Rock and roll lost one of its most influential figures when Ozzy Osbourne, the pioneering heavy metal vocalist who gained worldwide fame as Black Sabbath's frontman, passed away Tuesday morning at age 76, CBS News reported. The family confirmed his death in an official statement released to the network, but did not specify how he died.
"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," his relatives stated to CBS News. "He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time."
No additional circumstances surrounding the musician's death were disclosed by the family in their statement to CBS News.
The rock icon had publicly disclosed in 2020 his diagnosis with Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological condition that worsens over time and affects movement. Previously, in 2019, the performer had cancelled all scheduled concerts after sustaining injuries from a fall at his Los Angeles residence, which worsened damage from a 2003 all-terrain vehicle crash. His retirement from touring was announced in 2023.
"Ozzy was someone who lived hard, rocked hard and retired over and over again, starting, I think, first in the '90s," Joe Levy, a contributor for Rolling Stone magazine, told CBS News on Tuesday following news of Osbourne's death. "He retired at least two times, kept coming back, and the fact that his Parkinson's diagnosis kept him from performing made it all the more amazing that just two weeks ago, he took the stage for what absolutely would be the final time."
Typically dressed in black attire or performing shirtless, the vocalist frequently drew criticism from parental advocacy groups due to his dark imagery and once sparked massive controversy after biting off a bat's head during a live performance. Subsequently, he revealed a gentler, family-oriented persona through the reality television program "The Osbournes."
Black Sabbath's inaugural 1969 self-titled album has been compared to heavy metal's foundational moment. Released during the Vietnam War's peak, it disrupted the prevailing hippie movement with its menacing and foreboding atmosphere. The record's artwork featured an eerie figure set against a desolate backdrop. The sound was thunderous, dense and furious, representing a dramatic transformation in rock music.
The group's sophomore release, "Paranoid," featured legendary metal compositions including "War Pigs," "Iron Man" and "Fairies Wear Boots." While the track "Paranoid" peaked at only No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100, it became the ensemble's defining anthem. Rolling Stone magazine readers voted both records among the ten greatest heavy metal albums ever created.
"Black Sabbath are the Beatles of heavy metal. Anybody who's serious about metal will tell you it all comes down to Sabbath," Dave Navarro of the band Jane's Addiction wrote in a 2010 tribute in Rolling Stone. "There's a direct line you can draw back from today's metal, through Eighties bands like Iron Maiden, back to Sabbath."
Black Sabbath dismissed Osbourne in 1979 due to his notorious excesses, including tardiness at rehearsals and absent performances. "We knew we didn't really have a choice but to sack him because he was just so out of control. But we were all very down about the situation," wrote bassist Terry "Geezer" Butler in his memoir, "Into the Void."
The vocalist resurged the following year as a solo performer with "Blizzard of Ozz" and the subsequent year's "Diary of a Madman," both becoming hard rock masterpieces that achieved multi-platinum status and produced lasting hits like "Crazy Train," "Goodbye to Romance," "Flying High Again" and "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll." Osbourne received Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction twice – with Sabbath in 2006 and individually in 2024.
The founding Sabbath members reunited for the first time in two decades during July 2025 in the UK for what Osborne declared would be his concluding performance. "Let the madness begin!" he announced to 42,000 attendees.
Metallica, Guns N Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Anthrax, Rival Sons and Mastodon performed sets. Tom Morello, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Billy Corgan, Ronnie Wood, Travis Barker, Sammy Hagar, Andrew Watt, Yungblud, Korn's Jonathan Davis, Nuno Bettencourt, Chad Smith and Vernon Reid made special appearances. Actor Jason Momoa served as the event's host.
"Black Sabbath: we'd all be different people without them, that's the truth," said Pantera singer Phil Anselmo. "I know I wouldn't be up here with a microphone in my hand without Black Sabbath."
The performer epitomized metal's excessive lifestyle. His shocking stunts included urinating on the Alamo, consuming a line of ants from a sidewalk and, most famously, decapitating a live bat thrown onstage by a fan during a 1981 show. (He later claimed he believed it was artificial.)
The Alamo issued a Facebook statement Tuesday expressing sadness over Osbourne's passing, CBS News learned.
