It was on my mind, and I was going to write about an entirely different subject today but then, as I was driving home, it came over the news waves that Ozzy Osbourne died today at the age of seventy-six. That’s sad.
 
Whether you loved or hated his music, there is no doubt that he was a Rock God. But, more than just that, his family and him helped to usher in a new genre of TV, Reality TV, with their show, The Osbournes.  
 
There’s a lot of things that can be said about Ozzy. His autobiography, I Am Ozzy, is a very revealing read. I suggest, if your feel like, that you check it out. It provides a lot of information.
 
I was a big fan of Black Sabbath during my teenage years in the 1970s. I saw them perform several times. Perhaps at the top of that list is when The Ramones opened for them at the Long Beach Arena. That was a great show. My mind had already shifted to Punk by that point in time, though the rest of the audience did not get it yet. But, what a combination, The Ramones and Black Sabbath.  
 
When they kicked Ozzy out of the band, that was a hard pill to shallow. Though Ronnie James Dio gave it his best, that was just not Black Sabbath. Nor was it the real band with the long list of other singers they brought on board over the next decade or so.
 
I was never really a fan of Ozzy Osbourne as a solo artist. Though I certainly listened to and even liked a few of his song throughout the 1980s, as they were being played all the time from radio stations to MTV. But, my musical tastes had changed by then. I was more in remembrance of Black Sabbath, who I considered to the be the first truly Goth band.
 
All of the original members of Black Sabbath did reunite, truly for the last time, as it was billed, just a few days ago. Sadly, Ozzy was confined to a gothic wheelchair. But, he was still kicking it.
 
They haven’t yet released the cause of Ozzy’s death. I’m sure that will be coming in the near future. Kind of like Bukowski, with the lifestyle that Ozzy lived, it’s kind of a surprise that he made it this far. But, he did. And, that was a great thing, as he never stopped making music.
 
You know, every now and then, we lose one of those cultural icons. And, love or hate them, you cannot deny their contribution. This was and is certainly the case with Ozzy Osbourne. RIP Ozzy.