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ozzy osbourne

by Adam from Winnipeg


My hero is Ozzy Osbourne because he sings rock and gives money to "make a wish" he doesn't look like a mormal person but he is a nice guy.

Born John "Ozzy" Osbourne on December 3, 1948 in Birmingham, England, Osbourne grew up in a working-class family and left school at age 15 to work a series of low-paying jobs, which included a car horn tester and slaughterhouse worker. Dissatisfied with his income, Osbourne turned to petty crime, burglarizing houses and shops before being apprehended andimprisoned. (It was in jail that he received the now-famous tattoo of O-Z-Z-Y across his knuckles.)

One day he ran into an old friend who was in a band that needed a singer; Osbourne joined immediately, despite having no experience.

Osbourne soon outgrew his friend's band and joined a succession of local rock acts, eventually ending up in an outfit called Earth, featuring Tony Lommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, and Bill Ward on drums. After discovering another band of the same name, the members of Earth changed their moniker to Black Sabbath, taking the name from an old Boris Karloff movie.

Osbourne married Thelma Mayfair and twice became a father. Unfortunately, he (and the rest of the band) also became seriously dependent on alcohol and gained a reputation for trashing cars and hotel rooms. Sometime while at home in 1976 Osbourne grew frustrated and, in anger, Black Sabbath was also plagued by allegations of Satanism because of misinterpreted lyrics and occult imagery.

In 1977 Osbourne's father passed away, causing him to leave the band for a period before the release of their next album, 1978's Never Say Die. Osbourne became increasingly uninterested in Black Sabbath and stopped showing up for practices. At the end of the "Never Say Die" tour the band had had enough, and Tony Lommi kicked Osbourne out of Black Sabbath, replacing him with ex-Rainbow vocalist Ronny James Dio.

Page created on 1/23/2004 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 1/23/2004 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Extra Info

Osbourne entered rehab, ironically emerging to find himself the subject of a lawsuit by angry parents who claimed their sons committed suicide after listening to Osbourne's anti-alcohol song "Suicide Solution," written as a tribute to AC/DC member Bon Scott, who died of an alcohol overdose. Osbourne quickly won the suit.