Ozzy Osbourne has passed away at the age of 76, his family has announced.
Today (July 22) the Osbourne family released a statement that 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. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness," Osbourne had been battling Parkinson’s disease since a diagnosis in 2019.
Just two and a half weeks ago, he gave his final performances at Villa Park in his hometown of Birmingham, England, where he told the 40,000 fans on hand, "You've no idea how I feel - thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, he formed Black Sabbath along with bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, who were pioneers of the early heavy metal scene in England.
The band rose to fame with classic albums such as Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, before Ozzy left in 1979 after tensions grew between he and the other members.
Immediately after, he began a decades-long solo career that earned him the name Godfather of Heavy Metal, selling more than 70 million albums worldwide.
In the mid-1980s, Ozzy was the subject of controversy, after he and a number of metal acts were accused of corrupting the youth of America at the height of the Satanic Panic. His song "Suicide Solution" was Ozzy targeted by the PMRC after one of his teenage fans took his own life.
Ozzy experienced a renaissance in the late 1990s with the birth of his Ozzfest tour, a lucrative travelling music festival of heavy metal acts that helped launch a much anticipated Black Sabbath reunion in 1997.
With the help of his family, he became one of reality TV's biggest stars with the series The Osbournes, a series featuring Ozzy and his family (wife Sharon, son Jack and daughter Kelly) showing off their daily domestic life at home. The Osbournes ran from 2002 to 2005 and was a massive hit for MTV.
While he continued to put out music and tour throughout the 2000s, Ozzy was forced to cancel a tour in 2019 after he sustained serious injuries from a fall at home while he was recovering from pneumonia. That same year he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, followed by emphysema from years of smoking in 2020.
On July 5, Ozzy assembled heavy music's greatest acts for a one day concert billed "Back To The Beginning," which acted as his final performances ever, both as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath. Back to the Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow, a condensed concert film showing the highlights, is scheduled for a theatrical release in early 2026.
At the time of his death, Ozzy was involved with the making of a biopic about his life, according to son Jack. It expected to be ready for the summer of 2027.
He is survived by his wife Sharon, six children - Aimee, Kelly, Jack, Elliot, Louis and Jessica - and five grandchildren.