Ozzy Osbourne

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Ozzy, and I thought I should write a post about him. For those of you who don’t know him, Ozzy Osbourne is a metal artist, commonly called the Godfather of Metal. Like, literally metal wasn’t a genre of music before him. He was born in England in 1948 and loved the Beatles, but he wanted to make music that was heavier than that. Towards the end of 1967 he met these other musicians, and together they formed the band Black Sabbath. Performing from 1968 until 1979, when Ozzy left due to tensions in the group, Black Sabbath took rock and turned it into metal. Their hit songs Iron Man, Paranoid, and War Pigs took the world by surprise, and other bands like Led Zeppelin would build on their foundation. (Black Sabbath and Ozzy reunited in 2017 for one last concert, and it was lit). It was also during this time that he earned the nickname “Prince of Darkness”. 

1980 saw the release of the album Blizzard of Ozz, made by Ozzy’s new band, just called Ozzy Osbourne. The guitarist for this album, Randy Rhoads, was an absolute master of the guitar. Go listen to Mr. Crowley if you don’t believe me. Unfortunately, due to a dumb plane accident Rhoads was killed. It absolutely devastated Ozzy, he just spent days crying at his church (Yeah, believe it or not he’s a professing Anglican). But he carried on, and made more incredible albums. 4 more in the 80s, 2 in the 90s, 4 between 2000-2019, and he’s currently in the process of making what could be his final album. That means that he’s been making music for 52 years, which is an insane amount of time. 

He hasn’t been without his struggles and controversies though. He’s been a heavy drug and alcohol user since the 70s. It’s a common joke among Ozzy fans that he’s immortal, because the effects of all that have only caught up to him now, and even still he’s going strong. People have called him and his songs Satanic before, and I mean, I would think so too if I hadn’t listened to his music before. Then again, you’re kinda asking for someone to make an issue when one of your songs is literally called Suicide Solution. Also, there’s the bat story, which is both amusing and concerning. So, he was doing a concert in 1982, and for some reason someone in the crowd threw a weakened bat onto the stage (Weakened as in it didn’t try to fly away). Ozzy thought it was a fake rubber one, so he thought “You know what, it’d be cool if I bit the head off in front of the audience”. And he does just that, but not before getting bit by a very annoyed and very much alive bat. He had to get a rabies shot, but the story went viral, and he likes to joke about it still. 

Now, here’s the real reason Ozzy’s been on my mind lately. Just recently, he announced that both he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and that he only expects to live a few more years. It’s a very sad thing for all the metal fans out there. It’s very likely that his upcoming album, Ordinary Man, will be his final album. But I must say, he’s going out with a bang. He’s released 4 of the songs, and they are some of his best stuff. I may have shed a tear or two. 

So yeah, I just felt like talking about him a bit. I will always be a fan of his music, both his solo career and his work with Black Sabbath. Down below are 3 songs I think you should hear. Mr. Crowley, from Blizzard of Ozz (With Randy Rhoads on guitar), War Pigs from Black Sabbath’s final 2017 concert, and Ordinary Man from his new album. That last song is his equivalent of Frank Sinatra’s My Way, it’s very emotional. Anyway, thank you for reading this. Bye for now.