Ozzy, Motley Crue, and Rob Halford Revive Ozzfest

After taking 2009 off, Ozzfest has recruited Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest singer Rob Halford's solo band Halford, Black Label Society and others to join its namesake Ozzy Osbourne for six U.S. dates. (The tour starts Saturday, August 14th at San Bernadino's San Manuel Amphitheater.) "People fly in from all over the world to catch an Ozzfest," a confident Halford recently told Rolling Stone. "And I'm sure that will be the case with this particular one. As ever, it's a great mixture of all different kinds of metal — classic rock, classic metal, black metal, death metal, speed metal. You've got the whole metal experience covered, which is what Ozzfest has always done. I think it's staying true to its course in that respect."

Halford — who is on a short break from his main band and planning to release a solo album, Halford IV, this fall — promises an Ozzfest set list with songs from all phases of his career. Plus, some youthful energy: "Both Oz and I have players from different generations, and they give us a kick in the ass." And what's he got planned for when he's offstage? "I'll be throwing the devil horns and banging my old neck on the side of the stage when I see Crüe launch off this Ozzfest."

Ozzy, Mötley Crüe, and Judas Priest last played together in 1983, at the US Festival. Judas Priest and Black Sabbath also joined up for Ozzfest 2004.

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

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