Ozzy Osbourne

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: Ozzy Osbourne visits the SiriusXM Studios on December 11, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)

First Name
John Michael Osbourne
Last Name
Osbourne
Additional Name
Ozzy Osbourne
Date of Birth
Dec. 3, 1948
Place of Birth
Birmingham, England
Discography
Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath (1970); Paranoid (1970); Master of Reality (1971); Vol. 4 (1972); Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973); Sabotage (1975); Technical Ecstasy (1976); Never Say Die! (1978)
Solo: Blizzard of Ozz (1980); Diary of a Madman (1981); Speak of the Devil (1082); Bark at the Moon (1983); The Ultimate Sin (1986); No Rest for the Wicked (1988); No More Tears (1991); Ozzmosis (1995);Down to Earth (2001); Black Rain (2007); Scream (2010); ¡Ozzfest!: A Compilation Album (2010); Ordinary Man (2020); and Patient Number 9 (2022)
Other Notable Work
Ozzfest (1996); The Osbournes (2002-2005)

Ozzy Osbourne, otherwise known as the Prince of Darkness, was the frontman and a founding member of legendary heavy metal outfit Black Sabbath. The Birmingham, England native formed the band in 1986 with Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler. They started off play heavy blues music before invoking their fascination with the occult in their lyrics. The band’s first two albums, Black Sabbath and Paranoid, were released in 1970 and met with almost immediate commercial success. Along with 1971’s Master of Reality, Black Sabbath’s first three albums are seen as foundational in the sound of heavy metal music.

By 1979, tensions rose between Osbourne and Iommi, leading to Osbourne’s dismissal and the hiring of Ronnie James Dio as Black Sabbath’s new frontman. Osbourne would go on to pursue a successful solo career in the Eighties, with albums like Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, both of which featured guitarist Randy Rhoads before he died in 1982. He sustained this success into the Nineties, notably with the album No More Tears. 

Osbourne found further success in the Nineties with the creation of Ozzfest, a touring festival featuring metal heavyweights as well as a number of up-and-coming acts in the genre. The classic rocker became famous with a new generation in the Aughts thanks to MTV: Osbourne, his wife/manager Sharon and two of their three children together, Kelly and Jack, starred in the hit series The Osbournes.

Osbourne first reunited with Black Sabbath in 1997 and the band would tour in different formations of the original line-up. In 2025, they had one final performance of the original four members. Osbourne died 17 days later of complications from Parkinson’s disease. —Brittany Spanos