OZZY OSBOURNE
G'day folks,
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English singer, songwriter, and
actor. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of
the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, before
embarking on a successful solo career. He later became a reality TV star with
'The Osbournes.'
“When I heard 'She Loves You,'
my world went up like a shooting star. It was a divine experience. The planets
changed. I used to fantasize that Paul McCartney would marry my sister.”
—Ozzy
Osbourne
Born in
Birmingham, England, in 1948, Ozzy Osbourne rose to fame as the frontman of the
seminal heavy metal band Black Sabbath. In the late 1970s he embarked on a solo
career, drawing attention for his outrageous public acts. Osbourne later earned
a new legion of fans by starring with his family in the unlikely hit reality
show, The Osbournes.
John
Michael Osbourne was born into a working-class family in Birmingham, England,
on December 3, 1948. The fourth of six children, he acquired the nickname Ozzy
while in elementary school, where he struggled in his studies due in part to
his dyslexia. These and other challenges led Osbourne to leave school at age
15, at which point he worked at a series of menial jobs, including one stint in
a slaughterhouse. However, it was not long after this time that Osbourne
embarked on a more lucrative career as well, committing a series of petty
crimes that culminated with a brief prison sentence for burglary.
Throughout
this turbulent period in his life, however, Osbourne nurtured a deep love for
music, and shortly after his release from prison he took his life in a new
direction, serving as the lead vocalist for several bands, before embarking on
a new project with his friend, bass player Terrence “Geezer” Butler. After
placing an ad in the newspaper, in 1968 Osbourne and Butler joined guitarist
Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward to form the blues-inspired rock band Earth.
While Earth earned some local notoriety, it wasn’t until the group began
experimenting with the hard-driving, amplified sound that would later
characterize the heavy metal genre, that they caught the attention of record
producers. Since the band’s moniker was already in use by another group, they
adopted the name Black Sabbath, a reference to the classic Boris Karloff film.
Master of Reality
Released
by Vertigo Records in 1970, Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album was largely
panned by critics but sold well in England and abroad. With standout tracks
including the title song, “The Wizard” and “Evil Woman,” Black Sabbath reached
the Top Ten in the U.K and No. 23 on the American album charts. The group’s
sophomore effort, Paranoid (1971), included the seminal metal anthems
"War Pigs," "Iron Man," “Fairies Wear Boots” and
"Paranoid" and took Black Sabbath to new heights, topping the charts
in the U.K. and reaching No. 12 in the U.S. and winning the band an even more
devoted following.
Snowblind
However,
with the release of 1975’s Sabotage, the band’s fortunes began to
change, and despite the strength of songs such as “Symptom of the Universe” and
“Am I Going Insane,” the album failed to achieve the same status as its
predecessors. Punctuating this shift, they were also forced to cut their
subsequent tour short when Osbourne was injured in a motorcycle accident.
More than
this, however, the band’s steady intake of drugs and alcohol—mostly by
Osbourne—was further adding to the strain, while they watched their music lose
favor to the burgeoning punk rock movement. Following the relatively
unsuccessful releases Technical Ecstasy (1976) and Never Say Die (1978),
Osbourne and his bandmates parted ways. Though Black Sabbath would carry on
with various frontmen in the decades to come—including Ronnie James Dio, Dave
Donato, Ian Gilliam, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin—they would never reach the
same heights that they did during the Ozzy era, when they wrote and recorded
some of heavy metal’s, and indeed the era’s, most memorable songs.
Crazy Train
Unlike
some artists, who fade into obscurity after leaving the groups that made them
famous, Osbourne's solo debut, Blizzard of Ozz (1980), was a resounding
commercial success. Featuring the singles “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley,” the
album reached the Top Ten in the U.K. and reached No. 21 in the U.S., where it
would eventually go multiplatinum. His 1981 follow-up, Diary of a Madman
(1981) did equally well. The ensuing tour, however, was laden with misfortune,
including a plane crash that killed guitar player Randy Rhoads and two other
members of their entourage.
Despite
these and other challenges—including a 1986 stint in rehab—Osbourne continued
to find musical success, with the albums Bark at the Moon (1983), The
Ultimate Sin (1986) and No Rest for the Wicked (1988) all going
multiplatinum in the U.S. He ushered in the 1990s with his sixth solo offering,
No More Tears (1991), which reached the Top Ten in the U.S. and featured
the hit single of the same name.
Ozzy and the Osbournes
In 1992,
Osbourne announced that the No More Tears tour would be his last.
However, the popularity of the subsequently released double-live album, Live
& Loud (1993), caused Osbourne to rethink his retirement, and the
album’s version of "I Don't Want to Change the World" earned Osbourne
his first Grammy Award. He returned to the studio for 1995’s Ozzmosis and
the following year began to tour as part of a traveling metal festival,
Ozzfest. However, Osbourne’s star was clearly on the wane, and he continued to
struggle with the substance abuse problems that had plagued him his entire
career.
Iron Man
In 2005,
Osbourne reunited with Black Sabbath for a tour, and the following year the
legendary heavy metal heroes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
At the induction ceremony, Metallica—one of countless groups for whom Black
Sabbath was a primary influence—performed “Iron Man” in honor of the band.
Despite
the years of abuse to his body, Osbourne has shown impressive staying power.
After continuing to tour as part of Ozzfest for the next few years, he returned
to the studio to record Black Rain (2007), which reached No. 3 spot on
the U.S. charts. He followed with 2010’s Scream, which reached performed
equally well, reaching No. 4 in the U.S. In 2012, Osbourne then reunited with
his Sabbath bandmates to perform a series of concerts and to record a new
studio album, 13, which was released in 2013. Topping the charts in the
U.S., the U.K. and elsewhere, it was a testament to the high esteem in which
Osbourne and Black Sabbath are still held around the world.
Going Through Changes
Ozzy
Osbourne married his manager, Sharon, in 1982. They had three children together, Jack, Kelly and Aimee. Jack and Kelly appeared with their
parents on The Osbournes, but Aimee demurred. Osbourne also has had three
children from a previous marriage to Thelma Riley and now has several
grandchildren as well.
However,
in May 2016, Sharon and Ozzy announced their plans to divorce after 33 years of
marriage. According to US Weekly, the split came after Sharon learned of
Ozzy's alleged affair with a celebrity hair stylist. However, two months later
the couple that had endured so many ups and downs together decided to try to
make their relationship work. In July, Ozzy, appearing on Good Morning
America with their son, Jack, said the marriage was not over. “It’s just a
bump in the road,” he said. "It's back on track again.”
On July
25, Sharon announced their reconciliation on her show The Talk.
"It's been very hard . . . He's very embarrassed and ashamed about his
conduct," she said. "I forgive, [but] it's going to take a long time
to trust. But you know, we've been together for thirty-six years, thirty-four
of marriage, and it's more than half of my life and I just can't think of my
life without him . . . even though he is a dog!”
Clancy's comment: I only watched his television show once. That was enough. What a crazy mob of people.
I'm ...
