Ozzy Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname “Prince of Darkness”.

Osbourne became a founding member of Black Sabbath in 1968, providing lead vocals from  1970 to 1978. The band was highly influential in the development of heavy metal music, in particular their critically acclaimed releases Paranoid, Master of Reality, and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 due to alcohol and drug problems. He then began a successful solo career with Blizzard of Ozz in 1980 and has released 13 studio albums, the first seven of which received multi-platinum certifications in the US. He has since reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions. He rejoined in 1997 and helped record the group’s final studio album, 13 (2013), before they embarked on a farewell tour that ended with a 2017 performance in their native Birmingham. His longevity and success have earned him the informal title of the “Godfather of Metal”.

Ozzy Osbourne’s legacy and career will always be inextricably linked to American guitarist Randy Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982), and for good reason. In just a few short years, the diminutive guitarist helped transform the Prince of Darkness from a washed-up ’70s relic into a pioneer of a new, upbeat, pop-inflected strain of heavy metal at the dawn of the ’80s. Rhoads’ playing on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman combines crackling singalong riffs with mind-blowing neoclassical solos, making him arguably the decade’s second-most influential guitarist behind Eddie Van Halen. His playing is even more diabolically exhilarating on Tribute, the 1987 live album Osbourne released to honor his colleague, who perished in a 1982 plane crash at age 25.