"His relationship with the Alamo was marked initially by a deeply disrespectful incident in 1982," the statement reads. "This act profoundly and rightfully upset many who hold this site sacred. However, redemption and reconciliation eventually became part of his history as well. In 1992, Ozzy personally apologized to then-Mayor Nelson Wolff and expressed genuine remorse for his actions. Decades later, in 2015, he revisited the Alamo grounds to learn and appreciate the site's profound history, openly demonstrating humility and understanding."
Parents filed a lawsuit against Osbourne in 1987 concerning a 19-year-old teenager who committed suicide while listening to his composition "Suicide Solution." The case was dismissed. Osbourne maintained the track addressed alcohol's dangers, which had caused his friend Bon Scott's death, AC/DC's lead vocalist.
Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York declared in 1990 that Osbourne's music caused demonic possession and suicide. "You are ignorant about the true meaning of my songs," the singer responded. "You have also insulted the intelligence of rock fans all over the world."
Concert attendees could expect to be mooned or spat upon by the performer. They were frequently encouraged to scream along with songs, but the Satan-referencing Osbourne typically concluded shows with ringing ears and a cheerful "God bless!"
Following rejection from Lollapalooza, then the premier touring music festival, he launched the annual Ozzfest tour in 1996. Ozzfest subsequently featured bands including Slipknot, Tool, Megadeth, Rob Zombie, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park.
The singer's appearance remained largely consistent throughout his career. He maintained long, straight hair, dark eye makeup and circular glasses, frequently wearing a cross necklace. In 2013, he reunited with Black Sabbath for the somber, unpolished "13," which topped the UK Albums Chart and reached No. 86 on the US Billboard 200. His 2019 collaboration with Post Malone on "Take What You Want" marked his first Top 10 hit since 1989.
His 2020 album "Ordinary Man" included the title track duet with Elton John. "I've been a bad guy, been higher than the blue sky/And the truth is I don't wanna die an ordinary man," he performed. In 2022, he achieved his first consecutive No. 1 rock radio singles from "Patient Number 9," featuring collaborations with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mike McCready, Chad Smith, Robert Trujillo and Duff McKagan. The album earned four Grammy nominations.
During the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Jack Black praised him as "greatest frontman in the history of rock and roll" and "the Jack Nicholson of rock." Osbourne expressed gratitude to his fans, guitarist Randy Rhoads and longtime spouse Sharon.
John Michael Osbourne grew up in Birmingham, England's industrial environment. School classmates dubbed him Ozzy, derived from his family name. During childhood, he admired the Four Seasons, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. The Beatles left a profound impact.
"They came from Liverpool, which was approximately 60 miles north of where I come from," he told Billboard. "So all of a sudden it was in my grasp, but I never thought it would be as successful as it became."
During the late 1960s, Osbourne joined forces with Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward as the Polka Tulk Blues Band. They rebranded as Earth, but discovered another group shared that name. They adopted the American title of the Italian horror film "I Tre Volti Della Paura," starring Boris Karloff – Black Sabbath.
After discovering their heavy, ominous sound, the group became highly productive, releasing their debut and "Paranoid" in 1970, "Master of Reality" in 1971, "Vol. 4" in 1972 and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" in 1973.
Their music centered on industrial guitar riffs and disorienting rhythmic changes, with lyrics expressing alienation and despair. "People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time," Osbourne sang in one composition. "All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy/Think I'll lose my mind if I don't find something to pacify."
The Guardian newspaper observed in 2009 that the band "introduced working-class anger, stoner sludge grooves and witchy horror-rock to flower power. Black Sabbath confronted the empty platitudes of the 1960s and, along with Altamont and Charles Manson, almost certainly helped kill off the hippy counterculture."
Following Sabbath, Osbourne demonstrated remarkable talent for recruiting exceptional young guitarists. Upon going solo, he employed the brilliant innovator Rhoads, who contributed to two of Osbourne's finest individual albums, "Blizzard of Ozz" and "Diary of a Madman." Rhoads perished in a tragic aircraft accident in 1982; Osbourne released the live album "Tribute" in 1987 as a memorial.
Subsequently, Osbourne recruited Jake E. Lee, who contributed his skills to the platinum releases "Bark at the Moon" and "The Ultimate Sin." Talented guitarist Zakk Wylde joined Osbourne's ensemble for "No Rest for the Wicked" and the multi-platinum "No More Tears."
