Ozzy Osbourne's Legacy and Laughs

In this heartfelt episode, PJ Pat pays tribute to the late rock legend Ozzy Osbourne. Diving into a Rolling Stone article on Ozzy, PJ Pat shares personal reflections on the rock icon's legacy, his influential music career with Black Sabbath, and enduring humour and spirit. Highlights include anecdotes from Ozzy's autobiography, his unorthodox medical advice column, and his last triumphant concert. The episode underscores the profound impact Ozzy had on fans and fellow musicians alike, celebrating his unique character and indomitable spirit.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hey, rock fan. How's it going? Thank you for joining the Itsma Ladder podcast. I'm PJ Pat. Today I wanna talk about the rock legend himself. The late the great. Ozzy Osborne, rest in peace. Ozzy Osborne hero. Wow. To a lot of us. I saw an article in the latest Rolling Stone magazine about Ozzy Osborne, so we're gonna get into that.

[00:00:22] Now. The fact that he's not on the cover is absolutely beyond me, but we're not gonna go there. At least they came out with an article. So we're gonna go through that. But before then, just my thoughts on the man and the legend himself. This guy right here. Ozzy Osborne. He was a definite game changer.

[00:00:41] So I'm a big fan of not only rock documentaries, but rock mockumentaries, which the latest spinal tap is l which I'm dying to see, but also rock biographies slash is one of my favorites comes to mind.

[00:00:54] Anthony Keidis from Chili Peppers comes to mind. Dave Mustaine's, really good one if you haven't checked that out. And, um, what's that guy's name from, uh, Korn. Anyways, that guitar player came out with one, which is pretty damn good. But my favorite of all time is Ozzy. I think it was just titled Ozzy. And uh, we all know and love him so much.

[00:01:15] We know how he talks. So literally while when you're reading his documentary, it was written by him. You can literally just hear his voice as you're reading it, and it's just freaking hilarious. He's such a funny guy. This one. He came up with this one shortly after. This is hilarious. If you haven't gotten your hands on this one, I highly recommend it.

[00:01:33] Uh, it's about just people just writing into him and, um, just asking him for medical advice. Can you imagine Ozzy giving medical advice? No, you can't. That's why it's so funny. I'm just gonna read to you a quick excerpt so you can see how funny this is. So this guy writes into Ozzy asking about antidepressants and he goes, antidepressants are fabulous thing, David, but they'll play havoc with your meat and two veg.

[00:01:56] I've been taking it for years and what I found is I can get a boner. But no fireworks, so I just end up pumping away on top of Sharon, like a road drill all night. I tried Viagra once, but by the time it kicked in, the misses was fast asleep, so it was just me and this tent pole in front of me with nothing to do, but watch the history channel.

[00:02:19] so this book is just filled with these type of interactions between Ozzy and people writing in giving medical advice.

[00:02:25] Hilarious. Go check it out.

[00:02:28] All right, so about Ozzy. I mean, he was such a unique character. We can all realize that and admit that, I just love the story about his band too. Black Sabbath. We battle Black Sabbath gods of metal. I just love their story, how they came up in Birmingham. You know, it wasn't London, it was Birmingham, blue collar, Birmingham.

[00:02:48] From what I've read about Birmingham, it kind of reminds me of the feel of maybe what Detroit used to be back in the day. You know, that industrial steel town, blue collar, he came from blue collar family, even Ozzy before Black Sabbath, he was doing odd jobs.

[00:03:04] I know he was a plumber at some point. Just the story of them just coming from that town. Tony AE has said this multiple times, but that environment was very conducive to that type of music.

[00:03:15] They were passionate about playing that heavy, dark type of thing. It was a perfect environment for that. I think if they were to come outta London, it would've been a much different type of music. Two more facts about Ozzy. His name Ozzy, was from him being bullied in school. Apparently he was bullied, unfortunately, quite a bit in school, and that was kind of the nickname they gave him.

[00:03:38] And it stuck, obviously. And number two, Ozzy pretty much invented heavy metal fashion by accident. His dad had given him this big old cross that he used to wear quite a bit to fend off evil spirits. And so he would wear it all the time. And you know, lo behold, everyone started wearing it. Tony, Naomi wears it. And he just started this trend and heavy metal wearing crosses.

[00:04:01] I consider myself to be a very lucky guy for having witnessed the last Black Sabbath concert ever. Back to the beginning it was called. That happened not too long ago because Ozzy passed away a couple of weeks after that. It was almost like he was just waiting to get that done and decided that would be his farewell, and that's it.

