My tribute to Ozzy Osbourne
I would first like to express my deepest condolences to Ozzy's wife Sharon, his Children, GrandChildren, and all his of Family, bandmates, friends and last but not least to all of the Fans that he reminded us that he loved at the end of every show (admit it, you're tearing up with Me right now).
I Don't Know
Hello everyone, I was orginally going to name this entry "I Don't Know" if you read my last entry you may have thought it was part of a pattern. Obviously this was by no means planned of course. It has much more meaning than just three words. I first said to myself I don't know what I can say about Ozzy that has not already been said. What can I write that people don't already know? How can this be valid as a journalism? I said to myself I don't know.
In combination with my initial thoughts and "I Don't Know" being the title of the first song on Ozzy's debut album The Blizzard of Oz (for many this was the first Ozzy song many people heard) I initially felt it was the perfect title for this tribute. After lots of thoughts and planning, I realized that among the millions of fans and musicians that have stories about Ozzy and Black Sabbath mine is unique to me, but relatable. And I hope that those who read this find as much comfort in doing so as I do in sharing this with all of you. I will also include as much accurate information as I can for all of you. But of course there is no way I can summarize what I have to say about Ozzy and his career that has spanned half a century on one page. As I'm sure you know there have been so many tributes and petitions like the petition to rename Birmingham Airport to Ozzy Osbourne International Airport, or Chipotle to start making the Ozzy Burrito courtesy of Loudwire . And even some phenomenons that coincided with Ozzy's passing :
The Road to Nowhere
To be honest with you, none of these occurrences surprises me in the least. I mean think about it, anyone who can be referred to by just their first name and people know who you are talking about is truly special. And not just because it is a unique name. Even though another famous person with the same name, Ozzie Nelson (who was from the same town as I am from) was on TV years before Ozzy started. Speaking of the start, I often wondered what it must have been like to discover Ozzy's first solo album in the usual way (i'll get to why I am wording it like this later). Whether you heard one of your friends telling you that Ozzy just put out a solo album, or you read about in a music magazine, heard Crazy Train on the radio or you discovered it while at your local mall and or music store. It is absolutely mindblowing to think of being transported back to that time knowing now that it was only the beginning...
For myself, there was no escaping becoming a fan of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne. I was exposed to the music at a very early age. As if it was ingrained in me. Much like many people thought of Ozzy's biggest influence the Beatles (and that's not the only thing these two groups have in common, and I don't mean because they are both from England either). I recall my Uncle's friends all chanting "Generals gathered in their Masses!" while listening to War Pigs. My reaction was to throw my toys around the yard violently. Only for my Uncle to notice and state that he didn't know why I was acting like that. He later admitted to me that he would put headphones on me in my sleep. It's no wonder that I ended up buying a Cd copy of the album Paranoid realizing that I was familiar with most of the music on that album already. Around the same time I was heavily getting into guitar playing. Which also helped me discover two of my biggest influences Tony Iommi and Randy Rhoads I would practice for hours and lots of the Black Sabbath riffs were easy for me to figure out. That was also around the time of the release of the groundbreaking Nativity in Black : a Tribute to Black Sabbath. I was already aware that bands like Metallica had been influenced by Black Sabbath, but realizing that so many bands and subgenres of Metal would not exist if not for Sabbath. They literally are the root of which all heavy music can be traced back to. And even some music outside of metal such as Goth and Industrial have been inspired by Black Sabbath.
Even though I became familiar with all of Ozzy's music, I had yet to see him live. For years I would have to settle for listening mostly on CD. I would ride my bike and remember particularly being partial to a song off the No More Tears album called "The Road to Nowhere". Naively feeling like I could relate to the lyrics with such little life experience. But this was one of the first instances I could think of about how Ozzy was able to write such sincere, down to Earth songs. Even after decades in the spotlight without coming across as pretentious or alienating his listeners (something I've witnessed artists with a fraction of his success fail miserably at doing) This is one of many examples, I will include my favorite here as well.
After all, I did it all for you
My first time seeing Ozzy live in concert was at the first Ozzfest in 1997. It also featured a reunion of 3 of the 4 members of Black Sabbath. I learned that this came about from the sheer spirit of Rock N' Roll rebellion. At the time there were many festivals popping up and apparently Ozzy was not considered to be included in them. So they decided to make their own festival. So many bands got their start from Ozzfest and it featured so many of our favorites. I went to the one that was held at Giants Stadium. Type O Negative and Marilyn Manson stick out the most. Manson particularly because some state officials were trying to get his performance banned, which Ozzy obviously didn't allow. Manson then invited all of us to join him in flipping off the people that tried banning him. During Pantera's set, I watched some people jump down to the field/general admission level. We were determined to do the same and make it up to the front. Unfortunately the State Troopers formed a human wall preventing this. That is until someone attempted to jump down, only to be clubbed badly by the Police. We then retaliated by throwing cups and any other rubbish at the them until they retreated. I then followed suit and jumped, ran through the crowd and was feet away from Ozzy himself! It was so great seeing that people of different ages were coming together for the love of music. I believe I may have even spotted a young Jack Osbourne driving a golf cart around the venue.
I know that there are so many people that have stories like this. There was nothing like seeing Ozzy perform live. It was truly a gift. This of course only solidifies the massive outpouring of what been going in the past few weeks. The amount of fans watching the Back to the Beginning show which raised close to 200 Billion Dollars for charity(specifically The proceeds were split between Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice.) just goes to show you the impact Ozzy Osbourne has had on the world. I am not shocked in the least by all of the tributes from fans and other artists alike after news of Ozzy's passing last week. Like I said before, they were where all Heavy music stems from. So many bands (my own included) owe their existence to Sabbath. Ozzy became the blueprint for me as to how a frontman should be. One of the greatest moments as a musician (if not the greatest) was to see that our album was on the charts alongside of Ozzy Osbourne's Patient Number 9 album.
Like I said earlier, they had similarities with the Beatles. Much like the fab four, Black Sabbath changed music, inspired countless musicians and even changed people as a whole. Think about how many people you have met because of your love of music, how your taste in music changed your style of clothing, your attitude and how you interacted with people. Just like another group of four guys from England did a few years earlier, Black Sabbath changed the lives of many people just by going out and doing what they love. I told you I'd get back to that lol.
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Before I started writing this I reached out online and ask other people if they would like to share anything or for permission to use somethings I seen that I would like to share. Here is one story of another fan who's life was changed by Ozzy Osbourne :
"A mutual interest in Ozzy is what broke the ice between my wife and I and got us talking and dating. I wonder if we'd have done that without that mutual interest in Ozzy. I wonder if I'd have learned to play the guitar without being so influenced by Black Sabbath. I think that life is a series of chain reactions and that Ozzy connected me to certain people and where I am today. His death is so tragic. All he ever wanted was to entertain. My heart goes out to Sharon and the kids." - Alice Malice of Seducing Lucifer
"Just remember I'm still here for you, I don't wanna say goodbye When I do, you'll be alright. After all, I did it all for you" - Ozzy Osbourne (lyrics from Ordinary Man)
In closing I would like to thank everyone who read this or shared something for me to include. Feel free to comment with your own thoughts and stories. I know this is a loss like no other. But remember, you are not alone and nothing can take away all of the joy and love that Ozzy has given us. Let this inspire you to live by his example and be real, never give up and do whatever it takes to do what you love in your own way. And of course help others. I will leave you with Ozzy's Immortal words :
"We all must stand together now, Or one by one we fall
For all these years, you've stood by me
God bless, I love you all "
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