Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne is one of the most infamous names in music history. His controversial lyrics and antics onstage have made him a favorite with many listeners and also hated by many conservative groups and parents.

No matter what people think of him, it has to be admitted that he has had a long and very successful career, spanning more than 40 years. His music revolutionized the heavy metal movement, and has been deemed “The Godfather of Heavy Metal” among other things.

He started out his career in the band “Black Sabbath” and began to gain a notorious name for himself there. “Black Sabbath” started with Ozzy and his school friend Tony Iommi. Their first album, “Paranoid” did very well, and has continued to sell. In 1979 Ozzy was “fired” from the band due to his extreme substance abuse issues, and he struck out on his own. Over the years his substance abuse continued, and he changed band members often, but his popularity grew.

After he left Black Sabbath, Sharon Arden became his manager and helped him to put together a group of talented musicians to back him. They were later married, and Sharon has continued to manage Ozzy’s music. Ozzy cleaned up after extreme violence broke out between him and his wife when he was under the influence.

One of the most prominent things other than his own music that Osbourne is known for is the creation of Ozzfest. After Ozzy was rejected by other rock shows, Sharon decided to make their own show. Ozzfest has propelled many bands and singers into the mainstream, including Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, System of a Down, and many others. Ozzfest is held yearly, and there is a lot of competition amongst bands to be included.

The reality show that revolved around the Osbourne family has also brought a lot of attention to his work and that of his family members. “The Osbournes” brought MTV its highest ratings ever and was a smash success even though it was highly controversial.

While he has made many albums, a few of them have stood out from the others as being works of metal brilliance, and others have received less-than-enthusiastic reviews. (The “Down to Earth” CD, which was released in 2001, met with little success.)

His two best-selling albums are “The Blizzard of Oz” and “No More Tears.” Both albums received 4xMulti Platinum awards in 1997 and 2000, respectively. His number one single is “Crazy Train.” This song is also his most purchased download, being notably the most popular of any of his songs.

Ozzy’s first UK number-one single was the song “Changes” which he sang with his daughter, Kelly. This song helped to rekindle his career.

Ozzy Osbourne continues to produce music, and his most recent album, “Black Rain” has garnered a lot of good reviews. The number of downloads you can find for him are impressive, including many singles and entire albums.