Osbourne, Ozzy
Ozzy Osbourne
Singer, songwriter
As the lead vocalist with Black Sabbath in the 1970s and throughout his solo career in the 1980s, Ozzy Osbourne has been one of the top performers in the rock and roll field known as heavy metal. With a reputation for bizarre acts and occult lyrics, he has both delighted fans and outraged critics.
Osbourne hails from Aston, a blue-collar section of Birmingham, England. He credits/blames his strange behavior to heredity, coming from a family in which lunacy was not uncommon. Osbourne has also attempted suicide on several occasions beginning as far back as age 14. After spending two months in Winson Green Prison for burglary he worked for a short period in a slaughterhouse.
In January of 1969 he formed Black Sabbath with guitarist Tommy lommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward. The group was originally called Polka Tulk and then Black Sabbath Earth before settling on Black Sabbath, the title of a Boris Karloff film. Although critics slammed the group, they became one of the first successful British bands patterned after the Led Zeppelin style of crunching guitars and thunderous beats. Others, including Uriah Heep and Mountain, soon followed and now, after twenty years, heavy metal is still one of the most popular styles in rock.
Osbourne sang vocals on seven Sabbath LPs as tunes like “Paranoid,” and “War Pigs,” and “Iron Man” soon became metal classics. Osborne claims to have been heavily into drugs, mainly LSD, during this period and his lyrics revolved around black magic and the mystical world. In Rock 100 he stated, “We’re all just simple, ordinary people who became … this.” Osbourne left Black Sabbath on unfriendly terms in 1978 and was replaced by Dave Walker.
A few years later he signed a solo contract with Jet records and began assembling a new band to support him. The group, Blizzard of Oz, included Lee Kerslake on drums, Bob Daisley on bass (both later joined Uriah Heep) and a young guitarist named Randy Rhoads. Unfairly labeled as an Eddie Van Halen clone, Rhoads was a brilliant axeman in his own right. He proved to be innovative and imaginative in his use of the vibrato arm and fingerboard tapping and employed classical techniques as well.
Osbourne released his debut LP, Blizzard of Oz, in 1981 and enjoyed successful sales thanks in part to Rhoads’s unique work on the tune “Crazy Train.” At a Los Angeles meeting of Columbia record executives Osbourne pulled his now-famous stunt of biting the head off a dove. Delighted with the shocked reaction he had received, he tried it again a few months later at a Des Moines, Iowa, concert with a bat. It backfired,
For the Record…
Name originally John Osbourne; born December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England; first wife’s name, Thelma (marriage ended); married Sharon Arden, 1982; children (first marriage) two; (second marriage) Aimee, Kelly, Jack.
Singer, songwriter; spent two months in prison for burglary and worked for a time in a slaughterhouse before forming rock band, Black Sabbath (name originally Polka Tulk, later changed to Black Sabbath Earth, and finally, Black Sabbath), 1969, lead singer, 1969–78; solo artist, 1981—.
Addresses: Residence —Buckinghamshire, England. Office — c/o 34 Windmill St., London Wl England.
however, as the bat in turn bit Osbourne, who had to undergo a series of painful rabies shots.
Diary of a Madman (taken from the title of Aleister Crowley’s autobiography and later used for Osboume’s own story) was also released in 1981 and the single “You Can’t Kill Rock” received heavy FM airplay. Once again Rhoads’s pyrotechnics were highlighted as “Flying High Again” sent future metalheads to their woodsheds trying to learn his guitar licks. Tragically, just twenty-five-years old, the promising guitarist’s life ended on March 19, 1982 in Orlando, Florida, when the airplane he was in crashed into Osboume’s tour bus. “Randy was so unique that I don’t think people will ever fully realize what a talent that guy was—not only in rock and roll, but in every other field,” Osbourne told Guitar Player, “…he was the most dedicated musician I ever met in my life. He was a master of his art.”
