The English icon’s idiosyncratic, throaty voice launched generations of metalheads.
There are pioneering music figures, and then there is Ozzy Osbourne, the larger-than-life frontman of Black Sabbath, whose personal mythology is eclipsed only by the strength and immortality of his songs.
A godfather and force of heavy metal, Osbourne died Tuesday at 76, just months after his last performance.
The English icon’s idiosyncratic, throaty voice launched generations of metalheads, both through his work at the reins of Black Sabbath and in his solo career. Across his repertoire, there are songs with total global ubiquity and lesser-known innovations with his unique, spooky aesthetic quality.
To celebrate Osbourne’s life and legacy, we’ve selected just a few songs that made the man, from timeless tunes to a few left-of-center selections.
Read on and then listen to all of the tracks on our Spotify playlist.1970: “Iron Man,” Black Sabbath
It would be a challenge to name a more immediately recognizable guitar riff than the one that launches Black Sabbath’s 1970 megahit “Iron Man.” It transcends the metal genre — an all-timer heard around the world and in guitar stores everywhere.1970: “War Pigs,” Black Sabbath
One of the great Vietnam War protest songs, Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” is a rare moment where hippies and metalheads can agree: “Politicians hide themselves away / They only started the war / Why should they go out to fight?” Osbourne sings in the bridge.
