Ozzy

 The heavy metal world took a devastating blow with the death of Ozzy Osbourne last week. He was the frontman of Black Sabbath and went on to have a insanely successful solo career. He sang nine albums for Sabbath and thirteen for his solo career. The Prince of Darkness is gone and the world feels that emptiness left by him. But before he went, he got to play a spectacular final show in honor of the long and impactful career he’s had, including a five-song set with all the original members of Black Sabbath in their native Birmingham, England; right where it all began. Poetic, really. 

With the alarming amount of deaths coming out of this year, this one is a real gut punch. Ozzy’s the kind of guy with the Keith Richards syndrome, that because they survived so many drugs and decades of rock and roll excess, that they somehow achieved immortality. “If all that couldn’t kill him, then nothing will,” we’d all say. Alas, no one gets to live forever, but sometimes you get eched into history with echoes of greatness so that you can be remembered forever. You can’t tell me Ozzy Osbourne won’t be one of those people. 

Guess I’ll chat more on my introduction to the Ozz Man. Since we’re here, right? My folks didn’t really have rock and roll around the house. None of the harder stuff that I was looking for. Most kids get introduced to bands at a young age, but that kind of flew by me. My folks were more of the classic rock and Motown-era R&B and soft rock stuff. Great stuff, but there was a deep desire in me to have loud and fast obnoxious music ripping my head off. 

I got my first taste of that when I discovered Black Sabbath. Think I was surfing YouTube and was looking bands similar to AC/DC since they were my favorite. So at that time I was just getting into Aerosmith, Zeppelin, The Who, Rush, and the like, but I dove into Sabbath first because they were most commonly linked as the inventors of heavy metal. You gotta respect the founding fathers, so I dove head first. 

I believe my first track I’ve heard by them was “Iron Man,” (pre-MCU!) Let it be known that Tony Iommi is the God of Riff Writing and all guitar/bass players must be humbled by his greatness because the riffs in that song and the sheer heavy tone of his guitar was enough to make me a fan for life. That and Geezer Butler’s bass playing was what would eventually make me pick up a bass a few years later. And Bill Ward doesn’t get enough credit with his drumwork. Then you get the punk “Paranoid,” and then dove into their discography as I was encaptured by this wonderful discovery that is Black Sabbath and the presence of Ozzy Osbourne. 

I think was sold me on him as a singer and performer is the title track “Black Sabbath.” It was dark and ominous and Osbourne really gives a near theater-esque performance of a man seeing a shadowy figure alluding to be the Devil himself. Great stuff. Then the Paranoid album along with Masters of Reality cemented how much I’d come to love the Ozz Man and Sabbath. Then there’s were countless other songs that had a lasting impression on me; “N.I.B,” “Children of the Grave,” “Symptom of the Universe,” “Into the Void.” Great stuff! 

Then there was Ozz Man’s solo career. Who hasn’t heard “Crazy Train”? That riff rules hard and is a plea from Ozzy on the warnings of a world turning to annihilation during the Cold War. Then it was super stardom from there on out. Even his solo stuff was pretty great. “Flying High Again?” “Miracle Man?” “Mr. Crowley?” Great stuff, like I said. 

Then he became an Elder to metal itself in his later years. He was foul-mouthed and grumpy on the Osbournes, a show dedicated to Ozzy, wife Sharon, and his children. Also, great stuff. Think my favorite line was regarding his family, “I love you all. I love you more than life itself, but you’re all fucking mad.” 

What made Ozzy special was his passion and his enthusiasm for what he wanted to do; make albums and play shows. Even with his health issues, he felt he NEEDED to keep going with the shows and songwriting. I can only dream of possessing that same passion when I’m an old man. Then when the shows had to stop due to his advanced Parkinson’s, it seemed he checked out of this life when it became dull. He didn’t seem one to tolerate boredom. 

Whenever asked what he passed of, I respond recently with, “A three day coke bender.” I’m sure he would’ve gotten a chuckle out of that. Ozz Man… Love you, appreciate you, and thank you all you’ve done. The music, the shows, the shining personality, we’ll miss it all terribly. One of the Godfathers of Heavy Metal, never forgotten.