In December 2017, I was waiting for a bus from Troy to Albany on a very cold, toes-freezing evening. This seemingly drunk guy was at the bus stop, ranting, “Ozzy Osbourne has a s**load of money. He don’t have to work at all.” I know not the antecedent to that rant.
The thing for me about Ozzy is that I know for nothing about his music, either with Black Sabbath or as a solo artist. Yes, he has sold more than 100 million albums. I know he’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his band since 2006.
Yet I find him oddly interesting. I did watch a few episodes of the first season of The Osbournes (2002-2005), a “reality” show about life with him, his wife Sharon, son Jack and daughter Kelly.
It was weird, and irritating. I kept at it a bit to see if I could figure out why some of my friends were so gaga for it. I’m still not sure. But, among other things, the show “normalized” Ozzy. It also helped propel Sharon into a talk show career and stoked the kids’ showbiz careers.
Ozzy had this Las Vegas show in October 2018. “After his five-decade reign as the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne is bidding farewell to the global tour life…” although it won’t end until 2020.
And he was supporting a good cause. “Love Hope Strength (LHS) is saving lives one concert at a time. Since 2008 they’ve been hosting marrow donor drives at concerts and festivals across the globe via their Get on the List campaign, which encourages people to sign up for the International Bone Marrow Registry with a simple cheek swab.”
Oh, and that drunk guy was right. The guy born John Osbourne but “known as Ozzy since grammar school was raised in Birmingham, England and left school at fifteen to work.” The Godfather of Heavy Metal has a net worth of $220 million.
Coverville 1241: Ozzy Osbourne & Black Sabbath Cover Story
We watched The Osbournes when it came out, so I suppose I was one of those people who were very into it. But I wouldn’t use the word “gaga”; I found out about her later on.