After the loss of Rhoads, Osbourne revamped his entire band by bringing in guitarist Brad Gillis (later of Night Ranger), bass player Rudi Sarzo, and Tommy Aldridge behind the drums. In 1982 the double-live LP Speak of the Devil, which included versions of older Black Sabbath material, was released. Gillis was replaced by yet another hot new guitarist, Jake E. Lee, for 1983’s Bark at the Moon, which eventually reached the platinum status. The single “So Tired” was a Top 30 hit back in Osboume’s homeland of England. In May of 1983 the group was one of the many top live acts to play at California’s US Festival.
Osbourne put aside his personal differences with former bandmates of Black Sabbath for a reunion gig at the July 1985 Live Aid concert in Philadelphia. Four years later Osbourne would donate a sizable chunk of the proceeds from another Philadelphia performance to AIDS research. Despite his obviously weird imagination, even Osbourne was shocked by its impact. “No one could have ever dreamed up a more insidious and evil disease,” he said in the Detroit Free Press.
Meanwhile Osbourne was battling problems of his own. He entered both the Betty Ford Center and Hazelden Foundation in his continuing bouts with alcoholism. Although he was eventually cleared, Osbourne also faced charges after a California teen, John McCollum, took his own life after alledgedly listening to Osboume’s “Suicide Solution” from the Blizzard LP. He continued recording and in 1986 released the highly successful Ultimate Sin album. A single from the LP, “Shot in the Dark,” went on to break the British Top 20. Osbourne paid homage to Rhoads in 1987 by issuing Tribute, containing previously unreleased tracks featuring the guitarist. Osbourne also discovered Zakk Wylde, his newest guitar sensation, who played on 1989’s No Rest For the Wicked LP. Ozzy Osbourne remains one of the true madmen of heavy metal.
Writings
Author of an autobiography, Diary of a Madman.
Selected discography
With Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath, Warner Bros., 1970.
Paranoid, Warner Bros., 1970.
Master of Reality, Warner Bros., 1971.
Black Sabbath, Vol. 4, Warner Bros., 1972.
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath, Warner Bros., 1973.
Sabotage, Warner Bros., 1975.
Technical Ecstasy, Warner Bros., 1976.
Solo LPs
Blizzard of Oz, CBS, 1981.
Diary of a Madman, CBS, 1981.
Speak of the Devil, CBS, 1982.
Bark at the Moon, CBS, 1983.
The Ultimate Sin, CBS, 1986.
Tribute, CBS, 1987.
No Rest for the Wicked, CBS, 1989.
Sources
Books
Christgau, Robert, Christgau’s Record Guide, Ticknor & Fields, 1981.
Dalton, David, and Lenny Kay, Rock 100, Grosset & Dunlap, 1977.
Nite, Norm N., and Charles Crespo, Rock On, Volume 3, Harper, 1985.
The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, Salamander, 1988.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, compiled by Nick Logan and Bob Woffinden, Harmony, 1977.
Rock Movers and Shakers, edited by Barry Lazell with Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton, Banson, 1989.
The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, edited by Jon Páreles and Patricia Romanowski, Rolling Stone Press/Summit, 1983.
The Rolling Stone Record Guide, edited by Dave Marsh with John Swenson, Rolling Stone Press/Random House, 1979.
Periodicals
Detroit Free Press, May 1, 1989.
Guitar Player, November 1982; April 1983.
People, July 10, 1989.
—Calen D. Stone
Osbourne, Ozzy
Ozzy Osbourne
Singer, songwriter
As the lead vocalist with Black Sabbath in the 1970s and throughout his solo career that began in the 1980s, Ozzy Osbourne has been one of the top performers in the rock ‘n’ roll field known as heavy metal. With a reputation for bizarre acts and occult lyrics, he has both delighted fans and outraged critics. With the help and support of his wife and manager, Sharon, Osbourne has continually reinvented himself into the new millennium with projects including an ongoing summer festival called Ozzfest, and a wildly successful television series, The Osbournes, on cable television’s MTV.
Osbourne hails from Aston, a blue-collar section of Birmingham, England. He credits/blames his strange behavior to heredity, coming from a family in which lunacy was not uncommon. Osbourne had a troubled youth, attempting suicide on several occasions beginning as far back as age 14. His lifelong battle with drugs and alcohol began in his teens and eventually caused him to enter rehab facilities more than a dozen times. After spending two months in Winson Green Prison for burglary, he worked for a short period in a slaughterhouse.
