Heavy rock music pioneer Ozzy Osbourne has died at age 76, merely weeks after performing with his band Black Sabbath for the final time in the UK.
Osbourne is survived by his current wife Sharon and six kids. Ozzy had been suffering from Parkinson’s Disease for some time, however cause of death has not been revealed.
A statement released by the family said “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 [July 22]. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Together with guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, and bassist Geezer Butler, Ozzy and Black Sabbath paved they way for heavy metal music, inspiring a darker side of rock with albums such as Black, Sabbath, Paranoid, Sabbath Blood Sabbath, Masters of Reality, Vol 4 and Sabotage to name a few.
Dubbed the ‘Prince of Darkness’ Ozzy also had an incredibly successful solo career with albums such as Blizzard of Oz, Bark at the Moon and Diary of a Madman.
More recently Ozzy and his family were documented in the hit reality TV series ‘The Osbournes, which became one of MTV’s most popular shows.
Tributes have been flooding social media, not just from heavy rock fans but from all walks of music life including Flavor Flav, Smashing Pumpkins and on Bon Jovi to Donny Osmond.
Vale Ozzy
