Ozzy Osbourne passes away at 76: A look back at his life and legacy
Early Life and Rise with Black Sabbath
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Born on December 3, 1948, in Aston, Birmingham, England, Ozzy grew up in a working-class family. Inspired by The Beatles' 1963 hit 'She Loves You,' he decided at age 14 to pursue a career in music. In 1968, he teamed up with guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward to form Black Sabbath, a band that would redefine rock music. Their self-titled debut album in 1969, often called the 'Big Bang of heavy metal,' introduced a dark, heavy sound that contrasted with the era's hippie culture. Hits like Paranoid, Iron Man, and War Pigs became anthems, cementing Black Sabbath's place in music history.
Despite their success, Ozzy's struggles with substance abuse led to his departure from the band in 1979. His exit marked a turning point, but it was far from the end of his musical journey.
A Solo Career That Shaped Heavy Metal
With the support of his future wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy launched a solo career that rivaled his Black Sabbath achievements. His 1980 debut album, Blizzard of Ozz, featuring the iconic Crazy Train, became a multi-platinum success. Collaborating with talented musicians like guitarist Randy Rhoads, Ozzy released a string of successful albums, including Diary of a Madman (1981) and No More Tears (1991). His solo work earned him five Grammy Awards and a lasting influence on the heavy metal genre.
Ozzy's live performances were legendary, often blending theatricality with controversy. From biting the head off a bat (which he thought was a prop) during a 1982 show in Des Moines to his provocative stage antics, he earned a reputation as a shock-rock icon. Yet, beneath the wild persona, Ozzy was a dedicated performer who connected deeply with his fans.
The Osbournes: A Reality TV Revolution
In 2002, Ozzy became an unlikely reality TV star with The Osbournes, a show that followed his family life with Sharon and their children, Kelly and Jack. The MTV series offered a humorous and heartfelt look at Ozzy as a loving, if eccentric, family man. Running for four seasons, it introduced him to a new generation and showcased his charm and resilience despite personal struggles. The show's success helped redefine reality television and made the Osbourne family household names.
Battling Health Challenges with Determination
Ozzy faced significant health challenges in his later years, including a 2003 Parkinson's disease diagnosis and complications from a 2019 fall that required multiple surgeries. Despite these setbacks, he remained determined to perform. In 2022, he made a surprise appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and on July 5, 2025, he reunited with Black Sabbath for a final farewell concert at Villa Park, dubbed 'Back to the Beginning.' Performing from a bat-themed throne due to mobility issues, Ozzy delivered a powerful set, thanking fans 'from the bottom of my heart.' The event, attended by 45,000 fans and streamed to millions, featured tributes from bands like Metallica and Guns N' Roses.
A Lasting Legacy
Ozzy Osbourne's influence extends far beyond music. As a founding father of heavy metal, he inspired countless bands and artists. His Ozzfest music festival, launched in the 1990s, became a platform for emerging metal acts, shaping the genre's future. His authenticity, humor, and resilience endeared him to fans worldwide, while his advocacy for animal welfare, particularly against cat declawing, showed his compassionate side.
Tributes have poured in from peers and fans alike. Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood called the Birmingham farewell concert a 'lovely goodbye,' while Metallica shared a heartfelt tribute on social media. PETA's Lisa Lange praised Ozzy's commitment to animal advocacy, noting his impact would be missed by animal lovers globally.
Personal Life and Family
Ozzy leaves behind his wife, Sharon, whom he married in 1982, and their children, Aimee, Kelly, and Jack. He also had two children, Jessica and Louis, from his first marriage to Thelma Riley. His family's statement, released on July 22, 2025, expressed profound sadness: '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.'
