Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath Lead Singer, Dies at 76

Heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne, the lead singer of band Black Sabbath, has died at age 76 years old. Ozzy Osbourne is one of the most notable names in rock music. He is partially responsible for some of the most iconic metal songs of all-time such as “Crazy Train”, “War Pigs”, and of course, “Iron Man.” The latter of which has no actual connection to the Marvel superhero, but was eventually used in the end credits of the first Iron Man movie released back in 2008. He’s one of the most successful musicians of all-time and was one of the most recognizable artists thanks to his circular glasses, long jet black hair, and punk rock aesthetic, all of which helped give him the title of “The Prince of Darkness.”

It was confirmed today, July 22nd, that Ozzy Osbourne died following years of health complications. He suffered from Parkinson’s as well as complications with injuries that resulted from a fall back in 2019. His exact cause of death is unknown at this time. Osbourne’s family released a joint statement to Sky News which can be read below.

“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. He was with his family and surrounded by love.”

Ozzy Osbourne recently reunited with Black Sabbath for a farewell concert just weeks ago, which was surprisingly poignant. He played the concert from a throne due to his health issues. At the time, the singer expressed gratitude to fans in the audience stating: “You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart.” His final performance with Black Sabbath is planned to release in theaters in 2026 as part of a concert film known as Back to the Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow.

Osbourne’s Black Sabbath formed in the late ’60s, stealing their name from a Mario Bava film. The band’s style was heavily influenced by blues, with gloomy and atmospheric guitar tones and eerie lyrics to help establish the heavy metal genre. Albums such as Black Sabbath, Paranoid, and Master of Reality solidified themselves as pioneers of this new genre, while singles like “Paranoid” and “Iron Man” also became radio hits.

Osbourne was known for being quite eccentric, leading to moments of controversy. In two separate instances, Ozzy Osbourne bit the heads off of a dove and a bat live on stage, though he didn’t know the bat was real in the second instance. Osbourne also had a pretty prolific and varied career outside of his music. He starred in a number of films as himself including Little Nicky, Austin Powers in Goldmember, and Ghostbusters (2016) while also taking on a variety of voice roles over the years in Moulin Rouge! and Trolls World Tour.

Additionally, Ozzy Osborune also had his own MTV reality series known as The Osbournes, which chronicled his life with wife Sharon and his kids, Kelly and Jack. The series depicted the more mundane elements of the family’s celebrity, displaying a much more human side to the singer who had taken on a mythical image in the music world over the decades.

Ozzy Osbourne was also inducted into the WWE’s celebrity Hall of Fame. He had multiple WWE appearances over the years, but his most notable one was for Wrestlemania 2 in 1986. In that famous appearance, he stood in the corner of The British Bulldogs to help lead them to a tag-team win. In the years after, Osbourne would appear every so often to either perform a song for the crowd or serve as a guest host with his wife Sharon Osbourne.