passing of Ozzy Osbourne. One of the more unusual ones comes from a wildlife park in Santa Rosa, California. Safari West announced that it has named a southern white rhino born on July 22 "Ozzy" in honor of the heavy metal legend, who passed away the same day. In a statement, the park said, "Our rhino calf was born on the same day the world said goodbye to Ozzy Osbourne. The name felt like a quiet, meaningful tribute - a way to honor the passing of a bold, unforgettable spirit with the arrival of a new one. It wasn't planned, just something that felt right." The park adds that visitors should be able to visit Ozzy soon.

GEORGE HARRISON: Something About August 1st

August 1st stands out as a milestone day in the career of the late George Harrison. It started in 1971 with the staging of his two Concerts for Bangladesh. Held at Madison Square Garden in New York, the afternoon and evening shows, each staged before a capacity crowd of nearly 20,000, featured Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Badfinger, Billy Preston, Klaus Voorman, Leon Russell and Ravi Shankar. The first of its kind large scale all-star benefit paved the way for the likes of Live Aid, Farm Aid, Live 8 and the Concert for New York City.

All net proceeds (after taxes) -- approximately $12-million, were donated to the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. "Originally, Ravi [Shankar] was gonna do the concert. You know, he wanted to try to do something which would make a little bit more money than he normally made. Like he can only make a thousand, two-thousand dollars at a concert. And he said, 'I'd like to do something, maybe you can help,' in order to make maybe something like 20 or 25-thousand dollars. And then I was thinking, 'Well 20-thousand dollars, if we're gonna do it, let's do something good, you know.' And so I started getting carried away with the whole idea of doing something good -- maybe making 10-million dollars."

On August 1st, 1978, Harrison became the last Beatle to become a father as his second wife, Olivia, gave birth to a boy they named Dhani -- the Indian word for "wealth" or "wealthy person" -- -in Windsor, England.

Two years later, August 1st, 1980, Harrison launched his movie production company, HandMade Films. Among the movies they produced are The Long Good Friday (1980), Time Bandits (1981), A Private Function (1984), Mona Lisa (1986), and Shanghai Surprise

with Madonna and Sean Penn and a cameo by Harrison (1986). HandMade went under in 1991 and was sold three years later to Paragon Entertainment. George said ‘With a film, it takes so much longer to actually get to see what it is. And also, with a record, making music, you can write a tune and you can record it and hear instantly, more or less, what it's like. And you can take away or add to it relatively simple -- whereas a film takes on its own life and although you can edit later, and do various things to it, but, basically, it's a much longer process and a much more costly. And so, therefore, the stakes are higher and the aggravation is a bit higher, too."

And finally, on August 1st, 2006, Madison Square Garden unveiled a plaque marking the 35th anniversary of the Concert for Bangladesh. His widow Olivia was on hand for the ceremony.

ELTON & McCARTNEY: Spinal Tapping

Spinal Tap have recorded a new album to coincide with their new mockumentary, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. Titled The End Continues, it contains 13 songs, two of which feature

Elton John, including the first single, a re-recording of 1984's "Stonehenge," one with Paul McCartney, and Garth Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood round out the special guests. The new version of "Stonehenge" also includes a video of them performing it in concert with Elton, which is taken from the movie. Commenting on his participation, Elton says, "This was a blast, rocking out with Spinal Tap for their new movie ... and re-recording their epic 'Stonehenge'. This one is best played at volume 11!"

The album, which will be out the same day as the movie, September 12th, features the three members of the band on the cover spoofing the self-titled debut album by Crosby, Stills & Nash where David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash are seen sitting on a couch outdoors. We sent the cover to Graham Nash who tells us, "It's very funny and such an honor at the same time."

RINGO: Kids Spread Peace & Love

Former Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum and his Adopt the Arts program have produced a video of The Changels -- the Adopt the Arts Honor Choir -- performing Ringo Starr's 2017 song "Give More Love" as part of Ringo's annual "Peace & Love" initiative. Making video cameos in the video alongside the third to fifth graders from four Coachella Valley, California elementary schools are Ringo, Sammy Hagar, Mick Fleetwood, Stewart Copeland, Tom Morello, Fred Armisen, Jane Lynch, Jane Seymour and John Stamos. Earlier this year, Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers joined members of The Changels for a special rendition of Bad Co.’s "Rock & Roll Fantasy.” It was recorded as part of the Adopt the Arts Foundation's ongoing commitment to providing music education in underserved communities.

