Ozzy Osbourne Dies at 76

Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary frontman with Black Sabbath, a founding father of heavy metal, and one of the greatest characters to ever step foot on a stage or in a studio, has died following a lengthy battle with poor health. He was 76.

"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," reads a statement from his family.

Ozzy always had great timing. His passing comes just two weeks after what was billed as Black Sabbath's final concert, a massive all-star festival titled Back to the Beginning in his hometown, of Birmingham, England.

Black Sabbath

The greatest names in heavy music were on hand that day at Villa Park to pay tribute, including Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, and Alice in Chains, all of whom can thank Ozzy for giving them the early inspiration. Osbourne performed a short solo set before joining Black Sabbath for what was his final bow.

It was heavy, and a hit. According to Billboard, the July 5 finale was the highest-grossing charity concert of all time, raising more than than US$190 million ($290 million) for three charities, surpassing the amount raised by FireAid and Farm Aid combined.

Nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, Osbourne was a larger-than-life character whose tales of excess, of biting heads off bats, and birds, and peeing on The Alamo (earning a 10-year ban from San Antonio for it) were as legendary as the records. And the records are all-time. 

Black Sabbath's second album Paranoid, from 1970, is widely considered one of the great heavy metal collections, with a tracklist that includes classic "War Pigs", "Iron Man" and the title track. Paranoid hit No. 1 in the UK, one of the band's 10 top 10 efforts. It would be a long time between drinks. Sabbath returned to the UK chart summit in 2013 with the reunion album, 13. 

In the US, 13 gave Sabbath a long-overdue No. 1, one of two top 10 appearances on the Billboard 200. “Paranoid” last year entered the Billions Club on Spotify. Career album sales top 75 million, including more than 24 platinum albums in the UK alone and over 15 million records in the US, according to BMG, which represents the band’s recordings outside North America.

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, with members of Metallica doing the honors. In 2019, the rockers were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Osbourne revealed his Parkinson's diagnosis in January 2020, following two years of worsening health. In February 2023, he reluctantly announced his retirement from touring, citing spinal injuries sustained in a 2018 accident that left him physically unable to handle the rigours of road life.

"Believe me when I say that the thought of disappointing my fans really FUCKS ME UP, more than you will ever know," Osbourne stated at the time.

The singer and songwriter was introduced to a new legion of fans with the 2000s reality TV show The Osbournes, which turned his family, including wife and manager Sharon, the daughter of legendary hardman artist manager Don Arden, son Jack and daughter Kelly, into pop culture stars. Eldest daughter Aimee chose not to appear in the popular MTV show.

The show nabbed the highest ratings in MTV history, and The Osbournes won the 2002 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program.

The following year, in 2003, Ozzy enjoyed his one and only UK No. 1 single with "Changes," a collaboration with Kelly. 

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Osbourne was Black Sabbath's original vocalist, taking the mic from 1969 until 1979, when he was sacked amid battles with substance abuse. Then, he launched an impressive successful solo career that yielded nine top 10 appearances on the Billboard 200 chart, and with the talismanic guitarist Randy Rhoads, gave the rock world one of the greatest-ever tandems.

In his homeland, Ozzy landed five top 10 solo albums.

Solo Ozzy was arguably bigger than Sabbath, certainly in the United States, the world's biggest music market.

The story of Ozzy can't be told without his oftentimes ridiculous antics, which included that bat-biting incident at a 1982 Des Moines concert, the dove-biting at a 1981 CBS Records meeting, and a near-lethal fall from a quad bike in 2003.

Mötley Crüe own tales of debauchery were told in the best-seller from 2001 The Dirt, Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band. In it, the bandmates admit they were no match for Ozzy.

As news of his passing lit up on social media, artists and fans remembered a legend. Fellow Brummies Duran Duran remarked, "Hard to imagine a world without him, Ozzy brought so much joy, humour and raw power to the world, in a life of many chapters. Ozzy was a cat who had way more than nine lives."