Ozzy Osbourne was rock 'n' roll's 'Prince of Darkness.' How he got the twisted nickname
The heavy metal icon, best known for his eerie vocals and outlandish stage persona, died on Tuesday, July 22, according to a family statement shared with USA TODAY. He was 76. Osbourne's death comes just weeks after he reunited with Black Sabbath for a final show in England.
Born John Michael Osbourne, the rock vocalist found early fame as the lead singer of Black Sabbath, an English heavy metal outfit that earned fan fervor — and industry criticism — for its dark sound and occult image.
Ozzy Osbourne dies: Black Sabbath rocker was 76
As Black Sabbath began to make a name for itself with the group's musical unholiness, Osbourne was christened the band's Prince of Darkness.
Why is Ozzy Osbourne called the 'Prince of Darkness'?
Black Sabbath, which was formed in the late 1960s by Osbourne alongside guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward and bassist Geezer Butler, previously went by the group names the Polka Tulk Blues Band and Earth.
The band landed on Black Sabbath after members observed a screening of the 1963 Italian horror film of the same name across the street from their rehearsal room. Inspired by the horror genre, the group wrote the song "Black Sabbath," which became its new name, as well as the title track of its 1970 debut album.
In a 2016 interview with NME, Osbourne said fans' reactions to the song's doom-metal sound helped spawn his dark nickname.
"When we started gigging way back when, as soon as we started playing this song's opening chords, young girls in the audience would ... freak out," Osbourne said at the time. "They thought we were Satan's ... friends or something."
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Osbourne reflected on the legacy of the macabre alias in a July 2013 interview with the Broward Palm Beach New Times.
"It's a name. I didn't wake up one morning and go, 'You know what, I'm going to call myself…'" Osbourne told the outlet. "It started as a joke name, really. I'm OK with it, you know? You know, it's better than being called an a------."
Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY
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