Anyone who watched the Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath farewell could see the singer was not doing well, but music fans had known Ozzy was not doing well for years. He was suffering from Parkinson's disease. We had no way of knowing the end would come so soon, though.
Various media outlets reported that the heavy metal icon died on Tuesday at age 76. It was only on July 5 that we saw him do songs by himself and with Sabbath. He was retiring from the music business, and maybe the thought of not creating songs anymore was simply too much to bear.
While Ozzy might never see himself in this way, he was an artist. He didn't sing like anyone else. He didn't phrase things like any other singer. He was technically perfect, but he was the perfect vocalist at the beginning stages of heavy metal. He never seemingly diminished.
Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne dies at age 76
The news of his death was announced by his family. Not a lot of details followed, but will likely be released shortly.
Ozzy was born John Michael Osbourne in Marston Green, Warwickshire, England, on December 3, 1948. He grew up with five siblings in a small home in Aston, and dropped out of school at age 15. He worked in a car factory for a short time and also in a slaughterhouse. What he would obviously be known for, though, is making music.
He helped form Black Sabbath in the late 1960s, and the band would help form the bones of what metal would become, along with contemporaries Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Ozzy recorded eight studio albums with Sabbath, including iconic albums such as Paranoid, Master of Reality, and Vol. 4.
As a solo artist, Ozzy recorded 13 studio albums and maintained a band that had some of the best guitarists working in metal. This included Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde.
He also has a highly successful reality TV career, one that featured members of his family, and a successful podcast as well. But many will remember the final farewell concert for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, one that was worthy of the Prince of Darkness's career.