The world is still processing the loss of Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away late last month at the age of 76. On the day after his death, blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa joined CBS News 24/7 to reflect on the enduring influence of the Black Sabbath frontman, both as a larger-than-life figure and as a musician who left a deep imprint on rock and metal culture.
“Well, Ozzy was one of a kind,” Joe said when asked what Ozzy meant to him (via Blabbermouth). “He represented the best of rock and roll because it was rebellion. Your parents didn’t like it. And that was the thing about Black Sabbath and his solo work. And he was always pushing the boundaries.”
One of the more unexpected moments in Joe Bonamassa‘s career came when he was invited to contribute to a track on Under Cover, a 2005 covers album by Ozzy that also pulled material from his earlier Prince of Darkness box set. The track in question: a rendition of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.”
“I got called around 2004, 2005, to play a solo on a record called Under Cover,” Joe recalled. “And it was a covers record that Ozzy was doing, and he did the Buffalo Springfield song ‘For what it’s worth’. And I just thought that was a really interesting cover for Ozzy to be doing. And I also said to myself, I’m, like, ‘Why are they calling me? Did every rock guitar player in Los Angeles disappear spontaneously at the same time?”
Despite the surprise, the experience left a lasting mark.
“So I got to do this,” he said. “And it’s always been one of the honors of my career to have played on an Ozzy Osbourne record. His legacy will live on. And the music that he made was so profound.”
But beyond the darkness, theatrics, and controversy that often surrounded Ozzy, Joe emphasized something often overlooked: his voice.
“And one of the things people, I think, overlook is that he was a great singer. When you hear people try to cover his music, great singers trying to cover him, you realize how high a voice he had, how rich a voice he had, and he maintained that voice up until the very end. I mean, his last gig, he sounded great a couple of weeks ago [at the Back To The Beginning event in Birmingham, United Kingdom].”
Reflecting on Ozzy’s solo career, Joe Bonamassa drew attention to one of its most defining traits: the caliber of guitarists he surrounded himself with. From Randy Rhoads to Zakk Wylde, Ozzy didn’t just work with strong players; he sought out visionaries. Ozzy’s standards were anything but ordinary.
“His selection of guitar players was kind of like the heavy metal version of what John Mayall was doing in the late ’60 with his band — finding Eric Clapton or hiring Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor,” Joe said. “When you talk about the great guitar players that played with Ozzy Osbourne — I mean Tony Iommi, obviously, in Black Sabbath, Brad Gillis, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhoads. So he always required someone on the guitar who was forward-thinking and hungry.”
“I read a quote from Ozzy himself [where he said] he wanted someone who wanted to kick Eddie Van Halen‘s butt on guitar. And that was a thing for him,” Joe said.
In Ozzy‘s world, guitars were integral to the songwriting process, an essential part of the story.
“And his music really required a very specialized guitarist because it was very simple music, but people like Zakk Wylde, put their own stamp on it. People like Jake E. Lee and Randy Rhoads, you hear those songs, and it would sound a lot different with somebody else playing the guitar. And that was him being a band leader and someone that really embraced the electric guitar as part of their composition.”
Ozzy Osbourne may be gone, but if there’s one thing Joe Bonamassa made clear, it’s that the music — and the voice — will continue to resonate far beyond his time.
