Yesterday came the news we knew was coming someday but came much quicker than any of us anticipated. Ozzy Osbourne died at 76 years old after a five-decade long career as the singer of Black Sabbath and ringleader of his own highly successful solo career.

Ozzy had been dealing with a slew of health problems the past several years which deteriorated his quality of life. He had Parkinson’s disease, had injuries sustained in a fall in his home as well as old injuries from an ATV accident.

He had just recently performed his final concert, the massive Back To The Beginning event in his hometown of Birmingham, England, which wound up being biggest money raiser of any charity concert ever. While his mobility was severely impacted, he was able to pull through a short solo set as well as a Black Sabbath stint.

We all knew Ozzy was in rough shape and that we would be writing posts and tributes like this, but it does seem very sudden just a few weeks after he triumphantly bowed down from the live stage. I assumed he would live a comfortable retirement, or as comfortable as possible given his health issues. But this grand, sad day is upon us and now we are left to mourn the legend of rock and metal’s godfather.

Ozzy was one of the most significant figures in music, especially in the realm of metal. From Black Sabbath to his solo career, to his massive and at times monstrous reputation, and to his kinship with many of rock and metal’s iconic figures, Ozzy has loomed large over this scene since the beginning. He drew legions of fans across several generations and his influence on this scene will be felt for time eternal.

Like many I have been massively entertained over the years by Ozzy’s music as well as his crazy and charming personality. It is difficult to truly put it into words now that I have to think about it in terms of his death, but I am one of many who are in this game to any degree largely due to Ozzy Osbourne.

I think Ozzy deserves an extended tribute, and to make that happen I will preempt my planned content for the rest of July to honor the fallen Prince Of Darkness. I’ll cover some of his songs, albums and also try to offer up a more focused post that discusses his impact to me. This will all be on the fly but it’s not like any of us had anything in the can for this dark day.

I will do those posts over the next several days and I’m sure the world will overflow with tributes to Ozzy, that seems to already be happening. Until then, I raise a glass to Ozzy and thank him for everything he brought to us over all these years, and condolences to his family, friends, bandmates and fans worldwide. We have lost a legend among legends.