Ozzy Osbourne’s Farewell Echo: Prince of Darkness Dies at 76
Maya Rivers here, weaving a tapestry of remembrance for a man whose life was both thunder and hush. A tapestry of final chords rings in memory.
Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary Black Sabbath frontman known to generations as the Prince of Darkness, passed away on July 22 at the age of 76, his family confirmed in a statement shared with E! News. “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” the Osbourne family said. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Only weeks earlier, on July 5, Osbourne returned to the stage at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, for what would become his swan song with his longtime bandmates. In a February interview with the BBC, his wife Sharon Osbourne shared his palpable excitement about rekindling the old magic. “He’s so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends,” she told BBC Radio 2. “Ozzy didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there’s been no full stop. This is his full stop.”
This final curtain fell mere days after their daughter Kelly Osbourne took to Instagram Stories to quash cruel rumors of a suicide pact. “He’s not dying,” she insisted on July 11, referencing his public battle with Parkinson’s disease and mounting health struggles. The singer had indeed faced multiple medical crises in recent years, including a major operation in June 2022 that Sharon described as “really going to determine the rest of his life” (Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne).
Born John Michael Osbourne in suburban Birmingham, England, on December 3, 1948, Ozzy stumbled through school but found transcendence in music. As he recalled to Rolling Stone, “The only thing I had a passion for was music.” In 1968, alongside Tony Iommi, Terry “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward, he formed Black Sabbath—a name conjured by ancient horror films that became the soundtrack to a darker era of rock. Their 1970 debut and the follow-up Paranoid changed everything.
Yet fame carried its own venom. By 1979, after a personal and professional spiral fueled by substance excess, he was ousted from the band. Heartbroken and newly single, he launched a triumphant solo career in 1980 with Blizzard of Ozz and followed up with Diary of a Madman. His outrageous stage rituals—like the infamous 1982 bat incident, which he told Rolling Stone he mistook for rubber—cemented his mythic status.
Ozzy’s personal life saw its own harmonies and discord. He married his first wife, Thelma Riley, and had two children, Jessica and Louis. After their 1982 split, he wed Sharon, his manager and soulmate, with whom he had Aimee, Kelly and Jack. “She’s the only one I’ve ever loved in my life,” he confessed in Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne.
Ozzy Osbourne’s passing leaves a void in rock history and in the hearts of millions. His pioneering riffs and unfiltered persona reshaped heavy metal forever. And as guitars mourn his exit, the final chord may have sounded, but the echo lives on.
And so, the riff continues in every bold chord and whispered lyric.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! News, BBC, Rolling Stone, Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne
Attribution: Scott Dudelson (Creative Commons)
