In his new column for Totally Driven Entertainment, Charlie's Hidden Treasure, Charlie Calv (the man you hear playing keyboards/synthesizers alongside Angel guitarist Punky Meadows) tells the story of the lost Black Sabbath record... that never happened.

The year was 1984, Black Sabbath had just completed the Born Again tour, Ian Gillian was out, Bill Ward was back in, and Bob Ezrin (KISS, Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd) was on board to produce a new record, Sabbath had no singer. On the recommendation of Ezrin, former Silver Condor singer Joe Cerisano was flown to Los Angeles to audition…and nails the gig! As Bob Ezrin has stated, “He was the best of the singers that we had auditioned and we all agreed that we should offer him the job. It seemed as though our problem had been solved.” That was not the case.

An excerpt from Charlie Calv's interview with Joe Cerisano follows:

Charlie Calv: When you got that phone call to audition for Black Sabbath what did you think? We are talking about a legendary band with quite the list of impressive singers prior to 1984 (Ozzy, Dio, Gillian).

Joe Cerisano: "When I got the call from Bob Ezrin and he asked me if I wanted to try out for Black Sabbath I had already been introduced to the lucrative aspects of singing sessions (being a hired gun) in Manhattan. For the first time in my life I was making great money, working with the best musicians on the planet and not begging Columbia Records for an advance to live. I was a fan of the first two Sabbath albums then I kind of lost touch. In fact, I still have my albums to this day. So what did I think, since they were paying my hotel and my flight out to LA? I thought I would check it out."

CC: What was it like during the audition, what did it feel like playing in Black Sabbath?

JC: "Oh yeah it felt like Black Sabbath. I was standing right in the middle of Black Sabbath. As for the audition, as I recall it lasted about an hour. It was Tony for sure, Geezer and I think the original drummer (Bill Ward). There were no other musicians. The guys were really nice to me. We got on well. The rehearsal took place at SIR in Hollywood. As for the atmosphere, it was really good. I didn’t really know what was happening within the band. I met the guys. I sang. We had a great time making some music and that was it. Totally professional."

Read the full story at Totally Driven Entertainment.