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Oasis dedicate song to Ozzy Osbourne as they begin series of gigs in London
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The science behind why Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne's music sounded ‘satanic'
Black Sabbath performs during their Heaven and Hell tour in 1980. The band helped revive the long-feared 'Devil's interval'—a dissonant sound once shunned by medieval choirs—as the backbone of heavy metal. PhotographThe idea that two simple notes—not a song, just tones—could be 'banned' may seem ludicrous. But that's the legend behind the crushing opening riff of Black Sabbath's 1970 debut. With just three ominous notes, guitarist Tony Iommi, alongside the anguished vocals of the late Ozzy Osbourne, unleashed a sound so unsettling it was said to have been forbidden for centuries.'Those notes were banned many years ago,' Iommi told the BBC in 2014. 'It's supposed to have been a satanic thing.' While rock legend has never been the most reliable (see: Ozzy and the bat), this one does have a whisper of truth. Black Sabbath recruited what music theorists refer to as the 'tritone,' —a dissonant interval once avoided by medieval choirs and now known in music lore as the 'devil's interval.' Also referred to as the augmented fourth, diminished fifth, or sharp eleven, the tritone spans three whole tones on a scale, creating a clashing, unstable sound that has long made listeners squirm. But what is it about this ancient musical interval that has unnerved audiences for centuries—and why does it still strike such a primal chord? A history of the 'clang' Despite its sinister nickname, the tritone was never officially banned in the Middle Ages, though it may as well have been. In the stew of compositional standards of the time, this dissonant tonal interval was merely an unpalatable ingredient, but served in a supremely important dish. 'In medieval and Renaissance music theory, which was often characterised by mathematical and philosophical principles of harmony, the tritone did not fit well into the system of 'perfect' intervals due to its complex frequency ratios,' says Christoph Reuter, professor of systematic musicology at the University of Vienna. Guido d'Arezzo, an 11th-century Benedictine monk and music theorist, developed the hexachord system to help singers navigate early notation and to avoid the dissonant tritone. Photograph by VTR, Alamy Stock Photo Named for medieval theorist Guido d'Arezzo, the Guidonian Hand was a mnemonic device for teaching musical intervals. This version appears in Scienta Artis Musicae, a 1274 treatise by Helia Solomon. Photograph by Giancarlo Costa, Bridgeman Images One reason for this concerns the relationship between 'scales' and 'modes', the latter of which gives music much of its character. Major scales such as C, for instance, begin on their namesake note. But play the same scale from a different starting point, and it suddenly takes on a very different, but still musical, flavour. These flavors are called modes. Begin a C Major scale on a D, for instance, and you're using the jazzy-sounding 'Dorian' mode. Start it a note up, on an E, and you're in the exotic ambience of the 'Phrygian' mode. The Aeolian mode, starting on A, creates a somber, minor key atmosphere. But one mode stood out for all the wrong reasons. Things got thorny with the Locrian mode. Built on the seventh note of a major scale—in this case, starting on B in a C major scale—it places unusual emphasis on the interval between B and F. The result is a scale that feels unstable, unresolved, and, to many ears, vaguely threatening. This was more than a matter of taste. In the Middle Ages, modes were the backbone of choral compositions, used to pitch a choir in harmony. As Reuter explains, not only did the tritone contravene the ideal of musical beauty, but it was also hard. 'It was simply difficult to sing purely—especially in a cappella choral works, which were widely used in the church.' Limited Time: Bonus Issue Offer Subscribe now and gift up to 4 bonus issues—starting at $34/year. (The hellish history of the devil.) That difficulty likely gave rise to one of music theory's most ominous warnings: mi contra fa diabolus est in musica, or 'mi against fa is the devil in music.' Referring to the Medieval system of music developed by Guido of Arezzo in the 11th century, 'mi against fa' refers to the dissonance between two tritone notes in overlapping compositions, with the 'devil' likely referencing its tendency to cause mistakes or generally meddle with choral delicacy. At a time when music was meant to reflect divine order, such instability struck a deeply discordant note. But uncomfortable tonal combinations weren't isolated to Western music. Many cultural styles—from the Middle East to Japan—had their own 'forbidden' tonal conventions, and different reasons for shunning them. Similarly to Western modes, certain Indian ragas omit