R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne, 1948-2025
The Godfather of Heavy Metal, Ozzy Osbourne, has passed away at the age of 76. His family confirmed his death in a statement on the BBC: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Ozzy, born Dec. 3, 1948, as John Michael Osbourne, rose to prominence with Black Sabbath in the 1970s and from there, cast an indelible mark on metal music. Like Lemmy Kilmister, Ronnie James Dio, and other major figures who’ve preceded his passing, his is an influence that is impossible to measure because it continues to expand every day. An icon, he is a part of the culture.
Alongside guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, Osbourne established Black Sabbath at the nexus point where hard rock turned darker and became heavy metal. Their 1970 debut remains the first in a succession of debatably six landmark albums, and though he’d sing on nine Sabbath records ultimately — the final one being 2013’s reunion platter 13 — that initial run helped shape metal and launched the solo career that helped Osbourne make his name separate from the band he set out with.
Ozzy would release 12 or 13 albums under the band name Ozzy Osbourne, the latest of which, Patient Number 9, came out in 2022. From his 1980s heyday with records like his 1980 debut, Blizzard of Ozz, 1981’s Diary of a Madman or 1983’s Bark at the Moon, even amid the ongoing New Wave of British Heavy Metal with all its stately pretenses, Ozzy managed to communicate to his audience collections of songs that were comparatively down to earth (which would be the name of a later album), relying on charisma and the quality of the performances of generational-talent guitarists like Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, and others.
Founding Ozzfest in the late 1990s helped solidify Ozzy as a household name, not to mention his circa-then reunion with Black Sabbath, but it was the reality show The Osbournes, which aired on MTV from 2002-2005, that really brought pop-stardom to Ozzy, his wife and manager Sharon, and their kids Jack and Kelly (their eldest daughter, Amy, opted not to appear). Next-level fame came largely at the cost of dignity and the ‘Prince of Darkness’ image Osbourne had fostered leading up to those show seasons, but Ozzy would outlast even his own novelty, and be back on the road with his band, putting out records and dumping buckets of water on gleeful audiences.
Osbourne’s passing comes on the relative heels of a celebration of his life and work that saw artists from across generations gather — from Alice in Chains and Pantera to Yungblood — to play his and Black Sabbath’s songs in Birmingham, England, where it had all started so many years before. For one last time, Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill took the stage. It will never happen again.
Heavy metal would not be what it is today without Ozzy Osbourne. I probably wouldn’t be here, you probably wouldn’t be here, the heavy underground probably wouldn’t exist. And like few figureheads, Ozzy never gave up his passion for performing and being with his audience. Seated on a well-earned throne, racked by the Parkinson’s Disease he was diagnosed with in 2019, he may not have looked strong, but the fire was still in him. Even if he couldn’t get it out.
The story is more complicated in reality, but if you said, “Black Sabbath invented metal,” you wouldn’t get a ton of argument. There is no other legacy to match his. There was ever, will only have ever been, one Ozzy Osbourne.
His memory will remain in the work that he’s done, in his family and those whose lives he touched either directly or not, and of course in the influence he’s had. We mourn his loss, and cherish the music and the community around it. Hail Ozzy Osbourne. May he rest in peace.
Tags: Birmingham, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, UK
The day came
76 years old!
He made 9 studio albums with Black Sabbath, and 13 studio albums as a solo artist (and I own, and listen, to them ALL).
He was one of all time my favorite vocalists. And, he was the original singer in my favorite band, Black Sabbath.
So cool that he played that final show in his hometown of Birmingham, U.K. just less than three weeks before he passed. He played a 5 song set of his solo stuff, and a 4 song set with all the original members of Sabbath.
Ozzy did it until the end.
Almost as if he died onstage.
He was a rock-n-roll lifer!
Like the passing of Ronnie Dio, and Lemmy, this one is really rough…
R.I.P. Ozzy!!!!!!
Leo Scheben
Doom Lab
R.I.P. to the legend.
well said JJ. Ozzy and the rest of the Sabbath mates created something beautiful and everlasting (with loads of great stories along the way).
Well said, JJ.
Trusting the process – of processing. As wiser than I have stated prior, you can only trust yourself and the first six Black Sabbath records. In a simplified way, one quarter of the reason every last single stinkin’ one of us continues seeking, searching, listening, collecting, gig attending, playing and smilng is now gone. We are in a post-Ozzy world now. There was a dark, dark time when this wasn’t a world I could envision desiring to live in. What a deafening silence would we be experiencing without his voice? The riffs we chase, the doom we know, and the hope we gain from his impact would be nigh-on non-existant. He owed us nothing, gave us everything, and at least for me, I don’t know I’d be who I am or live the life I live, or be living at all, if not for his music and its global reach. I am so grateful for his contribution to the world of music, there’s not really words that convey any of this roundly enough, but thank you Ozzy. Thank you. I don’t know that there is another side to see you on, but I hope you and the riffs are there, if there’s more time to listen; I want to listen to your music and its permutations and influence, always.
Very well said JJ ! A true icon and one of a kind.
Well put as always JJ.
Rest in Power to a pioneer and a true legend.
Also note a freak coincidence in his passing 17 days after his final performance, not unlike Lemmy a decade back.
Sleep well, Prince of Darkness.