[00:04:21] But wow, what a concert it was. You know, one thing, I was so impressed with the sound, but then I actually found out, a buddy of mine told me that there was a two hour delay. So within those two hours, they were able to mix, everything, the instruments and his vocals to sound freaking amazing.

[00:04:37] 'cause while I was watching it, I was just blown away by the live sound of all the acts and everything. But there you go. That explains it. Regardless. I'm sure it was still cool to be there, live in person. It may have been perfect. The mix or it maybe even Ozzie's voice may not have been great, but hey, it was.

[00:04:56] Such an experience and it was really a celebration of their music. And all the bands were amazing. It was such a community. You could tell everyone was there outta love for rock and heavy metal and they were all supporting each other, the fans.

[00:05:09] It was such a magical day and uh, so I'm glad we got to do that. I'm glad Ozzy got to. Lived through that as well before he passed.

[00:05:19] And on a more personal level, for me, Ozzy represents just the feeling of being who you are and it's okay to be odd 'cause he was, and he taught me that it's okay to be yourself, you know, it's okay not to be loved by everybody. It's okay to be ridiculed by people and still be comfortable with who you are and still do your own thing and still.

[00:05:44] Live a happy life. I remember seeing this one interview asked Ozzy, Ozzy, would you rather people laugh at you or with you? And Ozzy's response just blew my mind.

[00:05:55] He said he didn't care as long as they were laughing. And that pretty much is a soul of Ozzy. That response just blew me away. Right? We all have egos, we all have insecurities. We all don't wanna be the laughing stock of the group, right? But for Ozzy, you know, he was just like, you know what? Screw all that. Screw your ego. Screw insecurities. Just be yourself. And if people laugh at you, that's great.

[00:06:21] If they laugh with you, that's great, as long as they laugh. I guess it was an urge to just entertain people and just bring people happiness in their lives. That's it. That's all that he really cared about, and that's why people love him.

[00:06:35] Okay, so you can see here what a beautiful picture of Ozzy looking. Very pensive right there. Very cool. So tribute Ozzy Osborne, 1948 to 2025. By Corey Grow, the heavy metal icon was also one of music's humblest heroes. How one writer got to know the man behind the larger than life persona.

[00:06:57] It was a sweltering London Day in August, 2022 when I met Ozzy Osborne in person for the last time at a posh hotel near Hyde Park. I took a seat, but the Prince of Darkness had to lie down because he was exhausted from his triumphant comeback show in his hometown of Birmingham the night before when he performed Iron Man and Paranoid with his Black Sabbath band mate, Tony Omi.

[00:07:21] He made the decision to get on stage as a headliner for the first time in four years, at the last minute since he was battling several health setbacks, but he was in good spirits.

[00:07:32] Is it hot here? Am I fucking hell? He sputtered. We haven't quite reached America yet with all the air conditioning. Nevertheless, here he was glistening sweat and all undeniably Aussie in spite of his pain and the uncomfortable heat. He wanted to discuss how invigorated he felt after getting on stage again, as well as his recent close calls with fate.

[00:07:55] He held out his hand to show me that his Parkinson's meds were keeping him stable. And how even he couldn't believe that he was still alive. He'd grown up living on the poverty line, but now he could afford the same motel where Winston Churchill stayed.

[00:08:09] we spoke for about four hours that day, and he gamely answered every question I threw at him. Topics for the Rolling Stone profile I was writing and my own inquiries about everything I've ever wanted to know about a storied career. I've been an Ozzy fan since age 12 when I bought a double cassette of Live and Loud.

[00:08:28] I've been an Ozzy fan since age 12 when I bought a double cassette of Live and Loud. I think you're not writing an article. He teases me. You're writing a fucking encyclopedia. We both laugh because that wasn't the first time he felt that way. Speaking with me over the last 15 years, I took advantage of every opportunity to interview Ozzy since he was my favorite artist when I was growing up and well, because he was always fun to talk to.

[00:08:53] My records. Tell me. I conducted 20 interviews with the Prince of Darkness. Now as I. Process the news of his death. I'm making sense of the impact he had on my life initially as a preteen. I was attracted to the danger of his music, the way he stared down and embraced a tattoo, and how he was self-proclaimed rock and roll rebel.

[00:09:13] But I came to look up to Ozzy as a brilliant and innovative musician, as well as a flawed human who spoke openly about his struggles with alcoholism and how he wanted to better himself. As controversial as his legacy was beheading winged animals and urinating on American landmarks, he seemed like the role model of me since he always strived for something more.

[00:09:35] He could be down, but he was never out.