certain combinations of notes—the varjya svaras—in their compositions, as certain notes are prone to unbalancing this intensely mood-driven music. Traditional Japanese music, such as gagaku, is often played in formal settings, employing tonal combinations that were sympathetic to the conventions of ma (negative space) and wa (unity), thereby avoiding discordant tones. By contrast, the Arabian maqam system embraces tonal combinations that Western ears might label dissonant. Its use of microtones and quarter-steps creates melodic tension and release through an entirely different framework of rules. So is the discomfort we feel from dissonance—like the tritone—truly universal? Maybe not. A 2016 study found that members of the Tsimane', an Indigenous community in Bolivia with limited exposure to Western culture, didn't find dissonant chords any less pleasant to listen to than their more pleasing counterparts. Isabella Czedik-Eysenberg of the University of Vienna believes this shows that 'while dissonant intervals such as the tritone have distinct psychoacoustic properties, the emotional and symbolic meanings attached to those–such as being associated with 'evil'–are likely culturally learned.' This 1970 publicity photo shows Black Sabbath early in their career, shortly before their sound helped shape the heavy metal genre. Photograph by MichaelBlack Sabbath's self-titled debut album, released in 1970, opens with the ominous tritone riff that helped define heavy metal's dark, dissonant sound. Photograph by MichaelWhy does the tritone sound so unsettling? 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'Some frequencies and sound textures are more difficult for the human inner ear and brain to process, a physiological clash that can trigger reactions from overstimulation to stress, disgust and even pain.' 'However,' Williamson adds, 'our psychological reaction to sound is predicated on what we have been exposed to during our lifetime and the associations we have created. That is 100 percent unique to each of us.' Back in 17th-century Europe, that exposure was changing. While medieval music prized harmony and order, the Baroque period embraced contrast and emotion. By the Classical era, it had appeared in works by Bach, Beethoven, and Wagner, among others, often to evoke drama or darkness. In Camille Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre, the tritone famously opens the piece with a musical scythe swing. (Here's how Beethoven went from Napoleon's biggest fan to his worst critic.' 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Kelly Osbourne pays tribute to father Ozzy, 'the best friend I ever had'
Ozzy's ex-daughter-in-law also posted a heartfelt tribute to the late rocker, who was a beloved grandfather. Kelly Osbourne paid tribute to her father, Ozzy, on Thursday, sharing poignant lyrics from a song the two recorded together before he died at the age of 76 following a battle with Parkinson's disease. 'I feel unhappy I am so sad. I lost the best friend I ever had 💔,' Kelly wrote in a post to Instagram. These are lyrics from the Black Sabbath song 'Changes,' released in 1972 but recorded by Kelly and Ozzy as a duet in 2003, with revised lyrics that showed their strong father-daughter bond. Earlier this month, Osbourne performed what was dubbed his 'final bow' from a throne at Villa Park in the U.K. After the show, Kelly became engaged to her longtime partner, musician Sid Wilson of the band Slipknot, after he got down on one knee backstage. Kelly shared a video of the engagement on Instagram, during which you can hear Ozzy say to Wilson: 'F*** off, you're not marrying my daughter!' which was met with laughs. Wilson and Kelly welcomed a son named Sidney in 2022. More of Osbourne's loved ones have started to post personal tributes to the heavy metal icon, who lived with Parkinson's disease until he died on July 22. Lisa Stelly, who was married to Osbourne's son Jack from 2012 to 2019, posted an emotional tribute to her ex-father-in-law on Instagram, honoring him as a loving grandfather. Jack and Stelly had three daughters while they were married: Pearl, Andy and Minnie. 'The world got Ozzy. We got Papa,' Stelly wrote in the caption. 'One of one. Larger than life. It hurts to say goodbye, but what a gift it was to have him. We will never stop missing you.' The post gives a softer look at the 'Prince of Darkness,' who is smiling as he holds one of his young grandchildren. The post also includes a video of him playfully dodging kisses from one of his grandchildren as she giggles. Other images show the Black Sabbath frontman puckering up for a kiss, cuddling two kiddos at once on a couch and sitting at an outdoor table with Stelly. After Osbourne died, the Osbourne family released the following joint statement signed by wife Sharon and their children Kelly, Jack, Aimee, as well as his son Louis from his prior marriage to Thelma Riley: '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.'
