Remembering Ozzy Osbourne: The Unstoppable Force of Heavy Metal
Ozzy Osbourne, the wild heart and voice behind Black Sabbath, has died at the age of 76. His passing on July 22, 2025, was confirmed by his family, who said he left this world surrounded by those who loved him most. For a man who spent much of his career dodging tabloid rumors and personal chaos, he found calm in his final days. The cause of death isn’t public, but it’s no secret Ozzy’s last years were tough—he openly fought Parkinson’s, severe breathing troubles from emphysema, and was left unable to walk after a brutal fall in 2019.
Ozzy—or the “Prince of Darkness,” as fans know him—was no ordinary rock star. Back in Birmingham, 1968, he and his childhood mates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward did something music hadn’t heard before: they formed Black Sabbath, pouring gloom, grit, and a whole new heaviness into their sound. Their self-titled debut, followed by classics like ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Iron Man’, rewrote the rulebook—Black Sabbath didn’t just play metal, they set the gold standard for it.
Of course, Ozzy was famous for living on the edge. By 1979, his struggles with addiction saw him fired from Sabbath. Most would’ve quit. Instead, Ozzy launched a solo career with fire and swagger, releasing hits like 'Crazy Train' and proving he wasn’t just a one-band wonder. His over-the-top stage shows (who else bites the head off a bat in front of 20,000 people?) made sure no one forgot him. He packed stadiums and sold more than 100 million records—a number that still seems unreal for a kid who once worked in a factory back home.
From Reality TV to Ozzfest: Reinventing Himself for New Generations
Ozzy never minded showing fans his vulnerable side, whether in his music or his everyday life. In the early 2000s, he surprised everyone by swinging into the world of reality TV. ‘The Osbournes’ on MTV turned his family into household names, revealing a softer, sometimes clueless dad beneath the heavy metal veneer. Suddenly, he wasn’t just a rock hero—he was a relatable, sometimes bumbling, occasionally hilarious patriarch alongside his wife Sharon and kids Jack, Kelly, and Aimee. It brought Ozzy into living rooms everywhere and made him an unlikely reality TV icon.
He wasn’t done shaking things up in music, either. In 1996, he founded Ozzfest, a yearly festival that got heavy metal back on the radar and gave the stage to new bands who idolized him. Rockers young and old have stories about playing Ozzfest and sharing a nod—or a wild party—backstage with Ozzy. No one could ignore his stamp on the next wave of metal.
Even after health setbacks, he kept performing. He last took the stage just two weeks before his passing, at a bittersweet 'Back to the Beginning' concert. Fans were hopeful after Black Sabbath teased a blockbuster 2025 reunion tour, but fate had other plans. Ozzy’s accolades speak for themselves: a 2006 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction with Sabbath, an answer to the question of who really birthed heavy metal, and a space in pop culture few can ever touch.
Ozzy Osbourne left a mark that no illness or passing can erase. His music is still a rite of passage for every metalhead, his antics forever the stuff of legend, and his voice—the howl, the bite, the laughter—still echoes wherever heavy music is played loud and proud.