[00:09:38] The first time I met Ozzy was in 2005 as a 24-year-old at a tower. Records cattle call, meet, and greet with hundreds of other fans. I told him then how his music had changed my life and he immediately quit back. It changed mine too. The sort of dry yet honest wit that made him so endearing to the mainstream on The Osborn.

[00:09:58] The first time I spoke with Ozzy as a professional was five years later when I was an editor at Revolver Magazine. I was nervous, but Ozzy put me at ease. The real work began when I played my cassette back and had to decipher his famously incoherent, mumbling. 

[00:10:13] but when I did, I discovered he made quips and callbacks to jokes that I hadn't picked up on in person, and it was even funnier and more fun to read no matter the situation, Ozzy was always earnest and gracious every time we spoke. When I interviewed him backstage in 2018, when he was kicking off his farewell tour as a solo artist, he showed me a picture of his beloved pet dog, Rocky, who was too scared to travel with him, as well as the doodles of skulls he made to keep his own nerves that day.

[00:10:42] As well as the doodles of skulls he made to keep his own nerves at bay. At the time, he was adamant that he'd still go to gigs here and there after the tour, but a staph infection and the middle of the night fall ended. His performing career early, he told me about the infection with his typical candor, his thumb was swollen up the size of a fucking light bulb, and later described the tumble to me in vivid detail. Then he revealed his Parkinson's diagnosis. It was hard for me to hear how broken he sounded when we do the phone interviews after that, especially since I could hear how with it, quote unquote, he was mentally so.

[00:11:17] It was incredible to see him feeling rejuvenated in 2022 after seeing again with omi more than half a century after they'd formed Black Sabbath. I never think I'm gonna win. He told me. That's when it dawned on me that when made Osby Osborne truly special was his undergo spirit. Absolutely right. Like I said earlier, he's just the relatable everyday man that you just want to hang out with him at a bar.

[00:11:43] A few weeks ago, I watched a live stream of his back to the beginning farewell concert. As much as I would've loved to travel to Birmingham, the event was scheduled to take place a day after the due date of my baby daughter. Luckily, she arrived a little early, so we were able to watch the whole 10 hour stream as a family.

[00:12:00] Her first. Concert. Seeing Ozzy on his throne looking frail, but sounding strong was emotional for me. There was something revealing about how he sang, mama, I'm coming home. That touched me deeply. Are you kidding? When he sang, mama, I'm Coming Home. Not only did he touch this guy, he touched a whole freaking world.

[00:12:21] There was not one dry eye. In that field that day when he sang, mama, I'm coming home. Wow. Even now I'm just kind of getting goosebumps thinking about it. It was a soul bearing display of his humanity. Pure Ozzy, fighting to succeed 

[00:12:36] In the music industry, you often hear the adage never meet your heroes because they'll disappoint you, but Ozzy never let me down. My life has just been unbelievable. He once told me You couldn't write my story.

[00:12:48] You couldn't invent me. He was right. I just felt lucky. He wanted to spend hours of his life telling me his stories. Wow. Nice and short and sweet. Article revealing. Ozzy soul and his persona, his character, he cared. At the end of the day, he cared about you. That's, that's what we all felt from him.

[00:13:10] His music, man, I. I mean his music aside, I mean, knowing who Ozzy is makes you, I think, appreciate everything he's done in his life, you know, music wise. Even now looking back at the, his, uh, reality show, he probably just wanted to do it. 'cause not only was Sharon pushing him to do it, most probably, but also he just wanted to entertain.

[00:13:33] He just wanted to make you smile, and he was damn funny on that show. Yeah, so one thing I forgot to say in the beginning is that I actually discovered Ozzy through Randy Rhoads. So in my early stages of learning how to play guitar, you figure out all the greats, right? You start with Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, van Halen, and then you discover very quickly Randy Rhodes and how amazing his guitar playing was.

[00:13:59] And then once you discover Randy Rhodes, it's over. You figure out who Ozzy is and boom, that's it. His whole catalog is open to you. For me personally, my favorite album is No More Tears 'cause. That's kind of my generation. I kind of grew up listening to that album like crazy. But wow. Zach Wild. Still to this day, you still blow me away. That's another thing about Ozzy. He always associate himself with really amazing musicians and in particular guitar players. I remember reading a quote from Ozzy when he picked his guitar players. He wanted them to kick Van Halen's ass, and he wanted them to own it. And for sure, Randy Rhodes and Zach Wilde absolutely held their own.

[00:14:43] Hope you enjoyed this short and sweet article. Keep on rocking to Ozzy Osborne. One louder, will you?