Cozy Powell

Cozy Powell died on April 5, 1998 following a car crash, driving his Saab 9000 in bad weather on the M4 motorway near Bristol, while talking to his girlfriend on his mobile phone. He had returned to the studio shortly before his death to record with ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green. By that time, he had been the drummer on at least 66 albums with minor contributions on many other recordings. It was generally felt that Powell's death was a great loss to the world of popular music. Countless rock-based drummers have cited Cozy Powell as an influence.

Cozy Powell is one of the most prolific drummers in the business. His CV runs like a Who's Who of rock, with stints as a fully paid up member of Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Whitesnake, M.S.G. and the ELP spin-off Emerson, Lake, & Powell. Then there are those legendary guest appearances - with everyone from Donovan to Roger Daltrey, Jack Bruce to Jeff Beck and Gary Moore to Brian May.

His career not only spans three decades, it's also one of the most diverse in rock. In the 1960's, Cozy was a member of the Ace Kefford Stand; in the 70's he was a session drummer for Mickie Most's RAK label, which made Cozy a household name with the Dance With the Devil single; and in 1991, he turned up on Comic Relief's No 1 single, "The Stonk", with comedians Hale & Pace!

Since then Cozy joined Brian May on a Jimi Hendrix tribute album, and supported the legendary Peter Green on his comeback. Most recently, sessions with Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest), Brian May (new album) and Yngwie Malmsteen, the last two with tours, have seen Cozy Powell back to his busiest and perhaps, his best.

Cozy wrote this text himself when the site first went online and had intended to continue this with further info, but alas, he never did. If you'd like to read more about Cozy Powell, I suggest visiting his page on Wikipedia.

Official Cozy Powell Website