The Prince of Darkness

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English rock vocalist, songwriter, and television personality, who rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the pioneering English band Black Sabbath. Built around Tony Iommi's guitar riffs, Geezer Butler's lyrics, Bill Ward's dark tempo drumbeats, and topped by Osbourne's eerie vocals, early records  sold huge numbers, as well as getting considerable airplay. Osbourne's total album sales from his years in Black Sabbath combined with his solo work is over 100 million. Osbourne's longevity and success have earned him the informal title of "Prince of Darkness".

Conflict had existed between Iommi and Osbourne from the beginning. When responding to a flyer reading "Ozzy Zig Needs Gig- has own PA", Iommi and Ward arrived at the address listed to speak with Ozzy Zig. When Iommi saw Osbourne, he left, as he knew of and disliked Osbourne from back in their school days. Iommi had reportedly punched out Osbourne numerous times over the years when the singer's drunken antics had become too much to take.

In 1979, in the studio, tensions and conflict between band members were present continually. Osbourne recalls being asked to record his vocals over and over. This was a point of contention between Osbourne and Iommi. At Iommi's insistence, and with the support of Butler and Ward, Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath because he was unreliable and had excessive substance abuse issues as compared to the other band members. Osbourne claims his drug use and alcohol consumption at that time were no better nor worse than that of the other band members. The band replaced him with former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio.

After leaving Black Sabbath, Osbourne was signed to Don Arden's Jet Records. Arden dispatched his daughter Sharon to look after Ozzy as a means of protecting his investment. Initially, Arden was hopeful that Osbourne would return to Black Sabbath, and he later attempted to convince the singer to name his new band "Son of Sabbath", which Osbourne hated. Sharon attempted to convince Osbourne to form a new group with guitarist Gary Moore, but for some reason that didn't happen. In 1980, Ozzy Osbourne formed The Blizzard of Ozz with drummer Lee Kerslake (of Uriah Heep), bassist / lyricist Bob Daisley (of Rainbow), keyboardist Don Airey, and guitarist Randy Rhoads (of Quiet Riot). Co-written with Daisley and Rhoads, the album Blizzard Of Ozz brought Osbourne considerable success on his first solo effort. The album sold very well with hard rock/heavy metal fans and is one of the very few albums to have achieved multi-platinum status without the benefit of a Top 40 single.

In 1981, after signing his first solo career record deal, Osbourne bit the head off a dove during a meeting with CBS Records. He had planned to release doves as a sign of peace, but due to being drunk at the time, he instead grabbed a dove and bit its head off. He then spat the head out, with blood still dripping from his lips. Despite its controversy, the head-biting act has been parodied and alluded to several times throughout his career and is part of what made Osbourne famous.

While performing on 20 January 1982, Osbourne bit the head off a bat he thought was rubber. The teen who threw it onto the stage said it was brought to the show dead but according to Osbourne the bat was not only alive but managed to bite him, resulting in Osbourne being treated for rabies.

Osbourne's second album, Diary of a Madman, featured more songs co-written with Bob Daisley. For his work on this album and Blizzard of Ozz, Randy Rhoads was ranked the 85th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2003. This album is known for the singles "Over the Mountain" and "Flying High Again". Tommy Aldridge and Rudy Sarzo were brought in to replace Kerslake and Daisley in the band. Aldridge had been Osbourne's original choice as drummer and Sarzo had played with guitarist Rhoads in Quiet Riot.

On 19 March 1982 while Rhoads was in Florida for the Diary of a Madman tour, a light aircraft piloted by Andrew Aycock (the band's tour bus driver), crashed while performing low passes over the band's tour bus. In a prank turned deadly, the left wing of the aircraft clipped the bus, grazed a tree, and crashed into the attached garage of a nearby mansion, killing passengers Rhoads, Aycock, and the band's hairdresser, Rachel Youngblood. Experiencing firsthand the horrific death of his close friend and band mate, Osbourne fell into a deep depression. The tour was canceled for two weeks while Osbourne returned to Los Angeles.

Despite the difficulties, Osbourne moved on after Rhoads' death. Gary Moore was the first guitarist approached to replace Rhoads, but he refused. Ex-Gillan guitarist Bernie Tormé was the first guitarist to replace Randy once the tour resumed but his tenure with the band would last less than one month. Osbourne selected Brad Gillis (of Night Ranger) to finish the tour. Under contract to produce a live album, Speak of the Devil was recorded consisting entirely of Black Sabbath covers recorded with Brad Gillis, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Tommy Aldridge. After the tour, Brad Gillis returned to Night Ranger and Ozzy once again searched for a new guitarist.

In 1983, Jake E. Lee, formerly of Ratt and Rough Cutt, joined the band to record Bark at the Moon. The album, co-written with Bob Daisley, featured Tommy Aldridge, and former Rainbow keyboard player Don Airey. Within weeks the album became certified gold.

In 1984 California teenager John McCollum committed suicide while listening to Osbourne's "Suicide Solution". The song deals with the dangers of alcohol abuse. McCollum's suicide led to allegations that Osbourne promoted suicide in his songs. McCollum's parents sued Osbourne for their son's death, claiming the lyrics in the song, "Where to hide, suicide is the only way out. Don't you know what it's really about?" convinced McCollum to commit suicide. The courts ruled in Osbourne's favour, saying there was no connection between the song and McCollum's suicide. Osbourne was sued again for the same reason in 1991 by the parents of Michael Waller, for $9 million, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favour again.