"They come along, they sprout wings, they blossom, and they fly off," Osbourne said of his players in 1995 to The Associated Press. "But I have to move on. To get a new player now and again boosts me on."
Multiple musicians and celebrities, including Osbourne's Black Sabbath colleagues, used social media Tuesday to respond to news of his death, CBS News observed.
"I just can't believe it! My dear dear friend Ozzy has passed away only weeks after our show at Villa Park," Black Sabbath guitarist and band co-founder Tony Iommi wrote on X, referring to the farewell show earlier this month. "It's just such heartbreaking news that I can't really find the words, there won't ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother. My thoughts go out to Sharon and all the Osbourne family. Rest in peace Oz."
Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler wrote on X: "Goodbye dear friend - thanks for all those years - we had some great fun. 4 kids from Aston- who'd have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you."
Elton John described Osbourne on Instagram as a "dear friend and a huge trailblazer who secured his place in the pantheon of rock gods — a true legend. He was also one of the funniest people I've ever met. I will miss him dearly. To Sharon and the family, I send my condolences and love."
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, who participated in Osbourne's farewell concert, wrote on X that he was "so very sad to hear of the death of Ozzy Osbourne. What a lovely goodbye concert he had at Back To The Beginning in Birmingham."
Kiss co-founder Gene Simmons called Osbourne a "giant" who was "Admired and loved by millions of fans worldwide. Prayers and condolences go out to the Osborne family."
Actor Jason Momoa, who hosted the farewell show, wrote on Instagram, "Love you @ozzyosbourne All my aloha @sharonosbourne and ohana. So grateful. RIP."
Mike McCready, lead guitarist and founding member of Pearl Jam, wrote on X that he discovered Black Sabbath's music in high school, CBS News noted.
"'War Pigs' was terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time," McCready wrote. "It was Ozzy's voice that took me away to a dark universe. A great escape. Then when The 'Blizzard of Ozz' record came out I was instantly a fan. Randy Rhoads was an influence on me to play lead guitar. Luckily I got to play on the song 'Immortal' on the last record. Thanks for the music, Ozzy it makes our journey in life better."
Regardless of his musical partnerships, Osbourne rarely avoided controversy. He gained satisfaction when television evangelist Rev. Jimmy Swaggart in 1986 criticized various rock groups and publications as "the new pornography," causing some retailers to remove Osbourne's album.
After Swaggart's 1988 scandal involving a sex worker, Osbourne released "Miracle Man" targeting his critic. "Miracle man got busted/miracle man got busted," he performed. "Today I saw a Miracle Man, on TV cryin'/Such a hypocritical man, born again, dying."
Years later, a completely different Osbourne emerged when "The Osbournes," which aired on MTV from 2002-2005, depicted this former self-proclaimed madman consuming Diet Cokes while struggling with his satellite television or advising his children against smoking or drinking before their evening activities.
Subsequently, he and son Jack traveled across America on the travel program "Ozzy & Jack's World Detour," visiting locations like Mount Rushmore and Space Center Houston. In 2014, Osbourne was honored with the naming of an Amazon bat frog that produces high-pitched, bat-like sounds. Scientists named it Dendropsophus ozzyi.
During Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee weekend, he encountered the monarch while standing beside singer-actor Cliff Richard. "She took one look at the two of us, said 'Oh, so this is what they call variety, is it?' then cracked up laughing. I honestly thought that Sharon had slipped some acid into my cornflakes that morning," he wrote in "I Am Ozzy."
Osbourne married Thelma Riley in 1971; he adopted her son Elliot Kingsley, and they welcomed two additional children, Jessica and Louis. He later met Sharon, who became a celebrity personality herself, while she managed her father's Los Angeles office. Her father, Don Arden, was a prominent concert promoter and artist manager. She visited Osbourne's Los Angeles hotel to collect payment, which Osbourne had spent on drugs.
"She says she'll come back in three days and I'd better have it. I'd always fancied her and I thought, 'Ah, she's coming back! Maybe I have a chance.' I had pizza hanging from my hair, cigarette ashes on my shirt," he told the Los Angeles Times in 2000. They wed in 1982, had three children – Kelly, Aimee and Jack – and endured periodic separations and reconciliations.
He is survived by Sharon and his children.
