RIP Ozzy Osbourne, Lead Singer, Rock Star, Heavy Metal Legend, Gone at 76 – Our Thoughts & Memories

“Grieving, I hate to say good-bye, Dust and ash forever, yeah, Though I know we must be parted, As sure as stars are in the sky, I’m gonna see when it comes to glory

And I’ll see you, I’ll see you on the other side” – Ozzy Osbourne, “See You On The Other Side”

I had no sooner hit the “publish” button on our review of Bush’s new album, I Beat Loneliness, and had adjourned to lunch when I got the sad, sad news that Ozzy Osbourne had passed away at the age of 76. I texted the Rock Chick who shares my love of Ozzy and she was similarly stunned. This news comes a mere two weeks after his big farewell concert with Black Sabbath which I hear broke records for raising money for charity. I know Ozzy had been fragile for quite a while now, but this news still came as a shock to me. I have been an Ozzy Osbourne fan since I was in junior high school. I was an Ozzy fan before I knew – and I’m not proud of this but I was young and new to music – he was the lead singer of Black Sabbath. At the time I started listening to music, Black Sabbath was all about Dio and Heaven And Hell. Of course I later became a huge fan of Ozzy’s era in Sabbath… it just took me a while to get there…

Blizzard of Ozz came out in 1980 when I had been listening to rock n roll music for about 18 months to two years. I was into the Stones, Van Halen and Springsteen. I heard “Crazy Train” and thought that was a great song… I don’t know who this Ozzy guy is, but he seems nuts. A friend loaned me his copy of the album and I recorded it on cassette, as I did with so many records back then – it was how I built a music collection on the cheap back then – and I wore that cassette out. My god that solo debut was so marvelous. Randy Rhoads was an Eddie Van Halen style guitar player and I loved that first Ozzy band. It wasn’t until Ozzy’s second album Diary Of A Madman came out in 1981 that I plunked down that hard earned lawn mowing money and bought it on vinyl (and still own it). I had heard “Flying High Again” and that wonderful lyric, that so applied to me at the time, “Mama’s gonna worry, I’ve been a bad, bad boy… no use saying sorry, it’s something that I enjoy.” That was my theme song. It was like Ozzy was my irreverent, cool uncle, sitting on my shoulder telling me to “go for it.”

Those first two albums (along with the live album Tribute) were an amazing start to Ozzy’s long solo career. Ozzy and Randy were a match made in heaven or perhaps south of there, if I’m being accurate. Unfortunately Randy passed away in a bizarre plane crash while he was buzzing Ozzy’s tour bus. I thought perhaps that would be all we heard from Ozzy, but he showed an uncanny ability to find fabulous guitar players. From Tommy Iommi in Sabbath – with whom he’d recorded some of the seminal heavy metal albums from Black Sabbath to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and if you’re being generous through Sabotage – to Randy Rhoads, to Jake E. Lee to Zakk Wylde, Ozzy could find himself some guitar talent.

After Rhoads died, I kept an ear on the ground for Ozzy’s music. I liked “Bark At The Moon,” but never checked out the album. I loved “Shot In The Dark” from The Ultimate Sin, but also never pursued the album. I was in my “serious music” phase in the 80s. I did see Ozzy on The Ultimate Sin tour in Wichita and learned some Metaphysical Wisdom. In all those years, I think I only saw Ozzy one more time (solo) with the Rock Chick on the Black Rain tour, an album that is criminally underrated. After I foolishly overlooked No Rest For The Wicked, Ozzy came back into my life in a huge way with No More Tears. There wasn’t a bad track on that album. I loved “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” as I had just had to call my mother to tell her I was moving back in with her and dad… not my finest hour. I remember listening to that album on my CD Walkman while I mowed my parent’s yard like it was yesterday. I later found out the Rock Chick was a huge fan of that album as well…we bonded over our love of the Ozz Man. Ozzy pretty much remained a Heavy Metal/Rock God for the rest of his career after that.

I remember buying Ozzmosis, but it disappeared with a ex, most likely. I purchased almost every solo album Ozzy put out. I’m not sure he ever did a bad album. Some were better than others but none were bad. I was on board for the aforementioned Black Rain, Scream, and both his Andrew Watt come back albums Ordinary Man and Patient Number 9. I loved those records. I was also lucky enough somewhere in there to see Ozzy reunite with guitarist Tommi Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler as Black Sabbath on the tour for the great Rick Rubin produced 13. That album, which would prove to be Sabbath’s last, was fantastic.

Ozzy was always so generous. He brought Metallica along on his Ultimate Sin tour which helped break them. He also had Motley Crue join him on tour. Michael Inez left Ozzy’s band, with his blessing, to go on to join Alice In Chains. Speaking of Metallica, Rob Trujillo played with Ozzy before joining Metallica. I don’t think there is a musician out there who didn’t love Ozzy. He was friends with folks like Elton and Rod all the way to Sammy Hagar and Slash. There was a younger generation who knew him as a slurring old dude on a reality TV show, but people, he was the “fucking Prince Of Darkness.”

His output had slowed in recent years. He made so many guest appearances on so many other folks albums, it’s hard to count them up and he kept doing that almost to the end. That’d be a great compilation album, all of Ozzy’s guest vocal appearances gathered on one disc. Hell, I even liked his duet with Lita Ford, “Close My Eyes Forever,” which made my Playlist: Songs About Eyes. He was a happy go lucky, open hearted guy. Maybe that’s why his wife Sharon had to be such a shark. He’s left behind an amazing body of work – Sabbath, solo, guest vocalist – and at least we have that music to soothe us today and help get us past this awful news. I immediately put on the Rock Chick’s Ozzy playlist…I had to celebrate the man’s life and music.

My heart goes out to his family, his friends and all the fans out there like me. The world is dark enough these days without the dimming of such a brilliant heavy metal, hard rock light like Ozzy Osbourne. Part of my childhood has just slipped away from me and I am very bummed. It wouldn’t surprise me to find a glass of dark and murky fluid in my hand tonight, toasting the Prince of Darkness.

Rest In Peace Ozzy. You brought me so much joy and happiness with your music and I thank you for that. Always something to lift me up. I’m not a religious person, at all, but if there is afterlife, I sure hope to “see you on the other side,” Ozzy. Rock star, legend, singer, family man, entertainer. A legend is gone.

It’s a long dark ride… take care of each other out there… and tonight, crank up a little Ozzy to get you through.

Cheers!