Ozzy Osbourne, the wild, electrifying, and often misunderstood icon who helped invent heavy metal as the frontman of Black Sabbath, has died at 76. His family confirmed his passing on Tuesday.

To call Osbourne a rock star would be an understatement. He was a force—unpredictable, magnetic, and unapologetically himself. With Sabbath’s thunderous riffs and doom-laden grooves, he helped forge the sound and attitude of a genre that still thrives on rebellion and catharsis. “Paranoid,” “War Pigs,” “Iron Man” — these weren’t just songs; they were the bedrock of metal mythology.

Life, Legacy, and the Birth of Heavy Metal

John Michael Osbourne, born in post-war Birmingham, lived a life as raw and gritty as the music he made. He grew up working class, dropped out of school, and did a stint in prison before finding salvation in music. Sabbath’s rise in the early ‘70s turned him into a household name — and later, a tabloid fixture.

Ozzy’s outrageousness was legendary. He once bit the head off a bat during a show, reportedly thinking it was rubber. Yet behind the headlines and the chaos was an artist with an unmistakable voice, a knack for melody, and a surprisingly soft heart.

After Sabbath, he built a solo career that was just as influential — with Randy Rhoads’ blazing guitars and hits like “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley,” he proved his relevance across generations. And then came The Osbournes, his early-2000s reality TV pivot, which introduced him to millions who’d never spun a Sabbath record.

In recent years, health struggles, including Parkinson’s disease, slowed him down, but not without a final bow. Just weeks ago, he performed one last time in Birmingham, ending with a note of gratitude: “Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle… Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Ozzy Osbourne lived fast, loud, and unfiltered — the godfather of metal and a rock and roll survivor until the end.