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Call it “Diary of Another Madman.” Ozzy Osbourne, who titled his second solo album Diary of a Madman, is writing a Broadway musical based on the nutty Russian monk Rasputin. The Prince of Darkness already has material written for the project and plans to record it at a studio he is building in the famed Osbournes house, he said last week. Ozzy, who recently parted with his longtime label, also said that when he releases the songs, or any recordings for that matter, he’ll distribute them independently. “We don’t like record labels,” the singer’s wife and manager, Sharon, said, sticking… Read more »

George Harrison, Prince, John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne are among those who’ve made the list of nominees for the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot, a hall of fame spokesperson confirmed Monday. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria for consideration include “the influence and significance of the artist’s contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll,” according to the organization. Several names that have not made the hall before are back for another try, including the Sex Pistols, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, country rock legend Gram Parsons,… Read more »

This news is either going to ease Prince and John Mellencamp’s possible midlife crises, or agitate them: They’re nominees for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The late George Harrison and Jackson Browne are other first-timers on the ballot determining the hall’s class of 2004. Others looking to gain admittance to the Cleveland-based mecca after coming up short in previous voting, include: Punk pioneers the Sex Pistols; Ozzy Osbourne’s first family, Black Sabbath; “Freebird” purveyors Lynyrd Skynyrd; ZZ Top, the bearded rockers who were once MTV’s unlikeliest video stars; and poet/rocker Patti Smith. Nominees become eligible for… Read more »

In an interview with Barbara Walters airing Friday (September 12) on 20/20, Sharon Osbourne admits that she briefly left her husband, Ozzy Osbourne, last spring. The separation occurred around the time their son, Jack, entered rehab for alcohol and substance abuse. Sharon revealed to Walters that she left because Ozzy himself was abusing drugs and alcohol again. “I just said, ‘You just have to stop,’ and he didn’t. And I said, ‘Well then, I’m going,’” Sharon said. The separation only lasted a few days, with Sharon telling Walters, “The minute I left, the next morning, he gave up drinking. But… Read more »

Johnny Cash, “The Man in Black” who became a towering figure in American music with such hits as “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” and “A Boy Named Sue,” died Friday. He was 71. “Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure,” Cash’s manager, Lou Robin, said in a statement issued by Baptist Hospital in Nashville. He said Cash died at the hospital at 1 a.m. EDT. “I hope that friends and fans of Johnny will pray for the Cash family to find comfort during this very difficult time,” Robin said. Cash had been released… Read more »

Just when some old-school Metallica fans were ready to write the band off for crafting St. Anger – which prominently features a snare drum that sounds like a screwdriver hitting a trashcan – and for playing snippets of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and Lenny Kravitz’s “Are you Gonna Go My Way” at the VMAs, the band has redeemed itself. OK, they were doing fine before the VMAs. Few who attended Metallica’s Summer Sanitarium concerts walked away disappointed. The tour featured the band in peak form, bashing out its oldest and heaviest songs. However, a show on Friday for fan club… Read more »

For those who forgot how brutal Chris Rock’s comedy can be, he took every chance to remind them while hosting the MTV Awards on Thursday night. A few pieces of the Rock: “Our next presenter saves a lot of money on Mother’s Day. Give it up for Eminem!” “You’ll be hearing those songs at strip clubs for years to come” – after Christina Aguilera performed “Dirrty.” “Our next presenter is being sued by more people that the Catholic church. Give it up for P. Diddy!” “Seeing Janet Jackson with Jermaine Dupri is like finding out about a sale a day… Read more »

Sam Phillips, the man who discovered Elvis Presley and helped kickstart the rock and roll era, died of respiratory failure at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday (July 30). He was 80. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, Phillips founded the Sun Records label in Memphis in 1952 and recorded the debut single from Elvis Presley (“That’s All Right, Mama” b/w “Blue Moon of Kentucky”) in 1954. Elvis’ first recording helped secure both his and Phillips’ places in rock history and set the stage for Phillips’ work with some of the giants of… Read more »

“American Idol” Ruben Studdard is lucky he has a healthy ego. Not only is “Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken beating the champ on the Billboard singles charts, but on the fifth stop of the “Idol” summer tour, the spiky-haired crooner proved that he’s winning the battle for the hearts and minds of “Idol” fans across the country. Even before the nine “Idol” finalists took the stage at U.S. Bank Arena Sunday night to perform a nearly two-and-a-half-hour medley of covers, the mere sight of Clay’s face on the two Jumbotron screens flanking the massive neon ballroom set was enough to elicit… Read more »