The famed heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne died Tuesday morning at the age of 76, according to his family.
Tributes poured in for the former lead singer of Black Sabbath, who is largely considered to have changed the course of music history.
‘I remember playing in the Crown Pub in Birmingham and thinking, ‘This will be good for a couple of years, drink a few beers and have a jam.”
“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love,” reads the statement posted to Osbourne’s social media account.
The statement was signed by his wife, Sharon, his sons Jack and Louis, and his daughters Kelly and Aimee.
Osbourne had just performed with former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward at the Villa Park stadium in Birmingham before 45,000 fans.
He died just weeks after his “farewell tour.”
Born John Michael Osbourne to a working-class family in Birmingham, England, he struggled in school due to his dyslexia and dropped out at the age of 15 to work menial jobs. In 1968, he became the front man for the Polka Tulk Blues Band, which eventually evolved into Black Sabbath. At the time, he didn’t think it would go very far.
“I remember playing in the Crown Pub in Birmingham and thinking, ‘This will be good for a couple of years, drink a few beers and have a jam,'” he recalled.
Massive fame and wealth followed afterward.
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His most well-known songs included “Paranoid,” “Crazy Train,” “War Pigs,” and “Iron Man.”
Osbourne had been battling with Parkinson’s disease and was physically debilitated during his last few public performances. He admitted that his health had been compromised by the large amount of drugs and alcohol that he had ingested earlier in life.
He credited his wife for saving him.
“I do count my lucky stars,” Osbourne said to Rolling Stone magazine in Nov. 2023. “I don’t know why I’m still here, and I do sometimes think I’m on borrowed time. I said to Sharon the other day, ‘What a great f**king life we’ve had and what a great f**king experience.'”
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