At the end of the Bark At The Moon Tour Ozzy entered the Betty Ford Center to be treated for his drug and alcohol problems. Though he has managed to remain clean and sober for extended periods in recent years Osbourne has abused drugs and alcohol for most of his adult life. After Osbourne left treatment, Lee presented him with the music he had written while Osbourne was away. Osbourne was purportedly very satisfied with the quantity and quality of Lee's new music, much of which would be used for the 1986 album The Ultimate Sin.. A rich, bold album, it features "Shot in the Dark" and was Osbourne's highest charting studio album at the time of its release.Sarzo and Aldridge were replaced by bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo.

Jake E. Lee and Osbourne parted ways in 1987. Osbourne continued to struggle with chemical dependency. That year he commemorated the fifth anniversary of Rhoads' death with Tribute, live recordings from 1981 that had gone unreleased for years.

 In 1988 Osbourne found Zakk Wylde, and  Together they recorded No Rest for the Wicked with Castillo on drums, John Sinclair on keyboards, and Daisley co-writing lyrics and playing bass. On the subsequent tour, Osbourne reunited with Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler on bass. A live EP, Just Say Ozzy, featuring Geezer was released two years later. Butler continued to tour with Osbourne and was a major stage presence on the next four tours.

While very successful through the 1980s, Osbourne sustained success into the 1990s, starting with 1991's No More Tears. The album enjoyed much radio and MTV exposure. Outside composers were brought in to help pen Osbourne's material instead of relying solely on his band members to write and arrange the music. The album was mixed by veteran rock producer Michael Wagener. Wagener also mixed the live album Live & Loud released in June of 1993. At the time, it was to be Osbourne's final album. At this point Osbourne expressed his fatigue with the touring, and proclaimed his "retirement tour" (which was to be short-lived). It was called "No More Tours", a pun on his No More Tears album. Prior to the tour Mike Inez took over on bass.

In 1995, Osbourne released Ozzmosis and returned to touring, dubbing his tour "The Retirement Sucks Tour". The recording line-up was Zakk Wylde, Geezer Butler (having just left Black Sabbath again), ex-Bad English drummer Deen Castronovo, and Yes's keyboardist Rick Wakeman. For the tour Zakk Wylde was replaced by ex-Lizzy Borden guitarist Joe Holmes. Butler and Castronovo left a short time later and were initially replaced by former members Mike Inez and Randy Castillo. Ultimately, Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin and ex-Suicidal Tendancies bassist Robert Trujillo filled out the line-up.

But Osbourne's biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named Ozzfest, created and managed by his wife Sharon and assisted by his son Jack.  Ozzfest was an instant hit with metal fans, spiralling many up-and-coming groups to broad exposure and commercial success. At some Ozzfest dates Osbourne reunited with the original members of Sabbath and has performed periodically with them ever since. Ozzfest reinstated the integrity and public familiarity with the band name Black Sabbath and helped Osbourne to become the first hard rock and heavy metal star to hit $50 million in merchandise sale.

 In the early 2000s, Osbourne became a television star, appearing as himself in the MTV reality program The Osbournes , a series featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly, occasional appearances from his son Louis, but eldest daughter Aimee did not participate). The program became one of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5 March 2002, and the final episode aired 21 March 2005. To this day Osbourne refuses to watch any episodes, claiming he was stoned during the entire filming.

In lawsuits filed in 2000 and 2002 which were dismissed by the courts in 2003, former session musicians Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and former touring and studio bassist Phil Soussan claimed that Osbourne was delinquent in paying them royalties and had denied them credit on albums they played on. In November 2003, a Federal Appeals Court ruled that Osbourne does not owe any royalties or credit to the former session musicians. To resolve further issues, management chose to replace Daisley and Kerslake's contributions on the original masters, replacing them with Robert Trujillo on bass and Mike Bordin on drums. The albums were then reissued.

Down to Earth, (released in October 2001) is Osbourne's only album to feature bassist Robert Trujillo, who left the group to join Metallica (and was replaced in Ozzy's band by former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted,) Though he plays on the album, guitarist Zakk Wylde did not contribute as a songwriter due to many of the songs being written before Wylde rejoined the band. Guitarist Joe Holmes was involved in the writing process and as well as outside songwriters Tim Palmer and Marti Frederiksen.

On 8 December 2003, Osbourne was rushed into emergency surgery when he had an accident with his all-terrain vehicle. Osbourne broke his collar bone, eight ribs, and a neck vertebra. An operation was performed to lift the collarbone, which resting on a major artery and interrupting blood flow to the arm. Osbourne had stopped breathing following the crash and was resuscitated his bodyguard. Since the quad accident, aside from some short-term memory problems, he has fully recovered. While in hospital, Osbourne achieved his first ever UK number one single, a duet of the Black Sabbath ballad, "Changes" with daughter Kelly.

 In 2005 Osbourne released a box set called Prince of Darkness. The first and second discs are collections of live performances, B-sides, demos and singles. The third disc contained duets and other odd tracks with other artists, including "Born to Be Wild" with Miss Piggy. The fourth disc is entirely new material where Osbourne covers his favourite songs by his biggest influences and favourite bands, including The Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie and others.

Osbourne's first new studio album in almost six years, 2007's Black Rain featured a more serious tone than previous albums. This was the last album to feature Zakk Wylde as gutarist as Osbourne revealed in July 2009 that he was currently seeking a new guitar player. While he states that he has not fallen out with Zakk Wylde, but he felt his songs were beginning to sound like Zakk' band Black Label Society and he fancied a change.

2010's Scream is Ozzy's tenth studio album, and is the first to feature guitarist Gus G, who replaced long-term guitarist Zakk Wylde. Joining them for the recordings were Tommy Clufetos on drums, and Blasko on bass. It may also be Ozzy's last solo album, as he has rejoined Black Sabbath for their newest album and tour. 

Here is the audio for "Let Me Hear You Scream"