World famous musician, acclaimed award winner, celebrated author…and lesser known harmonicaist? Ozzy Osbourne was a man known world-wide for his band, Black Sabbath, and independent work. The metal musician passed away shortly after his final tour on July 22nd of 2025, giving way to a resurgence of his influence in the lives of many. 

Both musicians and music enjoyers mourned the death of the “Prince of Darkness,” albeit in vastly different ways. 

“On this black day, I’m going to pay my respects to Ozzy by stumbling around my house and shouting ‘Sharon?’ while clearly out of it.” said Emma Bradford, a star in the Prison Brides TV show.

In his career, Osbourne managed to inspire musicians across the country. James Hetfield of Metallica was quoted saying that “Sabbath got me started on all that evil-sounding sh*t, and it’s stuck to me.” The frontman of Guns N’ Roses, Axl Rose, has spoken out about how Black Sabbath’s Paranoid album is indicative of the band’s impact. Even Alice in Chains paid tribute to Black Sabbath by adding a skit in their Dirt album not so subtly called “Iron Gland.”

Osbourne’s musical influence not only reached musicians, but students at TAMUG as well.

TAMUG students were polled concerning their knowledge of Ozzy Osbourne and how his passing affected them. 

These students had a wide range of how often they listened to either Black Sabbath or Osbourne, with 41.7% never listening to them, 16.7% who only listened a few times, 16.7% listening occasionally, 8.3% listening weekly, and 16.7% listening every day. 

In addition to listening to Osbourne’s music, some students were negatively impacted by his passing. 

“I had a little memorial with like photographs and played his discography exclusively for that entire week after his passing.” Yael Luna ‘29 said.

Ozzy Osbourne is a household name in the metal music scene who influenced the genre and those who listened throughout his lifetime. Even though he has performed his final concert and put down the harmonica for good, Ozzy will be remembered for his impact on the industry by musicians and students alike.

Quotes and Works Cited:

-Fullerton-Batton, Julia. “What I’ve Learned: Ozzy Osbourne.” What I’ve Learned: Ozzy Osbourne –  MSN Lifestyle: Men, MSN Lifestyle: Men, 15 Nov. 2006, 18 Sept. 2025, web.archive.org/web/20080522051642/http:/men.msn.com/articlees.aspx?cp-documentid=760888. 

-Lynch, Joseph Brannigan (25 April 2011). “‘God Bless Ozzy Osbourne’: New documentary presents the life, art, and addiction of the metal madman”. The Music Mix. Entertainment Weekly/CNN, 29 Apr. 2011, 18 Sept. 2025, http://music-mix.ew.com/2011/04/25/god-bless-ozzy-osbourne-documentary.
“People ask me, “Do you regret anything?” Sure, I have f**king regrets. But if I didn’t have my life the way it’s been or the way it’s gonna be, I’d be f**king with the big guy in the sky.”

-Jovanovi, Marko. “Ozzy: Why I Don’t Play Any Instrument.” ULTIMATE GUITAR TABS – 1,100,000 Songs Catalog with Free Chords, Guitar Tabs, Bass Tabs, Ukulele Chords and Guitar Pro Tabs!, Ultimate Guitar, 18 Sept. 2017, 18 Sept. 2025, www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/ozzy_why_i_dont_play_any_instrument.html. 

“It’s been interesting, because I can’t communicate on a musical level with other musicians. I just like what’s in my head.

“Musicians tend to go, ‘Oh, I can transcribe whatever you write.’ But they’ll make it their song and then it’s this fucking political side of it – ‘I wrote this, you wrote that.’

“Then Sharon gets pissed off and goes, ‘Hey, wait a minute. It was Ozzy’s idea,’ or whatever.”

Boone, Brian. “The World Reacts to the Death of Ozzy Osbourne.” Grunge, Grunge, 23 July 2025, 18 Sept. 2025, www.grunge.com/1919835/ozzy-osbourne-dead-world-reacts/. 

“‘I Definitely Know More than Just Paranoid’: Six People Mourning Ozzy Osbourne Today.” The Daily Mash, The Daily Mash, 23 July 2025, 18 Sept. 2025, www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/i-definitely-know-more-than-just-paranoid-six-people-mourning-ozzy-osbourne-today-20250723258914. 

Emma Bradford, aged 40, watched The Osbournes religiously

“On this black day, I’m going to pay my respects to Ozzy by stumbling around my house and shouting ‘Sharon?’ while clearly out of it. Not sure why the media’s focusing on his heavy metal legacy and not that without his groundbreaking show we’d never have had The Real Housewives of The Kardashians. That’s what he did for the world.”

Bill McKay, aged 62, admirer of Ozzy’s wildman antics

“When I mourn Ozzy, I also mourn the wider state of the music industry. How far it has fallen that Bob Vylan chanting shit counts as controversy these days. Ozzy’s decade of alcoholism spurred him on to real crazy antics, and I think it’s a terrible shame today’s musicians aren’t similarly reckless and deranged.”

Kelly Howard, aged 18, metalhead

“Without Ozzy there would be no heavy metal. It’s as simple as that. And for people like me who like to express their independence by listening to carefully marketed music and buying into a certain uniform look, that world doesn’t bear thinking about. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to listen to his top ten most popular tracks on Spotify.”

Butler, Will. “12 Bands That Wouldn’t Exist without Black Sabbath.” Gigwise, Gigwise, 4 Sept. 2015, 24 Sept. 2025, www.gigwise.com/photos/102631/bands-that-are-influenced-by-black-sabbath-metallica-iron-maiden/. 

Staff, TMZ. “Ozzy Osbourne: Legendary Onstage Antics.” TMZ, TMZ, 23 July 2025, 23 Sept. 2025, www.tmz.com/2025/07/22/ozzy-osbourne-legendary-onstage-antics/.