photo by Ross Halfin
(written by Islander)
This isn’t an entertainment news site, unless the news concerns the release of a record whose music we’re writing about. But the death of Ozzy Osbourne is an event we can’t overlook.
Many of us grew up listening to Black Sabbath and/or Ozzy‘s solo records. That music became part of the language of our minds, not just what we heard and felt but how we reacted to the world around us, as much a part of our internal “culture” as an external part.
And then, add to that the tens of thousands of other bands whose music Ozzy and his bandmates influenced down to this very day, musicians who took those influences, either directly or indirectly from other bands who had already built upon them, and spun out music into hundreds of new directions they might not have found if Ozzy hadn’t been born.
Over the decades, all that music accreted like layers of sediment on top of the Sabbath bedrock until it has become a mountain (one we chip away at here on a daily basis). When I think about Sabbath and Ozzy and everything that has flowed from them into my own consciousness, influencing my own tastes and thoughts, I have trouble pointing to any other individual musician who had a more important formative impact on me than Ozzy. I know I’m not alone in thinking about him in that way today.
We are grateful to him. We are happy that he was able to perform his farewell concert in Birmingham a couple weeks ago. It would have been tragic if his illness had taken him before that happened, if it had robbed him and us of those memories. To go out of this world so soon after that final performance and the outpouring of gratitude that accompanied it isn’t the worst thing that could have happened. There is some joy to be found in that as well as grief.
R.I.P. Prince of Darkness.
(All of you who may come across this post, please feel welcome to share any thoughts you may be having about this in the comments.)
7 Responses to “R.I.P. OZZY”
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Even Satan will grieve today…
This one really hurts, brother. I love you Ozzy and thank you for bringing so many good memories to my life from your recorded works, live performances and undeniable influence on the music that gets me through it.
Ozzy in one form or another, be it in Sabbath or his solo stuff, has been a part of my life for more than 40 years. We all know that no one lives forever, but at times if felt like if anyone could it would be Ozzy. It’s impossible to do justice to his legacy.
He’s been there through the good and the bad, he’s been there when we needed him most, now he’s not and it’s devastating, but we still have his music and his memory, so I guess that really does make him immortal.
RIP Ozzy, you’ll be sorely missed but never forgotten.
I perfectly remember discovering and listening to Black Sabbath and Ozzy stuff too many years after starting my eternal journey in metal music.
It was a perfect reset.
The big bang.
Ozzy and these guys have laid the foundations of it all. Unbelievable and eternal legacy to cherish.
Thank you. Forever.
I still remember listening for the first time to “Black Sabbath” (the song) and thinking: I’ve been looking for this music all my life – I was 16 at the time ahaahahaha….
The importance of Sabbath in my quest, back then, for a sense of self, an identity that could put up with bullies and jocks and all that shit cannot be calculated. It is fundamental.
I admit I was never much into solo Ozzy, I didn’t much like the songs nor the stage antics. But still, the final image of him thanking the crowd in Birmingham makes the news a little bit less sad.
Well said Islander and it’s hard to even put into words. The man and Sabbath changed the world and created an entire subculture. It’s massive when you think about it. Sabbath and Ozzy forever.
You forgot to tag “exception to the rule”. And as much as I like the character of his voice, I must admit he was not a good singer at all. Not many heavy metal singers sound malevolent AND technically proficient.