Ozzy is 70 Today

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Ozzy Osbourne, also known as the Prince of Darkness, has turned 70 today. Born way back in 1948 in Birmingham, England, he has made a name for himself as a hard rocker throughout his career. In this positing, we are going to take a look at his career.

In 1968 Ozzy joined Tony Iommi's band, Earth. The band also featured Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums. Later that year, they changed their name to Black Sabbath and since have become pioneers of heavy metal. After a lackbuster self-title debut in 1969, Sabbath released the highly influential, Paranoid record in 1970, which other than the title track, includes one of their signature songs in my opinion, Iron Man.

Throughout the 70s, Sabbath continued to rise to prominence with songs like Children of The Grave (1972), or N.I.B. as well as albums such as Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. However, in 1979, the decision was made by the rest of the band to fire Ozzy. This was what launched his solo career.

In 1980, Ozzy debuted with his first solo effort, The Blizzard of Oz. The record included his signature post-Sabbath song, Crazy Train with its memorable riff. This was followed up the following year Dairy of a Madman with hits such as Flying High Again. Ozzy continued his career into the 80s with Bark at the Moon (1983), Shot in The Dark, (1986), and even continued into the 90s with his 1991 record No More Tears which featured among others, Mama I'm Coming Home.

Ozzy continued to tour and record through the 90s and 2000s. He also reunited Black Sabbath several times, namely in the late 90s. Notable musicians that have played with him include guitarists Randy Rhodes and Zack Wylde, keyboardists Adam Wakeman and Don Airey, and occassionally even Sabbath musicians.

In 2016-2017, Sabbath embarked on their farewell tour. As for the future, Ozzy says he is going strong and will likely reunite with Sabbath around 2022ish.

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