The Outpouring Of Love For Ozzy Osbourne After He Passed Away Was Something To See
I’ll be honest- I didn’t grow up worshipping Ozzy Osbourne. I didn’t even grow up knowing him, really. Unless you count the infamous story about biting a bat’s head off on stage (which, for a suburban kid hearing it on the school bus, basically put Ozzy on the same shelf as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster).
The only other frame of reference I had was that bizarre stretch in the early 2000s when he and his family became reality TV royalty. I’d catch him on MTV, mumbling around the kitchen in sweatpants while Sharon wrangled dogs and Jack and Kelly made a mess of everything. He seemed more like a cartoon than the "Prince of Darkness"
(Sidebar - never forget his "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" Rendition At Wrigley)
But lately, as Ozzy’s twilight years have played out in real time, something shifted for me. I started to notice how other musicians, tlkaing ctual legends, spoke about Ozzy. How they’d light up talking about the time they got to share a stage, or how he’d call them out of nowhere just to tell them their new album “ripped.”
The reverence, the affection, the gratitude in their voices- it made me realize Ozzy wasn’t just a punchline or a myth. He was a fuckin moment in music. Actually, he was a thousand moments. He was the catalyst for an entire genre, a champion for misfits, and a north star for every kid who ever felt like they didn't belong.
And as recently as two weeks ago, he was still making the world stop and take notice. Even all these years later.
Some artists die at their peak, frozen in tragedy.
Other artists just fade out, and the world barely notices.
But then there are the rare few, like Ozzy Osbourne, whose new absence devastates the world not because it’s shocking, but because you know a little bit of wildness, a little bit of genuine weirdness, is leaving the planet for good. The consolation prize, if you can call it that, is that people like Ozzy never truly leave us. Their aura, their lessons, and their influence last way longer than any headline, or any TV rerun.
Just look at the outpouring of love for the man after he passed -
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A few other things:
Younger bands, from Metallica to Slipknot, basicaly genuflect in his presence. James Hetfield has said Ozzy made it "ok for metal bands to be both terrifying and playful. Sometimes in the same song."
Elton John, literally a fucking knight, called him "one of the most soulful singers in rock and credited him for inspiring him to be bolder, weirder, braver."
Corey Taylor, who could headline a festival any day of the week, broke down in tears talking about what it meant to open for
Ozzy and hear him say “Great show, kid.”
Every rock and metal festival for the last 50 years is, in some way, a tribute to Ozzy’s chaos and charisma.
You can judge a person by the love they leave behind. With Ozzy, the proof is everywhere: in the music, in the weirdos who found their voice because he didn’t care what anybody thought, in the way the industry collectively leans in when he so much as croaks out a hello.
This story is amazing-
Never forget this-
This is so fucking cool-
so is this -
And this is fucking awesome-
And this is so fucking funny-
Rest In Peace Ozzy.