Oasis Reunion shows to Generate 250K Euros Fund For Manchester's Grassroots Music Venues

Oasis's hometown of Manchester is opening a 250-thousand-dollar fund to help support local music venues following the success of the band's reunion shows. The band's five concerts brought in around 300-thousand attendees. According to the Manchester Evening News, additional concerts from Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Charlil XCX and more have also boosted the economy. As a result, the Manchester City Council has opened a new fund to sustain local music venues and parks. The venues will be able to submit bids for the funding, with the rest being allocated to parkland. Oasis is heading to North America for the next leg of their "Oasis Live 25" reunion tour, with the first show taking place in Toronto on August 24th.

Foghat To Re-Release "Fool For The City" Album With Bonus Live Music

It's been 50 years since Foghat's album "Fool For The City" broke the band in the US. Next month, an expanded re-issue of the album, featuring an entire previously unavailable 1975 live show, will be released. The album will be made available in two-CD and double vinyl sets, including a limited run of autographed copies. The CD version of the reissue includes two bonus tracks, including a cover of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene," which is not available on the vinyl set. The album comes out September 12th. See the track list below.

Great White Bassist Scott Snyder Undergoes Brain Surgery

Great White bassist Scott Snyder has undergone emergency surgery to remove a tumor from his brain. According to his sister-in-law, who started a GoFundMe page for Snyder and his wife, "It has been a tough road that began when Scott started having vision changes, headaches, and confusion, with no clear idea of what it could be. When the symptoms started to get more intense and frequent, they decided to go to the emergency room. The doctors discovered a fist sized mass in his brain. He was subsequently admitted to the hospital where they performed emergency brain surgery a week ago." She went on to explain that while the surgery was a success, Snyder was re-admitted with subsequent blood pressure issues. Snyder has been with Great White since 2008.

AUCTION: Jimmy Buffett Yacht

Margarittaville's own Jimmy Buffett's yacht is up for auction. According to South Florida based G3 Auctions, the 90-foot Cheoy Lee expedition yacht was built in 1999 with an original price tag close to three-million-dollars. The minimum bid is one-point-two-million-dollars. There's one tiny catch, and that is, that the yacht is in Phuket, Thailand, and needs to be picked up by its new owners. G3's 24-hour auction begins on September 4th.

MTV Turns 44 Today

Today marks the 44th anniversary of the launching of MTV. The cable channel began on August 1st, 1981 with 24-hour programming of music videos, beginning with "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. The five original hosts -- fittingly called "VJs" -- were Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn. MTV gradually expanded its programming to feature on-location spring break specials, animated series such as "Beavis and Butthead," game shows, and concerts, including the enormously successful "Unplugged" series during the 90s. In recent decades, MTV programming has been dominated by reality shows such as "The Real World," "Jersey Shore" and "Teen Mom."

MTV Day One Trivia

Virtually everyone knows the first video shown by MTV, but does anyone know how many videos MTV aired during its first 24 hours on the air?The correct answer is 209, although that number includes repeat showings of multiple videos. Leading the way with five plays on the first day were "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, "Just Between You and Me" by April Wine and "You Better You Bet" by The Who. After premiering with "Video Killed the Radio Star," the second video to air was "You Better Run" by Pat Benatar. The 100th video was "Let's Go" by The Cars. And the video that capped MTV's first 24 hours on the air -- the 1977 hit "Lonely Boy" by Andrew Gold.

IN OTHER NEWS

The second anniversary of Jimmy Buffett’s death – September 1st, 2023 – will be recognized in Key West, Florida with Just a Few Friends, Key West, a four-day celebration from August 29th to September 1st. It will feature book signings, film screenings and panels, plus performances by past and present members of his Coral Reefer Band, along with singer-songwriter Will Kimbrough, who Buffett frequently collaborated with.

Jackson Browne, Susan Cowsill, Marshall Crenshaw and more will perform at Meet Me in L.A.: The Songs of Warren Zevon at the United Theater in Los Angeles on October 24th. Proceeds will benefit the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and The Ed Asner Family Center for the Autism Community. Zevon, who will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November, died in 2003 from lung cancer at 56.

Billy Joel has posted a second archival clip on his YouTube channel taken from his two-part HBO documentary, And So it Goes. This one shows him and his band doing an a cappella version of his 1984 hit “The Longest Time” in the locker room showers at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.

Sammy Hagar has posted a video on Instagram of himself, his guitarist Vic Johnson, Dave Grohl, the late Taylor Hawkins, and Bob Weir running through a cover of The Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There,” which Hagar covered on his 2006 concert album, Livin’ It Up, as “Let Me Take You There.” The clip was captured backstage at his Acoustic-4-A-Cure benefit in 2017. He says, “Some of the most unique, special, magical, musical things in my life happened in the dressing room at the Fillmore… I’ll be digging up more of these in the future and hopefully we need an encore performance.”

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