Ozzy Osbourne

Having carved out an early reputation as heavy metal’s Prince of Darkness while fronting the pioneering Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne displayed remarkable staying power by sustaining his position among the genre’s most commanding presences across more than five decades and simultaneously emerging as a worldwide multimedia figure. Once he separated from Sabbath in 1979, he moved swiftly into solo work, navigating the 1980s amid widespread scandal and heavy substance use yet delivering signature releases such as Blizzard of Ozz in 1980 and Diary of a Madman the following year. His commanding stage presence, paired with an ability to recruit elite guitarists including Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde, ensured continued chart presence and arena-level performances through the 1990s, while his household’s escapades were documented on the MTV program The Osbournes, placing him squarely within the reality-television phenomenon of the 2000s. That same relentless drive manifested in nonstop studio and touring activity, encompassing Black Sabbath reunions alongside his self-created Ozzfest package. Well into his seventies he remains productive, issuing fresh solo material such as 2020’s Ordinary Man, which included guest appearances by Post Malone, Travis Scott, and Elton John, and the Grammy-winning Patient Number 9 that arrived two years later.

John Michael Osbourne entered the music business in the closing years of the 1960s by joining guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward in Black Sabbath. Distinguished by their deliberate, dark riffs and lyrical obsessions, the group issued its debut album in 1970 and followed with platinum classics including Paranoid and Master of Reality for the remainder of the decade. After Never Say Die appeared in 1978, Osbourne was dismissed, prompting him to assemble a solo outfit.

Teaming with manager and spouse Sharon, he recruited guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Bob Daisley, and drummer Lee Kerslake for the Blizzard of Ozz project. Its self-titled debut surfaced in the United Kingdom during September 1980 and reached American stores early in 1981. Although the lyrics retained occult overtones and the guitars remained heavy, the performances displayed greater technical precision and flexibility within metal conventions. Powered by the hit singles “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley,” the album climbed to number seven on the U.K. charts and number 21 in the United States, where it maintained sales momentum for more than two years. Shortly before Diary of a Madman arrived in November, Kerslake and Daisley gave way to Tommy Aldridge and Rudy Sarzo. That follow-up, containing the drug-themed “Flying High Again,” reached number 16 on the U.S. chart and likewise proved a major commercial success; as the Diary tour progressed, its sales strengthened even as Black Sabbath’s declined.

Osbourne easily commanded large crowds, and his trajectory appeared to crest until accusations of animal cruelty surfaced after a fan threw a bat onstage and he bit off its head, believing it to be artificial. The concert ended abruptly when he required a rabies shot at the hospital. Not long afterward, Rhoads died in a plane crash, abruptly stalling the band’s momentum. Osbourne plunged into deep depression following the loss of his closest collaborator, which altered plans for a forthcoming live album; instead, 1982’s Speak of the Devil presented live Black Sabbath covers recorded with guitarist Brad Gillis.

Freed from his Jet Records contract, Osbourne arrived intoxicated at an Epic Records meeting carrying two doves, one of which he released while dispatching the other in the same fashion as the bat, after which he secured a deal with the label. Jake E. Lee joined as guitarist for the 1984 studio album Bark at the Moon. Although it lacked the uniformity of the first two solo releases, the record matched their commercial impact and led to a co-headlining tour with glam-metal act Mötley Crüe. While Bark at the Moon earned enthusiastic notices, 1986’s The Ultimate Sin drew sharper criticism; despite containing the hit “Shot in the Dark,” many reviewers deemed it repetitive and uninspired, yet it still achieved substantial sales.

That same year Osbourne faced charges of promoting suicide through alleged backward messages in the Blizzard of Ozz track “Suicide Solution,” which he maintained addressed the dangers of alcohol. The lawsuit was ultimately dropped, but his notoriety intensified once more. He rebuilt visibility in 1987 with Tribute, a live recording from 1981 dedicated to Rhoads. After Lee departed, Zakk Wylde took over for 1988’s No Rest for the Wicked, highlighted by “Miracle Man,” which lampooned televangelist Jimmy Swaggart. The subsequent live EP Just Say Ozzy appeared in 1990.

