Benztown Presents ''Blizzard of Ozz 40th Anniversary''

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, September 25, 2020

Blizzard of Ozz 40th Anniversary Special

Benztown will present "Blizzard of Ozz 40th Anniversary Special," a celebration of Ozzy Osbourne's debut album produced especially for Rock and Classic Rock stations to air on Halloween weekend. The special features Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and is hosted by syndicated Rock personality Matt Pinfield, who wrote the show with KLOS-FM/Los Angeles Program Director Keith Cunningham, who is also Executive Producer for the special -- produced in collaboration with Epic Records.

There are two versions available for stations: a one-hour version, which features music from Blizzard of Ozz, and a two-hour version, which adds post-Blizzard era highlights. The special includes four minutes of network inventory per hour through Westwood One, plus local spot inventory. Each station that airs the program will get 10 digital downloads of the record to give away to listeners.

"Blizzard of Ozz" was released on September 20, 1980, in the UK and on March 27, 1981, in the U.S. The album was ranked 9th on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" and was a commercial success, achieving a four-time Platinum certification status in the U.S. and selling over 6,000,000 copies to date worldwide, making it Osbourne's best-selling solo album

Benztown President Dave "Chachi" Denes said, "Rock listeners will love this Halloween weekend special. Now, more than ever, people are turning to the music that they remember from the best of times and this show will bring them home. It's the perfect soundtrack to a Halloween weekend that doesn't suck."

Consultant to the production, McVay Media President Mike McVay added, "There is no one to spend Halloween with that's more appropriate than the Prince of Darkness. This is the type of programming that changes people's habits."

Cunningham added, "Blizzard of Ozz 40th Anniversary Special," said: "When I was in Jr. High School, I plagiarized some lyrics from "Suicide Solution" for a poetry assignment. My teacher had no idea. My fandom of Ozzy goes way back and I am honored to be a part of this project and I thank Ozzy and Sharon for being generous with their time and agreeing to do this special."