Ozzy Osbourne passed away today at the age of 76.
Black Sabbath formed in England the year that I was born, and so I missed out on all of the genre-defining work that they did in my youth. I owned a copy of the Paranoid album on vinyl in my youth, but only because I was a fan of Ozzy’s solo work.
I had a copy of Bark at the Moon on vinyl as well, and the songs on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman were as important as any others in getting me into hard rock in the early 1980s. So yes, Ozzy was a foundational artist in my rock and roll journey. And I’m not alone in that, either. From the bat episode to urinating near (although not actually on) the Alamo, Ozzy seemed to embody the rock lifestyle in a way that few others ever could.
Thanks for the music and everything else, Ozzy. The world got a bit quieter today.