LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 10: Musician Ozzy Osbourne signs copies of his album “Patient … More
The godfather of heavy metal music otherwise known as ‘the Prince of Darkness,’ Ozzy Osbourne, has died at age 76. The news comes from a statement released by his family: “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.”
Only a few weeks ago Ozzy Osbourne had reunited with the original Black Sabbath lineup at Back to the Beginning to perform his final show. Back to the Beginning was a resounding success that showcased a slew of metal icons paying their respect to Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne. Furthermore, the event went on to become the highest grossing charity concert of all time.
As the founding vocalist of the pioneering metal band Black Sabbath, Osbourne would go on to establish himself as one of the most iconic vocalists in rock and heavy metal music. After parting ways with the band in the late 70s, Osbourne saw a second wind with his solo career which would go on to produce several platinum albums and singles. To date, there isn’t another vocalist in the heavy metal genre that has seen the same multifaceted success as Ozzy Osbourne.
Leading up to Osbourne’s final performance at Back to the Beginning, Osbourne and his family had made it clear his health was slowly deteriorating; Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019. Given all he had been going through, Osbourne performed incredibly well at his final performance, and he and the rest of Black Sabbath clearly put in the time and effort to make sure that his final bow came with one of his most memorable shows.
It’s hard to articulate the sheer impact Ozzy Osbourne had in hard rock and heavy metal music. There isn’t another rock icon that popularized the heavy music genre in the mainstream quite like Ozzy Osbourne did, nor was there ever a musician that the metal community unanimously rallied behind from the start of their career to their final hour.