A big Happy Birthday to Tommy Aldridge!
The famed rock drummer got his start in the southern rock band "Black Oak Arkansas," and recorded with them through the early 70's, until the band's drug use drove Tommy away and into the arms of the Pat Travers Band, where he stayed till the 70's. Tommy would move on from Pat travers in the early 80's and find his way into performing with Gary Moore, which is where newly acquired Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads came across him and quickly struck up a friendship.
It was through this friendship that Aldridge would eventually leave Moore and join the Ozzy Osbourne Band where he tour with Rhoads until his death and continue to record with Ozzy after playing on "Bark At The Moon". Tommy would stay on through the "Tribute" live album, but would eventually leave with Rudy Sarzo to join David Coverdale's Whitesnake, after he fired the band before the tour to support the now classic "Whitesnake" album, and "Slip Of The Tongue".
Aldridge has stayed a permanent member of the band to this day and is widely considered one of the great metal drummers of all time.