Ozzy Osbourne: The inspiration for the average
Listen: that headline may sound insulting, but it's a massive compliment!

Ozzy Osbourne passed away on Tuesday at the age of 76, which was probably approximately 50 years longer than anyone thought he would live. Amazingly, he died just 17 days after his final concert with Black Sabbath, which was an all-day event broadcast on pay-per-view and concluded with his bandmates and friends presenting him with a birthday cake and photo album of memories.
Ozzy was multiple generations' entree into the world of heavy metal and hard rock, and was hailed as both an icon of and shorthand for both of those genres of music ever since Black Sabbath essentially created (or at least solidified) heavy metal as a genre in 1970. Osbourne was only with Sabbath for ten years before being dismissed due to his substance issues, and then spent the subsequent four decades being an even bigger solo act.
Although his voice was distinctive and singular, it was never what you might call "good." He created loads of memorable melodies, and had the benefit of a vocal range that traveled atop heavy guitars and riffs without falling into them. And while he received songwriting credit on nearly every song he ever recorded, the bulk of that work was done by others – either by band members, his assembly line of über-talented guitarists, or his longtime collaborator Bob Daisley. It's likely that Osbourne wrote few lyrics. (And in fact, nearly all lyrics during his time in Black Sabbath were written by bass god Geezer Butler.)
Ozzy's two knacks above all else were in marketing himself and in somehow finding himself in the company of some of the greatest guitarists who ever lived, and who were willing to spend the formative years of their careers being the guy who stood next to Ozzy and shredded. In the case of his first knack, the lion's share of his publicity and marketing genius can be credited to his second wife, Sharon Osbourne, who was the daughter of his original agent and took over his career shortly after he embarked on a solo career. It was Sharon who kept him on course to self-produce his Blizzard of Ozz debut album, who came up with the "biting heads off doves" publicity stunt (although in some of their tellings, they were just planning to release them at the meeting until their morning of drinking and drugs took control), who masterminded Ozzy's third (or maybe fourth) career as a reality television star in The Osbournes, and who put together the entire farewell PPV that ended up being the final word on Ozzy.
Most frontmen are lucky if they get a chance to sing in front of one all-time musician. Ozzy got to do it arguably three times. First with Tommy Iommi and the rest of Black Sabbath, again with the died-far-too-soon Randy Rhoades, and then again with Zakk Wylde during his '90s comeback run kicked off by his second-best-selling album, No More Tears. In the case of the partnership of Osbourne and Rhoades, it's safe to say Ozzy's solo career wouldn't have been as exceptional as it was without the virtuoso, who somehow only appeared on two studio albums (and the staggeringly good Tribute live album) before dying in a preventable plane crash that nearly took out Osbourne in his parked tour bus as well. Ozzy's career will always be tied to Rhoades', which makes their twin legacies even bigger.
Osbourne prided himself on being a true working-class rock star. He came from a poor but loving family, and served a stint in prison prior to forming Black Sabbath after trying to rob a store rather than face a lifetime of working at a slaughterhouse. His father bought him a microphone and P.A. system from a music store after getting out of prison, and Ozzy's ad posted around town boasting "I have my own P.A." got him inquiries from lots of interested parties, including the three members of Sabbath. The rest is history.
Ozzy has inspired countless musicians and earned legions of devoted fans for the past 55 years, mostly through sheer will, charisma and the sheer joy he exuded in performing. He was a showman with a fairly brilliant woman behind him pulling all the right levers, but he was never particularly talented or exceptional at either singing or songwriting, the two things he became famous for. I promise that I'm not putting things in that light to insult the man, but to say that he should be even more of an inspiration to anyone who was ever entertained by him.
He's the hero of the working class and a god to metal fans, but he should also be considered the patron saint of the true dreamers; the people who love a thing more than they're actually good at it.
Thanks for all the tunes, Ozzy. I appreciate you more now than I ever did.