By the way, "Paranoid" was released 55 years ago. Think about that for a minute. An album, more than a half-century old, that is still very relevant today. That's some legendary stuff right there!
And speaking of legendary, the clever lyrics and high-octane vocals on the album were the perfect complement to the dark, heavy music. The person behind this was, of course, the one and only Ozzy Osbourne. And Ozzy was just getting warmed up. He would go onto to have a long career of success, with the band and as a solo artist.
When Ozzy left Black Sabbath, I don't think anyone was expecting what came next. The release of his first solo record, "Blizzard of Ozz", took the rock and roll world by storm. The album had more power than an Energizer bunny on steroids. Absolutely loaded from top to bottom, there was not a weak song on the whole record. The guitar riffs were quite different than the classic Sabbath stuff. And that was due to a young stud guitarist named Randy Rhodes. But similar to the Sabbath songs, Ozzy's vocals and intriguing lyrics brought them to life. Ozzy's debut album would be another one of his collaborations that would stand the test of time. Every bit as good as "Paranoid", in my opinion.
I can remember teenagers blaring Ozzy songs through their boomboxes at the local park. This was back in the day when cassettes were the popular media source. Everyone would get bummed out when the D-cell batteries began to wear down because the music would noticeably start to slow down. If you played your boombox at full volume, like most people did, you might get a couple hours before the batteries were completely drained. This was long before modern long-lasting Bluetooth speakers.
The prolific songwriter would spend the next few decades creating a catalog of iconic rock and roll songs. They ranged from fist-pounding tunes like "Over The Mountain" to heartfelt tributes like "Mama I'm Coming Home". Interesting enough, the lyrics to "Mama, I'm Coming Home" were written by Motorhead's Lemmy, a good friend of Ozzy. It would make it to #28 on the Billboard Top 40. Ozzy also had some Top 40 success with "Close My Eyes Forever, a power-ballad duet with Lita Ford. My personal favorite Ozzy ballad is "Changes", one of Black Sabbath's early songs. And of course, there were rock and roll anthems like "Crazy Train" that were ultimately adopted by professional sports teams to pep up the stadium crowds. There was something for everyone.
The funny thing about Ozzy is that he often seemed almost unintelligible during conversations and interviews. And he would also rhythmically drop f-bombs between words. But when you eventually deciphered what he said, his responses were witty, accurate and downright hilarious. His mind worked in a unique way. His poignant lyrics are a testament to this. Ozzy was a genius when it came to penning the perfect words and delivering them with just the right amount attitude and conviction.
Ozzy' personality was larger than life. Someone eventually came up with the brilliant idea to capture this in the form of a reality TV show. "The Osbournes" premiered in March of 2002 and did not disappoint. Hearing Ozzy calling for his wife, Sharon, every time he ran into a dilemma was classic.
We often hear the overused expression "one of a kind". But I really think it applies perfectly to Ozzy. Sure, there loony musicians before and after him. But Ozzy was unique. From biting the heads off bats and doves to pissing on The Alamo, Ozzy carved out his special place in rock mayhem. Like some of the other "one name" superstars, when you hear "Ozzy", you know exactly who it is.
It was great that Ozzy got to reunite with his old Black Sabbath bandmates a couple of weeks ago for the "Back to the Beginning" concert in Birmington, England. The concert was attended by 40,000 fans and a plethora of inspired musicians who played throughout the day. The main event was the four original members of Black Sabbath. They performed four of their well-known songs. Due to his physical decline in recent years, Ozzy sang the songs while seated in a throne. Although he was seated, the fire was still evident during his performance. This was indeed the perfect swan song. The event also raised nearly $200 million for children's hospitals and Parkinson's disease research.
Sadly, Ozzy passed away on Tuesday. But he left behind an abundance of musical love for his countless fans around the world. He went out just the way he lived....BIG!
kw
