Ozzy!

 You could say making it to age 76 means Ozzy Osbourne won. Christ the guy should have died 40 years ago. Ozzy was the ultimate front man whether it was Black Sabbath or solo. He was the Prince of Fucking Darkness for gawd sakes.

Ozzy was a chubby kid from England when he was chosen to front Black Sabbath, perhaps the first heavy metal band. Those of us of a certain age and of a certain musical preference knew of Ozzy from the get-go. I mean come on now, War Pigs? Paranoid? Children of the Grave? Those were unlike anything we'd ever heard before. This was punch you in the mouth rock, there was no room onboard for wimps and we all went along for the ride. Dammit, your heroes die just like everyone else.

Ozzy didn't play a damn thing. He just shared the best musicians he could find and went out and rocked the arenas and stadiums. He acted all goofy onstage whether by design or by just being himself. And could he bring you along for the bumpy ride. Ozzy was exhausting to watch. He sweated, he dumped water over his head, he sprayed foam all over the front rows and once bit the head off a bat he thought was a toy. THAT made him a legend among disaffected youth. A pure accident.

The reality show, The Osbournes, made him a household name. He was made fun of, he looked a fool, he let Sharon use him to make cash. Some of us didn't like it, but most people thought it was hilarious. It seemed Ozzy was mush brained, used by his overbearing wife and kids to secure a lifestyle they'd grown accustomed to. He got Parkinsons, obviously from years of drug abuse, alcohol abuse and bad food. Yet he was still pushed out on tours he may not have wanted to be on. Just weeks ago he was pushed onto a stage for the last time on a throne, sang a few songs and left. Forever.

Ozzy wasn't the greatest singer. He wasn't the best frontman. But dammit he was entertaining as hell. But most of all he rocked for 76 years. We should all be so lucky.

Cheers Ozzy.