Formed Black Sabbath
In January of 1969 Osbourne formed Black Sabbath with guitarist Tommy lommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward. The group was originally called Polka Tulk and then Black Sabbath Earth before settling on Black Sabbath, the title of a Boris Karloff film. Although critics slammed the group, they became one of the first successful British bands patterned after the Led Zeppelin style of crunching guitars and thunderous beats. Others, including Uriah Heep and Mountain, soon followed.
Osbourne sang vocals on seven Sabbath LPs, as tunes like “Paranoid,” and “War Pigs,” and “Iron Man” soon became metal classics. Osbourne claims to have been heavily into drugs, mainly LSD, during this period and his lyrics revolved around black magic and the mystical world. In Rock 100 he stated, “We’re all just simple, ordinary people who became… this.” Osbourne left Black Sabbath on unfriendly terms in 1978 and was replaced by Dave Walker.
Went Solo
A few years later Osbourne signed a solo contract with Jet Records and began assembling a new band to support him. The group, Blizzard of Ozz, included Lee Kerslake on drums, Bob Daisley on bass (both later joined Uriah Heep) and a young guitarist named Randy Rhoads. Unfairly labeled as an Eddie Van Halen clone, Rhoads was a brilliant axeman in his own right. He proved to be innovative and imaginative in his use of the vibrato arm and fingerboard tapping and employed classical techniques as well.
For the Record…
Born John Osbourne on December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England; first wife’s name, Thelma; marriage ended; married Sharon Arden, 1982; children: (first marriage) Louis, Jessica, (second marriage) Aimee, Kelly, Jack.
Singer, songwriter, 1969-; spent two months in prison for burglary and worked for a time in a slaughterhouse before forming rock band Black Sabbath (name originally Polka Tulk, later changed to Black Sabbath Earth, and finally, Black Sabbath), 1969; lead singer, 1969-78; solo artist, 1981-; debuted hit television show, The Osbournes, on MTV, 2002.
Awards: Grammy Awards, Best Metal Performance with Vocal for “I Don’t Want to Change the World,” 1993, and Best Metal Performance (with Black Sabbath) for “Iron Man,” 1999; Emmy Award, Best Reality Show for The Osbournes, 2002.
Addresses: Record company —Epic Records/Sony Music, 550 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022-3211, website: http://www.epicrecords.com. Website —Ozzy Osbourne Official Website: http://www.ozzy.com.
Osbourne released his debut LP, Blizzard of Ozz, in 1981 and enjoyed successful sales thanks in part to Rhoads’s unique work on the tune “Crazy Train.” At a Los Angeles meeting of Columbia record executives, Osbourne pulled his now-famous stunt of biting the head off a dove. Delighted with the shocked reaction he had received, he tried it again a few months later at a Des Moines, Iowa, concert with a bat. It backfired, however, as the bat in turn bit Osbourne, who had to undergo a series of painful rabies shots.
Diary of a Madman (taken from the title of Aleister Crowley’s autobiography and later used for Osbourne’s own story) was also released in 1981 and the single “You Can’t Kill Rock” received heavy airplay. Once again Rhoads’s pyrotechnics were highlighted as “Flying High Again” sent future metalheads to their woodsheds trying to learn his guitar licks. Tragically, just 25-years old, the promising guitarist’s life ended on March 19, 1982, in Orlando, Florida, when the airplane he was in crashed into Osbourne’s tour bus. “Randy was so unique that I don’t think people will ever fully realize what a talent that guy was—not only in rock and roll, but in every other field…,” Osbourne told Guitar Player. “[H]e was the most dedicated musician I ever met in my life. He was a master of his art.” Osbourne’s personal life entered a new phase when he married his manager, Sharon Arden, in 1982. Sharon is often referred to as the woman behind the band and the reason for Osbourne’s continued success.
