Ozzy Osbourne has died at the age of 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,” his family said in a statement. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
No cause of death was given, though the last several years leading up to his passing had been a rough ride for Ozzy in terms of his health. He was forced to postpone his “No More Tours 2” farewell tour, first due to a bout with pneumonia, then due to a serious fall while at home in Los Angeles, which resulted in multiple surgeries. In early 2020, he went public with Parkinson’s disease, just before the pandemic hit.
Despite his ailments, Osbourne mustered the strength to play one final concert as a solo artist and alongside his Black Sabbath bandmates earlier this month on July 5th in his hometown of Birmingham, England.
Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3rd, 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, Ozzy sought to become a singer in a rock band after becoming smitten by The Beatles. By the end of the ‘60s, he had formed Black Sabbath (originally named Earth), rounding out a lineup that also included guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward.
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Featuring doomsday lyrics, detuned riffs, and plodding tempos, Black Sabbath helped invent heavy metal and several sub-genres, and issued a string of all-time classic albums (1970’s self-titled debut and Paranoid, 1971’s Master of Reality, 1972’s Vol. 4, 1973’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and 1975’s Sabotage) and songs (“Black Sabbath,” “N.I.B.,” “War Pigs,” “Paranoid,” “Iron Man,” “Sweet Leaf,” “Children of the Grave,” “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” and so on).
However, Sabbath began to fracture due to substance abuse amongst its members and bad management, and after a pair of unfocused albums (1976’s Technical Ecstasy and 1978’s Never Say Die!), Osbourne was ousted from the band.
Thinking that his career was over, Osbourne holed up in a hotel room in Hollywood and appeared to be down and out — before forming relationships with two people who would help launch his solo career: future wife Sharon Arden (daughter of Black Sabbath manager Don Arden) and guitarist Randy Rhoads.
