A few select group of musicians transcend music and earn a place in pop culture that regardless of their musical genre, the masses know their name. Such is the case with Ozzy Osbourne.
Ozzy Osbourne, along guitar player Tony Iommi, bass player Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward released the first Black Sabbath album back in February in 1970. The album contains Sabbath classics such as the title track, along with “N.I.B,” and “The Wizard.”
Osbourne and Black Sabbath would go on to release several classic albums that defined the origins of heavy Metal including “Paranoid,” “Masters of Reality,” “Vol.4,” “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” and “Sabotage.” After years of drug and alcohol abuse, though, Ozzy Osbourne was kicked out of the band.
After languishing in an Los Angeles hotel room Osbourne through Sharon Arden who would eventually become Ozzy’s wife persuaded the former Black Sabbath lead singer to form a solo band. Auditioning a host of drummers, bass players and guitar players in 1979 Osbourne landed upon bass player Bob Daisley, and an unknown L.A. guitar player and music teacher: Randy Rhoads.
Later adding drummer Lee Kerslake, Osbourne, along with Rhoads and Daisley would record Ozzy’s debut solo album, “Blizzard of Ozz.” This album features Ozzy Osbourne’s most popular song, “Crazy Train,” as well as several other Osbourne classics that include “Mr. Crowley,” “I Don’t Know,” and the notorious “Suicide Solution.” The album hit stores on Sept. 12, 1980.
Following the success of the first record the solo Osbourne released “Diary of a Madman” in November 1981. “Diary” includes the classic songs, “Over the Mountain,” “Flying High Again,” and the album’s title track, “Diary of a Madman.”
These albums established Ozzy Osbourne as a major star in the world of music and despite enduring tragedies headlined by the death of Rhoads in March of 1982, the solo Osbourne would go on to record top-selling albums with guitarist Jake E. Lee and by the late 1980s, Zakk Wylde.
Celebrating the Music of Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy’s impact on music through Black Sabbath and his solo career is immeasurable. Countless guitar players have been influenced by Iommi, Rhoads, Lee and Wylde. Like a scene from “Wayne’s World,” it’s almost impossible to walk into a music store and not hearing someone playing the riffs to Black Sabbath songs such as “Iron Man” or “Crazy Train” from the “Blizzard of Ozz” record.
Diving into the Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne catalogs from a music fan’s perspective, Sabbath pioneered techniques such as down-tuned guitars, which added the heaviness to the band’s songs.
Today, down-tuned bass and guitars are common in metal music, but it was unique back in the early 1970s and combined with Iommi’s iconic riffs, Geezer Butler’s doomy lyrics, and Osbourne’s vocal melodies a new genre of music was born.
Transitioning into the Ozzy Osbourne solo catalog and the first two records specifically not only did Rhoads pioneer a new style of guitar playing that drew from classical music, as well as the blues, and recording techniques that are highlighted by Randy’s multitracked guitar parts. Through Rhoads’ innovations he would go on to influence metal and other styles of popular music.
Over the years, CE Pro has paid tribute to the passing of a number of those who might be considered “transcendent” musicians. This is because, while today it is viewed more as a business magazine, our industry is still filled with an eclectic mix of music lovers who carry a deep an celebrated passion for the works of these musicians that helped form this industry in the first place.
From Eddie Van Halen to Neal Peart, it’s not all too outlandish to think that one person’s love of these musicians led to their fascination with audio and their inevitable jump into the custom integration channel.
In memoriam to Black Sabbath’s and Ozzy Osbourne’s catalogs, check out the slideshow for some audiophile gems throughout Ozzy’s more than five decades of music.