After the loss of Rhoads, Osbourne revamped his entire band by bringing in guitarist Brad Gillis (later of Night Ranger), bass player Rudi Sarzo, and Tommy Aldridge behind the drums. In 1982 the double-live LP Speak of the Devil, which included versions of older Black Sabbath material, was released. Gillis was replaced by yet another hot new guitarist, Jake E. Lee, for 1983’s Bark at the Moon, which eventually reached the platinum status. The single “So Tired” was a top 30 hit back in Osbourne’s homeland of England. In May of 1983 the group was one of the many top live acts to play at California’s US Festival.
Reunited with Black Sabbath
Osbourne put aside his personal differences with former bandmates of Black Sabbath for a reunion gig at the July 1985 Live Aid concert in Philadelphia. Four years later Osbourne would donate a sizable chunk of the proceeds from another Philadelphia performance to AIDS research. Despite his obviously weird imagination, even Osbourne was shocked by its impact. “No one could have ever dreamed up a more insidious and evil disease,” he said in the Detroit Free Press.
Meanwhile Osbourne was battling problems of his own. He entered both the Betty Ford Center and Hazelden Foundation in his continuing bouts with alcoholism. Although he was eventually cleared, Osbourne also faced charges after a California teen, John McCollum, took his own life after alledgedly listening to Osbourne’s “Suicide Solution” from the Blizzard LP. He continued recording and in 1986 released the highly successful Ultimate Sin album. A single from the LP, “Shot in the Dark,” went on to break the British top 20. Osbourne paid homage to Rhoads in 1987 by issuing Tribute, containing previously unreleased tracks featuring the guitarist. Osbourne had his first top-ten hit single in 1988 with “Close My Eyes Forever,” a duet with Lita Ford. Osbourne discovered Zakk Wylde, his newest guitar sensation, around this time. Wylde played on 1989’s No Rest For the Wicked LP and continued to tour and record with Osbourne on subsequent albums.
Personal Trouble
Osbourne’s drug and alcohol addiction caused much turmoil in his private life during the late 1980s, culminating in his arrest after he tried to strangle his wife while inebriated in 1989. He spent three months in prison following the incident. He and Sharon reconciled soon after, and Osbourne returned to the studio to record No More Tears. He decided to retire after going on a final tour in order to spend more time with his family. A double album released in 1993, Live and Loud, would be Osbourne’s only release between 1991 and 1995. Osbourne won his first Grammy Award in 1993, the award for Best Metal Performance with Vocals for “I Don’t Want to Change the World.” He still struggles with addiction, admitting to Entertainment Weekly, “the only time I really feel comfortable in my own skin is when I’m drinking or taking pills.”
Osbourne came out of retirement in 1995 with a new studio album, Ozzmosis. Despite terrible critical reviews (Entertainment Weekly called it “a parody of the most over-inflated opera”) the album went triple platinum before the year was over. Then, Sharon approached the organizers of the then-popular summer festival Lollapalooza in 1995 to see about getting Ozzy a spot on the bill. The festival organizers turned her down, thinking Osbourne wasn’t a big enough draw for the Lollapalooza crowd. Sharon’s reaction, as reported in Entertainment Weekly, was, “Fine. F*** you. I’ll go do my own thing.” She gathered 16 metal bands for two sold-out shows in Phoenix and Los Angeles that summer, and Ozzfest was born. The festival has grown in popularity with each passing year, taking in more than $20 million in revenue in 2000. “Ozzfest was a brilliant move because the tour connects Ozzy to fans who are into younger new metal and hard-rock bands,” Poll-star’s Gary Bongiovanni told Entertainment Weekly.
Black Sabbath, including Osbourne, reunited for an extended tour with Ozzfest in 1997. The following year, they released a live album, Reunion. Osbourne also found himself collaborating with an unlikely artist—rapper Busta Rhymes—with whom he recorded a remake of Black Sabbath’s classic “Iron Man.” Black Sabbath continued touring with Ozzfest in 1999 and again, possibly for the last time, in 2001. They won a Grammy Award in 1999 for Best Metal Performance for “Iron Man.”
