Why Is Ozzy Important To Us

This past month, Rock and Roll lost one of its foremost personalities and frontmen. John Michael Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness, the Godfather of Heavy Metal, the Blizzard of Ozz, is no more. He has ceased to be, bereft of life, pushing up the daisies, gone to meet his maker. The one and only Ozzy Osbourne has passed.

One may not see the immediate connection between Ozzy and our brand of Irish music, but if you squint, you just might see it. Let me list how and why he is so important to us.

1. He grew up in Birmingham, England. Birmingham has a long history of Irish immigration. Being an industrial town, it was ripe with factory jobs and attracted people from around Europe since the 1820s. The area known as Digbeth still hosts one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the world. It’s likely a safe wager that Ozzy found his way into an Irish pub once or twice growing up.
2. He was known as the Prince of Darkness, the Madman of Rock ‘n Roll, one of the most reckless and impulsive people ever, yet he was widely regarded as one of the warmest and kindest people. The cavalcade of tributes and heartfelt stories that people who collaborated and worked with him have shared since his passing demonstrates this. He even talked Pat Boone into doing an album of metal covers!!! A guy who has a propensity for self-destruction that you’re willing to overlook because they are just a big softie under all that? Sounds pretty Irish to me
3. The guitarists he worked with. Speaking as a guitarist, I can not even begin to think what other non-guitarist has had anything even close to the influence on guitarists than Ozzy. The platform he provided and his eye for talent were integral to the tastes and development of guitarists of multiple generations. He chose Randy Rhoads, George Lynch, Jake E. Lee, and Zakk Wylde to be his guitarists and songwriting partners. Just one of these would have been impressive to have chosen, but those are four Hall of Famers. Oh, and he also played with Tony Iommi before that!!
4. Ozzy lived for the stage, but not for the glorification of himself. He did it for the audience. No one was more appreciative and wonderful to his fans. This is a sentiment that the three of us completely understand. The best part of what we do is the audience. We don’t play to crowds near the size that Ozzy played to, but we get the same amount of joy from every show that he did.
5. The music! Ozzy’s music and its impish charm are something for which we always strive. He has songs about his lowest moments, songs of his triumphs, his great loves, his worst heartaches. His music truly runs through the entire gamut of human experiences and emotion. And they are all done with a mischievous little twinkle in the eye.

Ozzy was an absolute legend and will always remain a legend. He performed his final concert just two weeks before he passed. Even after suffering from Parkinson’s disease, leaving him unable to walk and even grasp the microphone for more than a few minutes, he didn’t let that stop him. He performed from a throne he had to be buckled into. He went out doing what he loved, for the people he loved, with the people he loved. 

I’ll let Ozzy have the final word of this blog. I think these lyrics perfectly embody the sadness we are all feeling now with his passing, but his music will always be with us.

I have fallen from grace, and my ashes are scattered
No longer of passion and flesh
My flame is alive, though my wings have been shattered
They lay my body to rest
My spirit is breathing, my senses are pure
Like reincarnation, my soul will endure