Grief takes strange forms. If we’re lucky, death remains a stranger when we’re young, a vague acquaintance as we grow older, and soon, a reluctantly accepted familiar face. But even if we know death and loss are coming, we still struggle with how we feel after the visit is over.
For instance, we all knew that Ozzy Osbourne was in poor health when he played his final show on July 5. Such was the impetus for Back to the Beginning, to give Ozzy and the rest of the original Black Sabbath—Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward—a chance to say good-bye, and an opportunity for everyone to say good-bye to them. We knew that Ozzy sang seated on a throne because of his Parkinson’s diagnosis and long-term back problems.
Yet, when Ozzy died on July 22 at age 76, less than three weeks after the show, it still stung. It still felt like a loss. It left many grieving and processing those feelings. How do you rectify that void, that realization that John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne is gone? How do you properly grieve?
And to not be glib, but honestly? You might need a seven-foot-tall clown joining Primus to sing the greatest Black Sabbath song of all time.
Primus and Puddles Pity Party play Black Sabbath’s "N.I.B."
Primus played at the Saenger Performing Arts Theater in New Orleans on July 28, nearly a week after Ozzy’s. But emotions were still high about the “Prince of Darkness"’s passing.
After opening up with “To Defy the Laws of Tradition” and classics “Too Many Puppies” and “American Life," per Setlist.FM, Primus brought out a special guest: Puddles, of Puddles Pity Party.
Les then strummed the opening riff to “N.I.B.,” and Puddles, the 6’8" tall clown who became famous for his dramatic rendition of pop and metal songs, began to sing.
Footage of the performance was shared by Chaney Claypool/Purple Pachyderm Wines, Claypool’s winery. “A million thanks to Puddles for coming out for this amazing Ozzy tribute cover of 'N.I.B.',” they wrote.
"I was probably most influenced by Geezer. Few bass players to this day have been able to replicate his attack and phrasing,” Claypool wrote in Nativity In Black II’s liner notes, per a Primus fan account. “ Watching Black Sabbath perform night after night on Ozzfest this past year (1999) was incredible."
Robert Trujillo, the Metallica bassist who was playing with Ozzy’s band at the time, recounts a moment between Ozzy and Primus in Over The Electric Grapevine.
“This was before they were on Ozzfest. Ozzy got up and jammed with them at the Roxy in Hollywood, and they played ‘N.I.B.’ Ozzy didn’t know anything about Primus—nothing. He was just like, ‘I’m going to go jam with these guys, some band—Prihm-iss.’ And it was awesome.”
“I was so stoked,” said Trujillo, “because as a fan of Primus and obviously, being in Ozzy’s band at the time, to see them together play that song, a song that was rarely played anyway…to see Les up there playing it with him was a really special moment.”
Ozzy didn’t think it was that special at first. Rob said, after the show, Osbourne remarked, “‘Oh man, it was horrible! I was like, playing 'N.I.B.' with this garage band.’”
“And then, in ’99, they were on the Ozzfest and Ozzy loved them. Ozzy loved Les,” added Trujillo. “He was like, ‘That bass player, man, he’s amazing.’ It was so funny how, like a year or two before, he’s up there playing Les onstage….Ozzy had just tons of respect for them and embraced Les’s command of the instrument.”