Television Star
In 2001, Osbourne released Down to Earth, his first studio album since 1995. That year, his family appeared on an episode of MTV’s Cribs. MTV executives were so impressed with the reaction to the episode that they approached Sharon about taking part in another project. This dinner meeting would eventually lead to the wildly successful series The Osbournes. Osbourne’s reputation went from bat-biting madman to doting, if slightly batty, father. Entertainment Weekly called his approach to parenting a “modern, lovable old-codger brand of fatherhood.” Ozzy and Sharon became poster parents for a new generation, as News-week International noted. “It quickly became apparent that Ozzy and Sharon are caring, responsible parents, who often act in a manner that would make family-values trumpeter… Dan Quayle proud.”
The success of the television show—with a draw of more than six million viewers on a network that averages around 500,000—brought a new sort of fame to the Osbourne clan, including son Jack and daughter Kelly. Ozzy and Sharon attended the White House Correspondents Dinner, meeting President George W. Bush during the event. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth personally invited Osbourne to play at her Golden Jubilee celebration in 2002, and Ozzy was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame that year.
The show has proven a success in every sense—critical, popular, and financial—and won an Emmy Award in 2002 for Best Reality Show. Ozzy may be the only one who doesn’t see its appeal. “I don’t bloody understand why people think it’s funny, me taking out the trash. I mean, I’m a guy. I don’t have a… trash roadie,” he said in Entertainment Weekly.
With Osbourne’s popularity at its greatest height ever, and no end to the phenomenon of The Osbournes in sight, tragedy struck the family. Sharon was diagnosed with colorectal cancer on July 1, 2002, and underwent surgery to remove a foot of her colon just two days later. Doctors discovered later that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, and Sharon was started on a course of chemotherapy. The family remained optimistic about her recovery, and coverage of her treatment was to be included in the second season of The Osbournes.
Sharon’s business sense and drive combined with Ozzy’s talent and performances have made the two an unstoppable pair. The Osbournes, as the Economist described them, are “supremely dysfunctional yet curiously likeable,” and this may be their biggest feat yet. Ozzy Osbourne went from near oblivion in the mid-1990s to pop culture icon in the twenty-first century, and he has proven over and over again that he has what it takes to make himself relevant to pop culture and the music industry.
Selected discography
Solo
Blizzard of Ozz, Jet, 1981.
Diary of a Madman, Jet, 1981.
Speak of the Devil, Jet, 1982.
Bark at the Moon, Epic, 1983.
The Ultimate Sin, Epic, 1986.
Tribute, Epic, 1987.
No Rest for the Wicked, Epic, 1989.
Just Say Ozzy (live), Epic, 1990.
No More Tears, Epic, 1991.
Ozzmosls, Epic, 1995.
The Ozzman Cometh, Epic, 1997.
Down to Earth, Sony, 2001.
With Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath, Warner Bros., 1970.
Paranoid, Warner Bros., 1970.
Master of Reality, Warner Bros., 1971.
Black Sabbath, Vol. 4, Warner Bros., 1972.
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath, Warner Bros., 1973.
Sabotage, Warner Bros., 1975.
Technical Ecstasy, Warner Bros., 1976.
Reunion, Sony, 1998.
Sources
Books
Christgau, Robert, Christgau’s Record Guide, Ticknor & Fields, 1981.
Dalton, David, and Lenny Kay, Rock 100, Grosset & Dunlap, 1977.
Lazell, Barry, with Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton, editors, Rock Movers and Shakers, Banson, 1989.
Nite, Norm N., and Charles Crespo, Rock On, Volume 3, Harper, 1985.
The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, Salamander, 1988.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, compiled by Nick Logan and Bob Woffinden, Harmony, 1977.
Marsh, Dave, and John Swenson, editors, The Rolling Stone Record Guide, Rolling Stone Press/Random House, 1979.
Pareles, Jon, and Patricia Romanowski, editors, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, Rolling Stone Press/Summit, 1983.
Periodicals
Detroit Free Press, May 1, 1989.
Economist, April 20, 2002.
Entertainment Weekly, November 24, 1995; September 1, 2000; April 19, 2002.
Guitar Player, November 1982; April 1983.
Newsweek International, June 3, 2002.
People, July 10, 1989; July 29, 2002.
—Calen D. Stone
Osbourne, Ozzy
OZZY OSBOURNE
Born: John Michael Osbourne; Birmingham, England, 3 December 1948
Genre: Heavy Metal, Rock
Best-selling album since 1990: Live & Loud (1993)
Hit songs since 1990: "Mama, I'm Coming Home"
Renowned as one of the most outrageous performers in rock music, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's marathon with substance abuse never kept him from finding fresh methods to market his career. He emerged as a rock star in the 1970s as a member of Black Sabbath, translated that success into a solo career, and parlayed it all into a blockbuster reality television show. In equal turns fascinating and revolting, Osbourne has spun all publicity into good publicity. Many credit him with being the founder of heavy metal rock.
A Musical Escape
Osbourne's thirst for attention took shape while growing up in a family of six children in the coarseness of industrial Birmingham, England. His parents were laborers in the manufacturing trades and their family lineage was rife with alcoholism and mental illness. Osbourne's youth was spent in habitual trouble and he was once arrested for burglary, landing briefly in Birmingham's Winson Prison. At fourteen, he joined a local band called the Black Panthers, and sang with several other club bands before meeting up with school chum, guitarist Tony Iommi. They formed Black Sabbath, the name of a Boris Karloff movie. Their intent was to follow the blues/rock path of Led Zeppelin and other English bands on the rise. However, a record company imposed Satanist symbols on their first album cover, branding them as disciples of the occult. This association with devil worship still clings to Osbourne and, despite his occasional claims to the contrary, is an image that he recurrently fosters.
Black Sabbath was hugely successful, launching the singer as one of the world's most famous rock stars. Eventually Osbourne's drug and alcohol abuse made him unmanageable even by Black Sabbath's standards and they fired him in 1978. Expected by many to drift into obscurity, a savvy business manager, Sharon Arden, whom he would marry in 1982, convinced Osbourne to embark on a solo career. His first album, Blizzard of Oz (1981), went platinum. His subsequent albums also sold well and Osbourne was once again on top of the rock and roll heap. Nevertheless, life was far from trouble-free. Osbourne simultaneously caught flak and drew fans for his macabre stage shows and much publicized social behavior. He hired a dwarf to toss around on stage, hurled raw meat at his audience, killed a litter of cats, defecated in an elevator, urinated on the Alamo, and bit the head off a live dove in a record company executive's office. Animal activists, concerned parents, and religious factions, outraged over what they perceived as devil worship, badgered his tours. Adoring fans would lob dead animals at him—frogs, snakes, cats, dogs—midconcert, predicating one of the most infamous incidents in rock history. During a concert in Des Moines, Iowa, a fan tossed a live bat on stage. Certain that it was rubber, Osbourne bit the bat's head off. Osbourne's ensuing rabies treatment delayed the tour. Later, Osbourne fought lawsuits over his culpability in teenage suicides regarding his song "Suicide Solution." The song is about the dangers of drinking alcohol but is often interpreted as advocating suicide. Osbourne was exonerated.
In 1991, after multiple rehab stays, Osbourne took sobriety seriously. His album No More Tears (1991) features a softer sound than previous work. It contains a pretty ballad, "Mama, I'm Coming Home," which recognizes his desire to return to his wife after time on the road. During the tour that followed No More Tears, Osbourne decided to retire and spend more time with his family, which included two daughters and a son from his marriage to Sharon, and three children from an earlier marriage who lived elsewhere. He punctuated his retirement with a live album, Live & Loud (1993), that contains music from the highly publicized No More Tears tour. It was promoted as the last chance for Osbourne's legions of fans to see him perform and was a major financial success. Months later, Osbourne, restless from life at home, broke his retirement, and went into the studio to begin preproduction for Ozzmosis (1995).
