Shocking news from the music world as the legendary frontman of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne has died. The announcement from Osbourne's family comes mere weeks after his farewell show in which he performed, seated, with his Black Sabbath bandmates and in a solo set.
The famously foul-mouthed 76-year old Osbourne has been battling health issues for a few years and had stopped performing live up until the massive farewell show in his hometown of Birmingham, England. It was show put together with performances from some of his favorite acts, including Metallica and Guns'n'Roses, and was meant to be a "final bow" for the aging heavy metal icon.
In a statement, his family said: "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."
Osbourne and his Black Sabbath mates were pioneers of the heavy metal genre, literally launching every band from Judas Priest to Metallica and beyond in the heavy genres of rock music. You could describe Black Sabbath as heavy metal music's "big bang." A universe grew from the earliest notes of "Black Sabbath," "Paranoid," "Iron Man," and many more. It was a dense, angry, dark and atmospheric turn on music that created something new, a space reserved for a select few in the history of rock music.
“Black Sabbath are the Beatles of heavy metal. Anybody who’s serious about metal will tell you it all comes down to Sabbath,” Dave Navarro of the band Jane’s Addiction wrote in a 2010 tribute in Rolling Stone. “There’s a direct line you can draw back from today’s metal, through Eighties bands like Iron Maiden, back to Sabbath.”
A two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - with Sabbath and his solo career - Osbourne relaunched his career after being booted from Black Sabbath in 1978.
He became one of metal's biggest stars in the 80s before finding even more success on reality TV of all things. "The Osbourne's" on MTV became one of television's surprise hits in the 90s and 2000s, following Ozzy, his wife Sharon and their two kids Jack and Kelly in their seemingly chaotic Los Angeles home.
He had Parkinson's disease and had suffered other health problems in recent years, including complications from injuries sustained in a fall in 2019.
Osbourne's life was not an easy one and success came despite battling the demons he often sang about in Black Sabbath songs.
Born to a working class family in the bombed out Birmingham, Osbourne grew up around soot-faced miners and steel workers, helping shape the sound that later became Black Sabbath which he helped form in 1968 with Tony Iommi, Terry "Geezer" Butler, and Bill Ward.
The band found success with a new sound, heavy, thunderous guitars, lyrics that ranged from religiously-themed scares about Satan and demons, to odes to some of their favorite pastimes ("Snowblind" was a love song about cocaine).
Sabbath found that success - and then fell apart by the end of the 1970s fueled by drug, management and financial problems. And it was Ozzy himself leading that charge down a very dark and dangerous path.
“We knew we didn’t really have a choice but to sack him because he was just so out of control. But we were all very down about the situation,” wrote bassist Terry “Geezer” Butler in his memoir, “Into the Void.”
Osbourne was removed from the band and reportedly fell deeper into a bottle (or many bottles) when he was pulled from the abyss by Sharon Arden, who still saw something in Osbourne and went on to manage his solo career. She also saw enough in Ozzy to marry him.
That solo career was launched in 1980 with the iconic "Blizzard of Ozz" which became a multi-platinum seller. He spent the next decade becoming one of music's biggest stars, battling alcohol and drug addiction - and launching controversy after controversy.
“Crazy Train,” “Goodbye to Romance,” “Flying High Again” and “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll” became just as iconic in heavy music as his hits with Sabbath, and improbable and genre-shifting rebirth for Ozzy Osbourne. Sabbath went into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Ozzy went in as a solo artist in 2024.
Osbourne infamously bit the head off of a live dove while drunk during a meeting with record executives. He also bit the head off a bat he mistook for being fake at a show in Des Moines, Iowa. Osbourne was also arrested in 1982 when he urinated on San Antonio's famous Alamo while - yes, again - drunk.
Then, in 1984, California teenager John McCollum committed suicide while listening to Osbourne's "Suicide Solution". The song deals with the dangers of alcoholism but McCollum's suicide led to allegations that Osbourne promoted suicide in his songs. He was sued by McCollum's parents but the case was dismissed. Another similar suit over the same song was brought in 1991 and was also dismissed.
Then-Cardinal John J. O’Connor of New York claimed in 1990 that Osbourne’s songs led to demonic possession and even suicide. “You are ignorant about the true meaning of my songs,” the singer wrote back. “You have also insulted the intelligence of rock fans all over the world.”
The original Sabbath lineup reunited for the first time in 20 years in July 2025 in the U.K. for what Osborne said would be his final concert. “Let the madness begin!” he told 42,000 fans.
Metallica, Guns N Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Anthrax, Rival Sons and Mastodon all did sets. Tom Morello, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Billy Corgan, Ronnie Wood, Travis Barker, Sammy Hagar and more made appearances. Actor Jason Momoa was the host for the festivities.
“Black Sabbath: we’d all be different people without them, that’s the truth,” said Pantera singer Phil Anselmo. “I know I wouldn’t be up here with a microphone in my hand without Black Sabbath.”
He started an annual tour — Ozzfest — in 1996 after he was rejected from the lineup of what was then the top touring music festival, Lollapalooza. Ozzfest has gone on to host such bands as Slipknot, Tool, Megadeth, Rob Zombie, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park.
Osbourne’s look changed little over his life. He wore his long hair flat, heavy black eye makeup and round glasses, often wearing a cross around his neck. In 2013, he reunited with Black Sabbath for the dour, raw “13,” which reached No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart and peaked at No. 86 on the U.S. Billboard 200. In 2019, he had a Top 10 hit when featured on Post Malone’s “Take What You Want,” Osbourne’s first song in the Top 10 since 1989.
In 2020, he released the album “Ordinary Man,” which had as its title song a duet with Elton John. “I’ve been a bad guy, been higher than the blue sky/And the truth is I don’t wanna die an ordinary man,” he sang. In 2022, he landed his first career back-to-back No. 1 rock radio singles from his album “Patient Number 9,” which featured collaborations with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mike McCready, Chad Smith, Robert Trujillo and Duff McKagan. It earned four Grammy nominations.
At the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2024, Jack Black called him “greatest frontman in the history of rock ‘n’ roll” and “the Jack Nicholson of rock.” Osbourne thanked his fans, his guitarist Randy Rhoads and his longtime wife, Sharon.
In addition to Sharon, Kelly and Jack, he has a daughter Aimee as well his two older children, Jessica and Louis from his first marriage to Thelma Riley.
Music Tributes Pour In
Already Tuesday afternoon, artists from across the world of music were paying tribute to Osbourne. A sampling: