Ozzy Osbourne, the Birmingham-born prince of darkness, died at 76 on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. He sang of iron men and paranoid nights, his voice a raw, howling truth. Black Sabbath forged heavy metal’s soul; his solos with Iommi shook the earth. A life of excess—drugs, booze, bats bitten—yet he stood, defiant, a shaman in leather. Survived by Sharon, his anchor, and children who carry his fire. The stage is dim now, but his riffs echo forever.
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Born John Michael Osbourne, the English musician rose to fame as the so-called Prince of Darkness with his heavy metal band, Black Sabbath, which he co-founded in 1968. The band released popular hits like “Paranoid,” “Iron Man” and “War Pigs.”
After his 1979 departure from the band due to substance abuse issues, Osbourne launched a successful solo career beginning with 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz, which featured his hit track “Crazy Train.” Osbourne became widely known for his wild onstage persona, including infamously biting the head off a bat during a 1982 concert. (He later got a rabies shot.) He went on to release 13 studio albums and was inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — in 2006, with Black Sabbath, and again in 2024 as a solo artist.