Settling Down (Sort Of)
Along the way, Osbourne received his first Grammy Award in 1993 for Best Metal Rock Vocal Performance with the funky, hard-driving, "I Don't Want to Change the World," off Live & Loud. Critics often overlook the fact that Osbourne is an engaging rock singer. However, some are quick to recognize that his voice is high and true, carrying a musical whine that mixes an agreeable measure of wit with his intense, edgy style. In a genre of music where vocals often take a backseat to the distorted sound, Osbourne's voice always sits up front.
With retirement a distant memory, Sharon, credited as the driving force behind her husband's career, created Ozzfest in 1996. This assembly of various heavy metal groups with Osbourne as headliner gambled that there was still interest in heavy metal rock. Osbourne spiced up Ozzfest by offering a consumer-friendly package replete with tattoo parlors, body piercing, dominatrixes, psychic readings, and opportunities for fans to meet the bands. It was phenomenally successful and continued to be produced year after year.
In 2001 Osbourne released Down to Earth, his first new album in six years. It received glowing reviews. A ballad off the album, "Dreamer," performed in the vein of John Lennon's "Imagine," presents the paradox of Osbourne advocating peace and harmony throughout the world. Other songs on the album characteristically flirt with spooky afterlife themes. That autumn he promoted the album with a tour originally titled "Black Xmas." The name was changed to "Merry Mayhem" in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. To honor a solo career that has produced the sale of over 70 million albums, Osbourne received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Spot Light: MTV's The Osbournes
The Osbournes distinguishes itself from a throng of other reality television programs because the family is so famous and outrageous. It offers an inside look at the personal lives of Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and two of their children, a daughter, Kelly, and a son, Jack. An adopted son, Robert, also appears, but their oldest daughter, Aimee, has refused to take part. The Osbournes displays an abnormal family dealing with normal family issues. They demonstrate few behavior boundaries and manage their lives with the help of personal assistants, trainers, and other handlers. Yet, similar to many households, a hierarchy survives. Sharon rules the roost, albeit with biting wit and sarcasm. Osbourne dodders around with a "deer-in-the-headlights" expression, trying to reign in his hyperactive teenagers. As a burned-out rocker whose past is littered with debauchery of every nature, he gets little reverence for his disciplinary efforts. The kids are caught up in the malaise of adolescent fantasy. Viewers watch the Osbournes argue, swear, laugh, scream, cry, eat, and sleep as they go about their lives. The Osbournes took a turn for the serious but was not deterred when Sharon developed colon cancer and Osbourne battled alcoholism.
In another odd twist, Sharon secured a deal with the MTV network to film the Osbourne family in their daily routines. Ridiculed from the onset and marked for failure, the weekly-aired show, titled The Osbournes, won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Programming in 2002. The family signed a $20 million deal for the 2003 season. A plethora of profitable merchandising materials from the show has resulted, such as books, and the release of a collection of favorite household songs called The Osbourne Family Album. Osbourne and Sharon renewed wedding vows on New Year's Eve 2002, celebrating twenty years of marriage.
Osbourne is a true survivor in a musical battlefield frequently recognized for short-lived success, shattered lives, and death. Labeled rock's Prince of Darkness, Osbourne and his wife's knack to successfully promote themselves has shed a bright light on financial balance sheets.
SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:
The Blizzard of Oz (CBS, 1980); Diary of a Madman (CBS, 1981); Speak of the Devil (CBS, 1982); Talk of the Devil (CBS, 1982); Bark at the Moon (CBS, 1983); The Ultimate Sin (CBS, 1986); Tribute (CBS, 1987); No Rest for the Wicked (CBS, 1988); Just Say Ozzy (CBS, 1990); No More Tears (Sony, 1991); Live & Loud (Sony, 1993); Ozzmosis (Sony, 1995); The Ozzman Cometh (Sony, 1997); Down to Earth (Epic, 2001); Live at Budokan (Epic, 2002).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
G. Johnson, Ozzy Osbourne (New York, 1985); C. Clerk, Ozzy Osbourne: Diary of a Madman (New York, 1990); H. Shaw, Ozzy Talking: Ozzy Osbourne in His Own Words (New York, 2002).
donald lowe