Following completion of a new studio album in 1991, Osbourne felt diminished performing drive owing to advancing age and a wish to devote more time to family. When No More Tears emerged that autumn, the accompanying tour was announced as his final outing before retirement. The trek concluded with the 1993 double-live set Live & Loud, widely viewed as a career summation.

Retirement proved short-lived; Osbourne resurfaced in 1995 with Ozzmosis, which sold three million copies within twelve months despite uneven reviews. After the tour ranked among the summer’s top-grossing, he launched Ozzfest, a multi-act metal package. The 1996 edition comprised only two dates yet yielded a live album titled The Ozzfest. The 1997 lineup featured Pantera, Marilyn Manson, and a partial Black Sabbath reunion missing Bill Ward. Second only to Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair in overall success that year, the festival coincided with the November compilation The Ozzman Cometh. Shortly thereafter the original Sabbath lineup reunited for the 1998 live album Reunion. Osbourne also recorded a duet with rapper Busta Rhymes on a reworked “Iron Man” retitled “This Means War,” included on Rhymes’ 1998 album Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front).

Sabbath continued performing into 1999, again topping Ozzfest that summer, promoted as their last stand. The same year a macabre Ozzy action figure complete with miniature severed bats reached stores. Work finally began on the successor to the modest-selling Ozzmosis, reuniting Osbourne with Wylde, drummer Mike Bordin, and bassist Robert Trujillo. In 2001 came announcements of both a further Black Sabbath Ozzfest appearance and an autumn studio session with producer Rick Rubin for the quartet’s first original material since 1978’s Never Say Die. Epic Records, however, halted the post-festival tour with Disturbed and the new album until Osbourne completed his solo commitment. Fans received the interim double-disc Ozzfest: Second Stage Live, documenting performances from the 2000 and 1996 lineups.

The solo album Down to Earth finally appeared in autumn 2001, supported by rock-radio singles and a major holiday tour co-headlined with Rob Zombie. Drawing inspiration from an MTV Cribs episode featuring his family, Osbourne and network executives developed the reality series The Osbournes, which followed the household for several months in late 2001 and became one of MTV’s highest-rated programs. Blending documentary and sitcom elements, the show recast Osbourne as a wry yet devoted father; its critical acclaim led to a White House invitation tied to his animal-protection advocacy, revealed through an episode devoted to the family’s pets.

A series of compilations followed Down to Earth, among them 2005’s Under Cover, a collection of reinterpretations. Osbourne returned to the studio the next year, resulting in Black Rain in May 2007 and the tenth solo album Scream in 2010. In 2012 he rejoined most of the original Sabbath members to record 13, an album of new songs echoing their earliest intensity; released in 2013, it supported extensive touring that year. Attention shifted back to solo catalog material with 2014’s Memoirs of a Madman, a greatest-hits package spanning nearly every solo release.

During 2019 Osbourne appeared on Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding track “Take What You Want” alongside Travis Scott; the song reached the Billboard Top Ten, marking his first such placement in more than thirty years. In February 2020 he issued Ordinary Man, his first solo album in a decade. Produced and co-written by Andrew Watt, previously associated with Cardi B and Post Malone, the record was introduced via singles “Under the Graveyard,” “Straight to Hell,” and the Elton John collaboration “Ordinary Man.” Additional contributors included Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and Charlie Puth. Shortly before release Osbourne disclosed a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis dating to 2003. Despite the decade-long gap between Scream and Ordinary Man, he promptly began work on Patient Number 9. Its title track emerged as a single in June 2022, featuring Zakk Wylde on nearly every song after his absence from the prior album, plus guest appearances by Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Tony Iommi. Released in September 2022, Patient Number 9 garnered critical praise and secured Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance.