A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments. Since the 1960s, the electric bass is the standard bass instrument for rock and roll, jazz fusion (and occasionally other forms of jazz), heavy metal, country, reggae and pop music. The double bass is the standard bass instrument for classical music, bluegrass, and Swing-era and Bebop-era jazz. Low brass instruments such as the tuba or sousaphone are the standard bass instrument in Dixieland and New Orleans-style jazz bands.

Despite the associations of different bass instruments with certain genres, there are exceptions. Some 1990s and 2000s rock and pop bands use a double bass, such as Barenaked Ladies; Indie band The Decemberists; and punk rock/psychobilly groups such as The Living End, Nekromantix, The Horrorpops, and Tiger Army. Some fusion jazz groups use a lightweight, stripped-down electric upright bass rather than a double bass. Some composers of modern art music use the electric bass in a chamber music setting. Some jazz big bands use electric bass. Some fusion, R&B; and house music groups use synth bass or keyboard bass rather than electric bass. Some Dixieland bands use double bass or electric bass instead of a tuba. In some jazz groups and jam bands, the basslines are played by a Hammond organ player, who uses the bass pedal keyboard or the lower manual for the low notes.

Electric bass players

Electric bassists play the bass guitar. In most rock, pop, metal and country genres, the bass line outlines the harmony of the music being performed, while simultaneously indicating the rhythmic pulse. In addition, there are many different standard bass line types for different genres and types of song (e.g. blues ballad, fast swing, etc.). Bass lines often emphasize the root, third, and fifth of the chord progression being used in a given song. In addition, pedal tones (repeated or sustained single notes), ostinatos, and bass riffs are also used as bass lines. While most electric bass players rarely play chords (two or more notes all sounded at the same time), chords are used in some styles, especially jazz, progressive rock or Heavy Metal.

Double bass players

Classical double bass players

Johannes Matthias Sperger (1750–1812) Composer

Domenico Dragonetti (1763–1845) composer, conductor

Giovanni Bottesini (1821–1889) composer, conductor

Franz Simandl (1840–1912) composer

Edouard Nanny (1872–1943) composer

Serge Koussevitzky (1874–1951) Conductor, composer

Gary Karr (1941-present)

Edgar Meyer (1960–present)

Jazz double bass players

Jimmy Blanton

Paul Chambers

Jimmy Garrison

Ron Carter

Scott La Faro

Richard Davis

Ray Brown

George Mraz

Eddie Gomez

Terry Plumeri

Milt Hinton

Sam Jones

Charles Mingus

Blue Grass double bass players

Barry Bales

See also

List of contemporary classical double bass players

List of jazz bassists

Category:Occupations in music Category:Bass (sound)

da:Bassist es:Bajista fr:Bassiste ko:베이시스트 hr:Basist id:Bassis is:Bassaleikari it:Bassista nl:Bassist ja:ベーシスト no:Bassist pl:Basista pt:Baixista scn:Bassista simple:Bassist fi:Basisti sv:Basist zh:贝斯手

Name	Chris Buck
Birth date	October 25, 1960
Birth place	Wichita, Kansas
Nationality	American
Occupation	Animator, Film director, Screenwriter, Voice actor
Yearsactive	1981 - Present }}

Chris Buck is a film director known for directing ''Tarzan'' and ''Surf's Up''. He also worked as supervising animator on ''Home on the Range'' and ''Chicken Little''.

Buck's other credits at Disney include the 1995 animated feature ''Pocahontas'', where he oversaw the animation of three central characters: Percy, Grandmother Willow and Wiggins. Buck also helped design characters for the 1989 animated blockbuster ''The Little Mermaid'', performed experimental animation for ''The Rescuers Down Under'' and ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit?'', and was an animator on ''The Fox and the Hound''.

Buck helped develop several films at Hyperion Pictures and served as a directing animator on the feature ''Bebe's Kids''. He storyboarded director Tim Burton's live-action featurette ''Frankenweenie'' and worked with Burton again as directing animator on the Brad Bird-directed "Family Dog" episode of Steven Spielberg's ''Amazing Stories'' and as director of the subsequent primetime animated series.

Buck's credits include a number of animated commercials (including some with the Keebler Elves) for such Los Angeles-based production entities as FilmFair, Kurtz & Friends, and Duck Soup.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Buck studied character animation for two years at CalArts, where he also taught from 1988–1993.

It was announced in 2010 that Buck would direct the 2013 animated feature ''The Snow Queen'', but it's unknown if he'll direct it.

Selected filmography

Director:

''Surf's Up'' (2007)

''The Legend of Tarzan'' (2001 to 2003) (TV)

''Tarzan'' (1999)

''Family Dog - Snow Dog'' (1993) (TV)

Animation Department:

''The Fox and the Hound'' (1981) (character animator)

''The Brave Little Toaster'' (1987) (character designer)

''Oliver & Company'' (1988) (animation director)

''The Little Mermaid'' (1989) (character designer)

''The Rescuers Down Under'' (1990) (character animator)

''Box-Office Bunny'' (1990) (key animator)

''Bébé's Kids'' (1992) (animator)

''Pocahontas'' (1995) (character designer, supervising animator: "Percy", "Grandmother Willow" and "Wiggins")

''Home on the Range'' (2004) (supervising animator: "Maggie")

''Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas'' (2004) (animation consultant)

''Chicken Little'' (2005) (supervising animator: "Abby Mallard")

''Not Your Time'' (2010) (animators)

External links

Entry on ''Chris Buck'' at the Internet Movie Database

Category:American animators Category:Animated film directors Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:People from Wichita, Kansas

nl:Chris Buck

name	John Entwistle
background	solo_singer
birth name	John Alec Entwistle
alias	The Ox, Thunderfingers,
born	Chiswick, London, England
died	Las Vegas, Nevada, US
instrument	Bass guitar, french horn, vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica, trumpet, jaw harp
genre	Rock, art rock, hard rock, power pop
occupation	Musician, songwriter, record producer, musical arranger
years active	1962–2002
label	Polydor, MCA
associated acts	The Who, The John Entwistle Band, Gov't Mule, Led Zeppelin
website	johnentwistle.com
notable instruments	Alembic ExploiterWarwick BuzzardGibson ThunderbirdStatus Graphite BuzzardFender "Frankenstein" Precision Bass }}

John Alec Entwistle (9 October 1944 – 27 June 2002) was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Who in 1990.

Entwistle's lead instrument approach used pentatonic lead lines, and a then-unusual trebly sound ("full treble, full volume") created by roundwound RotoSound steel bass strings. He had a collection of over 200 instruments by the time of his death, reflecting the different brands he used over his career: Fender and Rickenbacker basses in the 1960s, Gibson and Alembic basses in the 1970s, Warwick in the 1980s, and Status all-Carbon fibre basses in the 1990s.

Birth and early career

John Alec Entwistle was born in 1944 into a musical family in Chiswick, a London suburb. His father Herbert played trumpet and his mother, Queenie Maud Johns Entwistle (29 November 1922 – 4 March 2011), played piano. His parents' marriage failed soon after he was born, and Entwistle was mostly raised by his grandparents. He attended Acton County Grammar School and joined the Middlesex Youth Orchestra. His initial music training was on trumpet, french horn and piano, all three of which would feature in his later rock compositions.

In the early 1960s, Entwistle played in several traditional jazz and Dixieland outfits. He formed a duo called The Confederates with schoolmate Pete Townshend, and later joined Roger Daltrey's band The Detours, playing a major role in encouraging Townshend's budding talent on the guitar, and insisting that Townshend be admitted to the Detours as well. After changes in personnel, Daltrey had fired all members of his band with the exception of Entwistle, Townshend, and the drummer, Doug Sandom, although it was only because he had not yet found a drummer with sufficient talent to replace him. Upon the entry of Keith Moon to the band, Daltrey relinquished the role of guitar to Townshend, becoming frontman and lead singer in the band, while the band considered several changes of name, temporarily performing as the High Numbers, and finally settling on the name The Who. When the band decided that the blond Daltrey needed to stand out more from the others, Entwistle dyed his naturally golden hair black, and it remained so until the early 1980s. Around 1963 Entwistle played in a London band called The Initials for a short while; the band split when a planned resident stint in Spain fell through.

Entwistle picked up two nicknames during his tenure as a musician. He was nicknamed "The Ox" because of his strong constitution and seeming ability to "eat, drink or do more than the rest of them." Bill Wyman, bassist for the Rolling Stones, described him as "the quietest man in private but the loudest man on stage." Entwistle who was one of the first to make use of Marshall stacks, in an attempt to hear himself over the ruckus of his bandmates, who famously leapt and moved about on the stage, with Townshend and Moon smashing their instruments on numerous occasions. (Moon even employed explosives in his drum kit during one memorable performance). Pete Townshend later remarked that John started using Marshalls in order to hear himself over drummer Keith Moon's rapid-fire drumming style, and Townshend himself also had to use them just to be heard over John. They both continued expanding and experimenting with their rigs, until (at a time when most bands used 50–100 watt amplifiers with single cabinets) they were both using twin Stacks with new experimental prototype 200 watt amps. However, no matter what was taking place on stage, Entwistle stood by calmly and quietly, while plucking the strings very fast, in what was later described as his "typewriter" technique of playing, which earned him the name "Thunderfingers" by his bandmates and some fans of the Who. The band had a strong influence on the equipment of their contemporaries at the time, with Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience both following suit. Although they pioneered and directly contributed to the development of the "classic" Marshall sound (at this point their equipment was being built/tweaked to their personal specifications), they would only use Marshalls for a couple of years. Entwistle eventually switched to using a Sound City rig in search of his perfect sound, with Townshend following suit later as well. Townshend points out that Jimi Hendrix, their new label mate, was influenced beyond just the band's volume. Both Entwistle and Townshend had begun experimenting with feedback from the amplifiers in the mid-1960s, and Hendrix had not begun destroying his instruments until after he had witnessed The Who's "auto-destructive art".

Entwistle's wry and sometimes dark sense of humour clashed at times with Pete Townshend's more introspective work. Though he continued to contribute material to all of The Who's albums, with the exception of ''Quadrophenia'', his frustration with having his material recorded by the band, only to relinquish the position of vocalist to Daltrey, was a large part of the reason he became the first member of the band to release a solo record, ''Smash Your Head Against the Wall'' (1971). The only member of the band to have had formal training, he contributed backing vocals and performed on the French horn (heard in "Pictures of Lily"), trumpet, bugle, and jaw harp, and on some occasions (generally at least once per album & concert), lead vocalist on his compositions, the only exceptions being the first verse of "Happy Jack" and Ivor's part on "A Quick One, While He's Away". Examples are on ''Tommy'', ("Cousin Kevin", "Fiddle About"), on the live favourite "Heaven and Hell", and on ''Who's Next'' ("My Wife"). He layered several horns and performed all pieces to create the brass as heard on songs such as "5:15", among others, while recording the Who's studio albums, and for concerts, arranged a horn section to perform with the band. In concert, Entwistle was content to stand quite still beside the uproar onstage, delivering dense and high-energy body to the music, but taking the spotlight only when singing lead. The exception was blinding illumination of his roaring solo notes in opening "Pinball Wizard".

Entwistle also experimented throughout his career with "bi-amping," where the high and low ends of the bass sound are sent through separate signal paths, allowing for more control over the output. At one point his rig became so loaded with speaker cabinets and processing gear that it was dubbed "Little Manhattan," in reference to the towering, skyscraper-like stacks, racks and blinking lights.

His "full treble, full volume" approach to bass sound was originally supposed to be captured in the bass solo to "My Generation". According to Entwistle, his original intention was to feature the distinctive Danelectro Longhorn bass, which had a very twangy sound, in the solo, but the strings kept breaking. Eventually, he recorded a simpler solo using a pick with a Fender Jazz Bass strung with LaBella tapewound strings. This solo bass break is important as it is one of the earliest bass solos (if not the first) captured on a rock record. A live recording of The Who exists from this period (c. 1965), with Entwistle playing a Danelectro on "My Generation", giving an idea of what that solo would have sounded like.

Late career

In 1990 he toured with The Best, a short-lived supergroup which also included Keith Emerson, Joe Walsh, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Simon Phillips. Toward the end of his career, he formed "The John Entwistle "Project"" with longtime friend, drummer Steve Luongo, and guitarist Mark Hitt both formerly of Rat Race Choir. Out of that, came "The John Entwistle Band". Godfrey Townsend ("no 'h', no relation" [to Pete]) replaced Mark Hitt on guitar and took over lead vocals. In 1996, the band went on the "Left for Dead" tour with Alan St. Jon on keyboards. After Entwistle toured with The Who for ''Quadrophenia'' in 1996–97, the Entwistle band set off on the "Left for Dead – the Sequel" tour in late 1998, now with Gordon Cotten on keyboards. After this second venture, the band released an album of highlights from the tour, called ''Left for Live''. In 1995 Entwistle also toured and recorded with Ringo Starr in one of the incarnations of Ringo's "All-Starr Band". This one also featured Billy Preston, Randy Bachman, and Mark Farner. In this ensemble, he played and sang "Boris the Spider" as his Who showpiece, along with "My Wife". Towards the end of his career he used a Status Graphite Buzzard Bass, which he designed. From 1999 to early 2002, John played as part of The Who. As a side project, John played bass in a country-rock album project of original songs called the Pioneers, with Mickey Wynne on lead guitar, Ron Magness on rhythm guitar and keyboards, Roy Michaels on vocals and John Delgado doing drums. The album was released on Voiceprint Records. Shortly before his passing, John had agreed to play some US dates with the band including Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, following his final upcoming Who tour.

In 2001 he played in Alan Parsons' Beatles tribute show "A Walk Down Abbey Road". The show also featured Ann Wilson of Heart, Todd Rundgren, David Pack of Ambrosia, Godfrey Townsend on guitar, Steve Luongo on drums, and John Beck on keyboards. Between that tour and his prior tour with Ringo, Entwistle joked that he had played "Yellow Submarine" more often than Paul McCartney. That year he also played with The Who at The Concert for New York City. He also joined forces again with "The John Entwistle Band" for an 8 gig tour. This time Chris Clark was on Keyboards. In January–February 2002 John played his last concerts with The Who in a handful of dates in England, the last being 8 February in London's Royal Albert Hall. In late 2002, an expanded 2-CD ''Left for Live Deluxe'' was released, highlighting The John Entwistle Band performances.

Death

Entwistle died in hotel room 658 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on 27 June 2002 one day before the scheduled first show of The Who's 2002 US tour. He had gone to bed that night with a stripper/groupie, Alycen Rowse, who woke at 10 am to find Entwistle cold and unresponsive. The Clark County medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by cocaine. His funeral was held at Saint Edward's Church in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England, on 10 July 2002. He was cremated and his ashes were buried privately. A memorial service was held on 24 October 2002 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London. Entwistle's enormous collection of guitars and basses was auctioned at Sotheby's in London by his son, Christopher Entwistle, to meet anticipated duties on his father's estate. Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook is among those who acquired some of Entwistle's basses at the auction.

His mansion in Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds and a number of his personal effects were later sold off to meet the demands of the Inland Revenue, an agency that Entwistle had ironically worked for prior to The Who hitting it big. While The Who, including Entwistle and Moon, recorded with a multitude of instruments, they always performed as a four-piece band. Following his death, Moon was replaced not only by Small Faces/Faces drummer Kenney Jones and later Simon Phillips and then Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr), but The Who also added keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick to the live band. Similarly, when Entwistle died, his place in the live band was filled by Pino Palladino, with second guitarist Simon Townshend (Pete Townshend's brother) having been added at rehearsals just weeks before Entwistle's death.

Welsh-born bassist Pino Palladino, who played on several of Pete Townshend's solo records, took over for Entwistle on stage when The Who resumed their postponed US tour on 1 July 2002. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey spoke at length about their reaction to Entwistle's death. Some of their comments can be found on the ''The Who Live in Boston'' DVD. Geddy Lee, of the band Rush, dedicated their performance of the song "Between Sun and Moon" to Entwistle on the opening night of their Vapor Trails tour which began the following night on 28 June 2002 in Hartford, Connecticut.

Technique

Entwistle's technique ranged from using fingers, plectra and tapping to using harmonics in his passages. He would change the style of play between songs and even during songs to change the sound he produced. His fingering technique would involve pressing down on the string hard and releasing in an attempt to reproduce a trebly, twangy sound. Note, however, that he would change his thumb position from pick-up, to the E string and occasionally even allowing his thumb to float near the pick-up. His plectrum technique would involve holding the plectrum between his thumb and forefinger, with the rest of his fingers outstretched for balance.

Entwistle's playing style was rarely captured well in the studio. He was better heard in concert, where he and guitarist Pete Townshend frequently exchanged roles, with Entwistle providing rapid melodic lines and Townshend anchoring the song with rhythmic chord work. Indeed, Townshend noted that Entwistle did the rhythmic timekeeping in the band, fulfilling the role of the drummer. Moon, on the other hand, with all his flourishes around the kit, was like a keyboard player. In 1989, Entwistle pointed out that, according to modern standards, "The Who haven't a proper bass player."

Entwistle also developed what he called a "typewriter" approach to playing the bass. It involved positioning the right hand over the strings so all four fingers could be used to tap percussively on the strings, causing them to strike the fretboard with a distinctive twangy sound. This gives the player the ability to play three or four strings at once, or to use several fingers on a single string. It allowed him to create passages that were very percussive and melodic. He used this approach to mimic the fills used by his drummers in band situations, sometimes sending the fills back at the drummers faster than the drummers themselves could play them.

This method is unique and should not be confused with the hammer-on tapping techniques of Eddie Van Halen and Stu Hamm or the slapping technique of Larry Graham, and in fact pre-dates these other techniques. A demonstration of this approach to bass playing can be seen on a video called ''John Entwistle – Master Class'', part of Arlen Roth's Hot Licks instructional series, as well as Mike Gordon's film, ''Rising Low'', where Entwistle can be seen frequently using his fore, middle, and ring fingers on his right hand when playing. This allowed him to create "clusters of notes" in his bass lines, as well as play triplets with relative simplicity. Notable in his left-handed technique is his use of slides, positioning the left hand for octaves and his use of the pentatonic scale.

Influence

Entwistle identified his influences as a combination of his school training on French horn, trumpet, and piano (giving his fingers strength and dexterity). Musicians who influenced him included rock & roll guitarists Duane Eddy and Gene Vincent, and American soul and R&B; bassists such as James Jamerson. In turn, Entwistle has been a massive influence on the playing styles and sounds used by generations of bass players that have followed him, including Geezer Butler, Steve Harris, Matt Freeman, Ian Hill, Geddy Lee, Billy Sheehan, Victor Wooten, Tom Petersson, and Chris Squire. Entwistle continues to top 'best ever bass player' polls in musicians magazines. In 2000, ''Guitar'' magazine named him "Bassist of the Millennium" in a readers' poll. J. D. Considine ranked Entwistle no. 9 on his list of "Top 50 Bass Players". He was named the second best bassist on ''Creem Magazine'''s 1974 Reader Poll Results. In 2011, a ''Rolling Stone'' reader poll selected him as the #1 bassist of all time.

Equipment

This is a list of Entwistle's amps and guitars in chronological order of which he used them:

Fender Precision Bass (sunburst, refinished to white in 1965)

Gibson EB-2 semi-acoustic bass (natural)

Mosrite Ventures Bass

Danelectro long-horn bass

Fender Jazz Bass (sunburst)

Rickenbacker 4001S bass

Gretsch 6070 Hollow Body Bass

Gibson EB-3 bass

Fender Bass VI

Vox Cougar Sidewinder IV V272 bass in a burgundy-grain finish

Custom “Axe” Jazz bass - seen using one with a thunderbird neck in "Tommy"

Custom-made “Spider” bass

Fender Precision Bass (slab body) in Olympic White, with maple neck

Sunburst Fender Precision Bass with rosewood fretboard and tortise shell pickguard

“Frankenstein” Fender Precision Bass with maple neck (made from several different Fender basses, and Entwistle's main stage and studio bass from 1967–1971)

Vox Violin Bass

Fender Precision Bass with rosewood fingerboard (black)

Rickenbacker 4005 hollow body bass

Gibson Thunderbird IV bass (both "Reverse" and "Non-Reverse"-styles)

"Fenderbird" basses (consisted of Gibson Thunderbird bodies (mostly "non-reverse" styles) and maple Fender Precision bass necks)

Rickenbacker 4005LS "Lightshow" hollow body bass

Alembic Series I basses

Fender “Explorer-Bird” (studio only)

Rickenbacker 4001 prototype 8-string bass (white)

Alembic Series I Exploiter basses, 4 & 8 string

Custom Peter Cook “Lightning Bolt” bass

Modulus Buzzard graphite bass (with Warwick body, green)

Warwick custom Buzzard JE

Alembic Spyder Bass

Status Graphite JE Buzzard Bass

Mellophone (Marching French Horn)

Discography

References

External links

“John Entwistle:An Ox’s Tale–Full Movie”

JohnEntwistle.com

John Entwistle Photo Galleries

The John Entwistle Foundation

The Who's Marshall history

John's gear reference

Category:1944 births Category:2002 deaths Category:English tenors Category:English rock bass guitarists Category:English rock musicians Category:English male singers Category:English rock guitarists Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:English-language singers Category:English rock singers Category:English songwriters Category:English horn players Category:People from Chiswick Category:The Who members Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Cocaine-related deaths in Nevada Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians

cs:John Entwistle da:John Entwistle de:John Entwistle et:John Entwistle es:John Entwistle fr:John Entwistle gl:John Entwistle id:John Entwistle it:John Entwistle he:ג'ון אנטוויסל la:Ioannes Entwistle nl:John Entwistle ja:ジョン・エントウィッスル no:John Entwistle nn:John Entwistle pl:John Entwistle pt:John Entwistle ro:John Entwistle ru:Энтвисл, Джон simple:John Entwistle sl:John Entwistle fi:John Entwistle sv:John Entwistle

Name	Ozzy Osbourne
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Michael Osbourne
Born	December 03, 1948Aston, Birmingham, England
Instrument	Vocals, Harmonica
Genre	Heavy metal, hard rock, blues-rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, actor
Years active	1968–present
Label	Epic, CBS, Jet
Associated acts	Black Sabbath, Kelly Osbourne, Black Label Society, Alice Cooper, Iommi, Rob Zombie, Slash, Firewind
Website	}}

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born December 3, 1948) is an English singer-songwriter and occasional actor, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead vocalist of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, a band whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound spawned the heavy metal genre. In his subsequent solo career Osbourne achieved a multi-platinum status in addition to the one he had earned with Black Sabbath. These things are what led Osbourne to become known as the "Godfather of Heavy Metal". It was during his Sabbath days that, due to their dark style of music, Osbourne became known as the "Prince of Darkness". Osbourne has over 15 tattoos, the most famous of which are the letters O-Z-Z-Y across the knuckles of his left hand. This was his first tattoo, created by himself as a teenager with a sewing needle and pencil lead.

In the early 2000s, Osbourne's career expanded to a new medium when he became a star in his own reality show, ''The Osbournes'', alongside wife/manager Sharon and two of their three children, Kelly and Jack. A documentary about his life and career, ''God Bless Ozzy Osbourne'', premiered in April 2011 at the Tribeca Film Festival and will be released on DVD in November 2011. As of December 2010, Osbourne has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Early life

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was born in Aston, Birmingham, England, on 3 December 1948. His father Jack worked shifts as a toolmaker at GEC. His mother Lillian worked for the car components firm Lucas. John was the fourth of six children. Ozzy had 2 brothers (Paul and Tony) and 3 sisters (Jean, Iris and Gillian); they lived in a small two bedroom home at 14 Lodge Road in Aston, England. The nickname "Ozzy" was first used when he was in primary school. Although called "John" by his first wife Thelma, Osbourne states that it has been a long time since he's recognised himself when called by his formal name. Osbourne grew up dealing with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. General abuse from teachers at Prince Albert Road Junior School, and Birchfield Road Secondary Modern School in Perry Barr made his childhood difficult for him. Drawn to the stage, Osbourne took part in school plays such as ''The Pirates of Penzance.'' Upon hearing their first hit single at age 14, he became a great fan of The Beatles. He left school at 15 and was then employed as a construction site labourer, trainee plumber, apprentice toolmaker, car factory horn-tuner and slaughterhouse worker. He spent six weeks in Winson Green Prison when he was unable to pay a fine after being found guilty of burglary of a clothes shop.

In late 1967, Geezer Butler formed his first band "Rare Breed" with Osbourne. The band played two shows then broke up. Separated for a time, Osbourne and Butler reunited in ''Polka Tulk Blues'' along with guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. They renamed themselves ''Earth,'' but after being booked in error instead of a small-time English circuit band with the same name, they decided to change their name again. They finally chose the name ''Black Sabbath'' in early 1969 based on a film directed by Mario Bava, starring Boris Karloff. The band had noticed how people enjoyed being frightened, and, inspired, Iommi and his partners decided to play a heavy blues style of music laced with gloomy sounds and lyrics. While recording their first album in a castle, Geezer read an occult book and had a dream of a dark figure at the end of his bed. Butler told Osbourne about the dream and together they wrote the lyrics to "Black Sabbath", one of their first songs in a darker vein.

Musical career

Black Sabbath

Despite only a modest investment from their US record label Warner Bros. Records, Black Sabbath met with swift and enduring success. Built around Tony Iommi's guitar riffs, Geezer Butler's lyrics, Bill Ward's dark tempo drumbeats, and topped by Osbourne's eerie vocals, early records such as their debut album ''Black Sabbath'' and ''Paranoid'' sold huge numbers, as well as getting considerable airplay. Osbourne recalls a band lament, "in those days, the band wasn't very popular with the women."

Just five months after the release of ''Paranoid'' the band released ''Master of Reality.'' The album reached the top ten in both the US and UK, and was certified gold in less than two months. In the 1980s it received platinum certification and went Double Platinum in the early 21^st century. Reviews of the album were unfavorable. Lester Bangs of ''Rolling Stone'' dismissed ''Master of Reality'' as "naïve, simplistic, repetitive, absolute doggerel", although the very same magazine would later place the album at number 298 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, compiled in 2003. Black Sabbath's ''Volume 4'' was released in September 1972. Critics were again dismissive of the album, yet it achieved gold status in less than a month. It was the band's fourth consecutive release to sell a million copies in the US. In November 1973, Black Sabbath released the critically acclaimed ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath''. For the first time, the band received favourable reviews in the mainstream press. Gordon Fletcher of ''Rolling Stone'' called the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair", and "nothing less than a complete success". ''AllMusic's'' Eduardo Rivadavia call the album a "masterpiece, essential to any heavy metal collection," while also claiming the band displayed "a newfound sense of finesse and maturity". The album marked the band's fifth consecutive platinum selling album in the US, ''Sabotage'' was released in July 1975. Again there were favourable reviews. ''Rolling Stone'' stated, "''Sabotage'' is not only Black Sabbath's best record since ''Paranoid'', it might be their best ever." ''Allmusic'' was not so favorable. They noted that "the magical chemistry that made such albums as ''Paranoid'' and ''Volume 4'' so special was beginning to disintegrate". ''Technical Ecstasy'', released on 25 September 1976, was also met with mixed reviews. ''AllMusic'' gave the album two stars, and noted that the band was "unravelling at an alarming rate".

Departure from Black Sabbath

In 1978, Osbourne left the band for three months to pursue interest in a solo project he called ''Blizzard of Ozz.'' Three members of the band ''Necromandus'', who had supported Black Sabbath in Birmingham back in the day when they were called ''Earth,'' did backup for Osbourne in the studio and briefly became the first incarnation of his solo band. At the request of the other members, Osbourne rejoined Sabbath. The band spent five months at Sounds Interchange Studios in Toronto, Canada, writing and recording what would become ''Never Say Die!'' "It took quite a long time," Iommi said. "We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We'd go down to the sessions, and have to pack up because we were too stoned, we'd have to stop. Nobody could get anything right, we were all over the place, everybody's playing a different thing. We'd go back and sleep it off, and try again the next day." Touring in support of ''Never Say Die!'' began in May 1978 with openers Van Halen. Reviewers called Black Sabbath's performance "tired and uninspired," in stark contrast to the "youthful" performance of Van Halen, who were touring the world for the first time. The band filmed a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in June 1978, which was later released on DVD as ''Never Say Die''. The final show of the tour, and Osbourne's last appearance with the band (until later reunions) was in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 11 December.

In 1979, back in the studio tensions and conflict were present continually. Osbourne recalls being asked to record his vocals over and over, and tracks being manipulated endlessly by Iommi. This was a point of contention between Osbourne and Iommi. With the support of Geezer and Bill Ward, Osbourne was again fired from Black Sabbath. The reasons provided to him were that he was unreliable and had excessive substance abuse issues as compared to the other band members. Osbourne claims his drug use and alcohol consumption at that time were no better nor worse than that of the other band members.

Conflict of a sort had existed between Iommi and Osbourne from the beginning. When responding to a flyer reading "Ozzy Zig Needs Gig- has own PA" posted in a record store, Iommi and Ward arrived at the address listed to speak with ''Ozzy Zig.'' When Osbourne answered the door, Iommi left upon discovering it was him. He knew of and disliked Osbourne from back in their school days. The band replaced him with former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio.

On 18 August 1980, after a show in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bill Ward was also fired from Black Sabbath. "I was sinking very quickly", Ward later said. "I was an unbelievable drunk, I was drunk twenty-four hours a day. When I went on stage, the stage wasn't so bright. It felt like I was dying inside. The live show seemed so bare, Ron was out there doing his thing and I just went 'It's gone'. I like Ronnie, but musically, he just wasn't for me."

Blizzard of Ozz and ''Diary of a Madman''

In 1980, under the management of Osbourne's then girlfriend (later wife), Sharon Arden, the Ozzy Osbourne Band formed again as The Blizzard of Ozz. The first line-up of the band featured drummer Lee Kerslake (of Uriah Heep), bassist/lyricist Bob Daisley (of Rainbow and later Uriah Heep), keyboardist Don Airey, and guitarist Randy Rhoads (of Quiet Riot). The record company would eventually title the record ''Blizzard of Ozz'' credited simply under Osbourne's name. Co-written with Daisley and Rhoads, the album brought Osbourne considerable success on his first solo effort. The debut sold very well with hard rock/heavy metal fans. Blizzard of Ozz is one of the very few albums amongst the 100 best selling albums of the 1980s to have achieved multi-platinum status without the benefit of a Top 40 single. As of August 1997, it achieved Quadruple Platinum status according to RIAA. The album is known for the globally recognised singles "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley," and fan favourites "Goodbye to Romance" and "Revelation (Mother Earth)". Although Kerslake and Daisley are credited as the studio musicians for The Blizzard of Ozz, the touring band in support of the album consisted of Osbourne, Rhoads, Rudy Sarzo (Bass) and Tommy Aldridge (Drums).

Osbourne's second album, ''Diary of a Madman'' featured more songs co-written with Bob Daisley. For his work on this album and Blizzard, Randy Rhoads, was ranked the 85th greatest guitarist of all time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2003. This album is known for the singles "Over the Mountain, "Flying High Again," "Believer," and of course "Diary of a Madman." Osbourne explains in his autobiography that ''Diary'' is his own personal favourite album.

On 19 March 1982 while Rhoads was in Florida for the follow-up ''Diary of a Madman'' tour, and a week away from playing Madison Square Garden in New York City, a light aircraft piloted by Andrew Aycock (the band's tour bus driver) carrying guitarist Randy Rhoads crashed while performing low passes over the band's tour bus. In a prank turned deadly, the right wing of the aircraft clipped the bus, grazed a tree, and crashed into the attached garage of a nearby mansion killing Rhoads, Aycock, and the band's hairdresser, Rachel Youngblood. On autopsy, cocaine was found to be present in Aycock's urine. Experiencing firsthand the horrific death of his close friend and band mate, Osbourne fell into a deep depression.

Ex-Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme was the first guitarist to replace Randy once the tour resumed. Torme's tenure with the band would last less than one month. During an audition for guitarists in a hotel room, Osbourne selected Brad Gillis (who went on to be one of two guitarists in Night Ranger) to finish the tour. The tour culminated in the release of the 1982 live album, ''Speak of the Devil'' recorded at the Ritz in New York City. A live tribute album for Rhoads was also later released. This album would also feature studio outtakes from a song by Randy taken from "Blizzard of Ozz" called "Dee." It was a song Randy had written for his mother.

''Speak of the Devil''

Despite the difficulties, Osbourne moved on after Rhoads' death. ''Speak of the Devil'', known in the United Kingdom as ''Talk of the Devil'', was originally planned to consist of live recordings from 1981, primarily from Osbourne's solo work. Under contract to produce a cover album of Black Sabbath material, however, the album ended up consisting entirely of Black Sabbath covers, recorded with Brad Gillis, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Tommy Aldridge. Osbourne later commented (inside the cover of "Tribute") "I don't give a fuck about that album. It was just a bunch of bullshit Sabbath covers."

In 1982, Osbourne appeared as lead vocalist on the Was (Not Was) pop dance track "Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)." Madonna performed backing vocals. Osbourne's cut was remixed and re-released in the early 1990s for a Was (Not Was) greatest hits album in Europe, and it cracked the UK pop chart. Madonna asked that her vocal not be restored for the hits package, so new vocals by Kim Basinger were added to complement Osbourne's lead.

''Bark at the Moon'' and ''The Ultimate Sin''

In 1983 a new guitarist was recruited to play with Osbourne. Jake E. Lee, formerly of Ratt and Rough Cutt, joined the band to record ''Bark at the Moon''. The album, co-written with Bob Daisley, featured Tommy Aldridge, and former Rainbow keyboard player Don Airey. The album contains the fan favourite "Bark at the Moon." The music video for "Bark at the Moon" was partially filmed at the Holloway Sanitorium outside of London, England. Within weeks the album became certified gold. To date it has sold three million copies in the U.S.

1986's ''The Ultimate Sin'' followed (with bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo), and touring behind both albums with ex-Uriah Heep keyboardist John Sinclair joining prior to the Ultimate Sin tour. A rich, bold album, it features "Shot in the Dark" and fan favourites "Killer of Giants," "Lightning Strikes," and "Secret Loser." At the time of its release, ''The Ultimate Sin'' was Osbourne's highest charting studio album. The RIAA awarded the album Platinum status on 14 May 1986, soon after its release; it was awarded Double Platinum status on 26 October 1994.

Jake E. Lee and Osbourne parted ways in 1987. Osbourne continued to struggle with chemical dependency. That year he commemorated the fifth anniversary of Rhoads' death with ''Tribute'', live recordings from 1981 that had gone unreleased for years. In 1988, Osbourne appeared in ''The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years'' and told the director, Penelope Spheeris, that "sobriety fucking sucks." Meanwhile, Osbourne found Zakk Wylde, who was the most enduring replacement for Rhoads to date. Together they recorded ''No Rest for the Wicked'' with Castillo on drums, Sinclair on keyboards, and Daisley co-writing lyrics and playing bass. The subsequent tour saw Osbourne reunited with erstwhile Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler on bass. A live EP (entitled ''Just Say Ozzy'') featuring Geezer was released two years later. Butler continued to tour with Osbourne for the subsequent four tours, and was a major stage presence throughout. In 1989, Ozzy Osbourne performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival.

''No More Tears''

While very successful as a heavy metal act through the 1980s, Osbourne sustained commercial success into the 1990s, starting with 1991's ''No More Tears.'' The album enjoyed much radio and MTV exposure. It also initiated a practise of bringing in outside composers to help pen Osbourne's solo material instead of relying solely upon his recording ensemble to write and arrange the music. The album was mixed by veteran rock producer Michael Wagener. Osbourne was awarded his only Grammy for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from live album Live and Loud for Best Metal Performance of 1994.

Wagener also mixed the live album ''Live and Loud'' released in 28 June 1993. At the time, it was to be Osbourne's final album. The album went platinum four times over, and ranked at number 10 on that year's ''Billboard'' rock charts.

At this point Osbourne expressed his fatigue with the process of touring, and proclaimed his "retirement tour" (which was to be short-lived). It was comically called "No More Tours", a pun on his No More Tears album. Prior to the tour Mike Inez took over on bass and Kevin Jones on keyboards as Sinclair was touring with The Cult. Osbourne's entire CD catalogue was remastered and reissued in 1995.

''Ozzmosis''

In 1995, Osbourne released ''Ozzmosis'' and returned to touring, dubbing his concert performances "''The Retirement Sucks Tour''". The album reached number 4 on the US Billboard 200. The ''Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)'' certified the album gold and platinum in that same year, and 2x platinum in April 1999. The album features the hard rocking fan favourites "Perry Mason," "Ghost Behind My Eyes," "Thunder Underground," and the power ballad "See You on the Other Side."

The line-up on "Ozzmosis" was Zakk Wylde, Geezer Butler (who had just quit ''Black Sabbath'' again) and ex-''Bad English'', Steve Vai and ''Hardline'' drummer Deen Castronovo, now in Journey. Keyboards were played by ''Yes'''s Rick Wakeman and producer Michael Beinhorn. The tour maintained Butler and Castronovo and saw Sinclair return, but a major line-up change was the introduction of ex-David Lee Roth guitarist Joe Holmes. Wylde was considering an offer to join ''Guns N' Roses.'' Unable to wait for a decision on ''Wylde's'' departure decision, Osbourne replaced him. In early 1996, Butler and Castronovo left. Mike Inez (''Alice In Chains'') and Randy Castillo (''Lita Ford'', ''Motley Crue'') filled in. Ultimately, ''Faith No More's'' Mike Bordin and ex-''Suicidal Tendencies'' bassist Robert Trujillo joined on drums and bass respectively. A greatest hits package, ''The Ozzman Cometh'' was issued in 1997.

Ozzfest

Osbourne's biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named Ozzfest, created and managed by his wife/manager Sharon and assisted by his son Jack. The first Ozzfest was held in Phoenix, Arizona on 25 October 1996 and in Devore, California on 26 October. Ozzfest was an instant hit with metal fans, spiralling many up-and-coming groups who were featured there to broad exposure and commercial success. Some acts shared the bill with a reformed Black Sabbath during the 1997 Ozzfest tour, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida. Osbourne reunited with the original members of Sabbath in 1997 and has performed periodically with them ever since. Ozzfest reinstated the integrity of, and public familiarity with, the band name ''Black Sabbath.''

Since its start, five million people have attended Ozzfest, which has grossed over US$100 million. The festival also helped promote many new hard rock and heavy metal acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ozzfest helped Osbourne to become the first hard rock and heavy metal star to hit $50 million in merchandise sales.

In 2005, Osbourne and his wife Sharon starred in an MTV competition reality show entitled "Battle for Ozzfest". A number of yet unsigned bands send one member to compete in a challenge to win a spot on the 2005 Ozzfest and a possible recording contract.

Shortly after Ozzfest 2005, Osbourne announced that he will no longer headline Ozzfest. Although he announced his retirement from Ozzfest, Osbourne came back for one more year, 2006, albeit only closing for just over half the concerts, leaving the others to be closed by System of a Down. He also played the closing act for the second stage at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA on 1 July as well as Randall's Island, NY on 29 July. After the concert in Bristol, Virginia, Osbourne announced he would return for another year of Ozzfest in 2007. Tickets for the 2007 tour were offered to fans free of charge, which led to some controversy. In 2008, Ozzfest was reduced to a one-day event in Dallas, Texas, where Osbourne played, along with Metallica and King Diamond.

Osbourne says he is looking forward to the return of Ozzfest for six dates this summer and is also looking at an 18-month world tour starting at ''The Leas Cliff Hall'' in Folkestone on 29 June to promote his new album, "Scream."

''Down to Earth''

''Down to Earth'', Osbourne's first album of new studio material in seven years, was released on 16 October 2001. A live version filmed in Japan, ''Live at Budokan'' followed. ''Down to Earth'' went gold in 2001, and platinum in 2003. The album features the fan favourite "Dreamer," a song which peaked at number 10 on ''Billboard'''s Mainstream Rock Tracks. In 2003, Osbourne recruited former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted after he left the band in 2000 (and Trujillo replaced him on Metallica's line-up). Both Newsted and Osbourne were enthusiastic about recording an album together.

On 8 December 2003, Osbourne was rushed into emergency surgery at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, England when he had an accident with his all-terrain vehicle on his estate in Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire. Osbourne broke his collar bone, eight ribs, and a neck vertebra. An operation was performed to lift the collarbone, which was believed to be resting on a major artery and interrupting blood flow to the arm. Sharon later revealed that Osbourne had stopped breathing following the crash and was resuscitated by Osbourne's then personal bodyguard, Sam Ruston. While in hospital, Osbourne achieved his first ever UK number one single, a duet of the Black Sabbath ballad, "Changes" with daughter Kelly. In doing so, he broke the record of the longest period between an artist's first UK chart appearance (with Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", number four in August 1970) and their first number one hit: a gap of 33 years. Since the quad accident, aside from some short-term memory problems, he fully recovered and headlined the 2004 Ozzfest, in the reunited ''Black Sabbath''.

''Prince of Darkness''

In 2005, Osbourne released a box set called ''Prince of Darkness''. The first and second discs are collections of live performances, B-sides, demos and singles. The third disc contained duets and other odd tracks with other artists, including "Born to Be Wild" with Miss Piggy. The fourth disc is entirely new material where Osbourne covers his favourite songs by his biggest influences and favourite bands, including The Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie and others.

''Black Rain''

In March 2006, he said that he hoped to release a new studio album soon with long time on-off guitarist, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society. In October 2006, it was announced that Tony Iommi, Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice, and Geezer Butler would be touring together again, though not as Black Sabbath, but under the moniker Heaven and Hell (the title of Dio's first Black Sabbath album). The response to the news on Osbourne's website was that Osbourne wished Tony and Ronnie well and that there is only one Sabbath.

Osbourne's album, titled ''Black Rain'', was released on 22 May 2007. Osbourne's first new studio album in almost six years, it featured a more serious tone than previous albums. "I thought I'd never write again without any stimulation...But you know what? Instead of picking up the bottle I just got honest and said, 'I don't want life to go (to pieces)'", Osbourne stated in a ''Billboard'' interview.

''Scream''

Osbourne revealed in July 2009 that he was currently seeking a new guitar player. While he states that he has not fallen out with Zakk Wylde, he said he felt his songs were beginning to sound like Black Label Society and fancied a change. In August 2009, Osbourne performed at the gaming festival BlizzCon with a new guitarist in his line-up, Gus G (Firewind, ex-Nightrage, ex-Dream Evil). Osbourne also provided his voice and likeness to the video game ''Brütal Legend'' character The Guardian of Metal. In November, Slash featured Osbourne on vocals in his single "Crucify The Dead," and Osbourne with wife Sharon were guest hosts on WWE ''Monday Night Raw''. In December, Osbourne announced he would be releasing a new album titled ''Soul Sucka'' with Gus G, Tommy Clufetos (formerly supporting Rob Zombie, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper) on drums, and Blasko (formerly supporting Rob Zombie) on bass. Negative fan feedback was brought to Osbourne's attention regarding the album title. In respect of fan opinion, on 29 March Osbourne announced his album would be renamed ''Scream''.

On 13 April 2010, Osbourne announced the release date for ''Scream'' would be 15 June 2010. The release date was later changed to 22 June. A single from the album, "Let Me Hear You Scream," debuted on 14 April 2010 episode of ''CSI: NY''. The song spent 8 weeks on the Billboard Rock Songs, peaking at #7. Other songs from the album include "Let it Die," "Digging Me Down," "Fearless," and "I Want it More."

Osbourne held a Meet-And-Greet album signing at the main branch of HMV in his home-town Birmingham, followed later that day by an intimate show in the Birmingham Town Hall. The first four hundred fans that arrived at the store earlier in the day were given wrist bands, enabling free access to the show.

On 9 August, Ozzy announced that the second single from the album would be "Life Won't Wait" and the video for the song would be directed by his son Jack.

When asked of his opinions on ''Scream'' in an interview, Osbourne announced that he is "already thinking about the next album". Osbourne's current drummer, Tommy Clufetos, has reflected this sentiment, saying that ""We are already coming up with new ideas backstage, in the hotel rooms and at soundcheck and have a bunch of ideas recorded"

Awards

Ozzy Osbourne has been awarded several times for his contributions to the music community.

In 1994, he was awarded a Grammy Award for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from ''Live & Loud'' for Best Metal Performance of 1994.

In 2004, he received an ''NME'' award for "godlike genius".

In 2005, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame along with the other members of Black Sabbath. Osbourne mooned the crowd because of the poor reception given the band while they were playing.

In 2006 was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath band mates Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler.

In 2007, Osbourne was honoured at the second annual VH1 Rock Honors, along with Genesis, Heart, and ZZ Top. In addition, that year a bronze star honouring Osbourne was placed on Broad Street in Birmingham, England while Osbourne watched. On 18 May Osbourne had received notice that he would be the first inductee into The Birmingham Walk of Stars. He was presented the award by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham. "I am really honored," he said, "All my family is here and I thank everyone for this reception – I'm absolutely knocked out".

In 2008, Osbourne was crowned with the prestigious ''Living Legend'' award in the ''Classic Rock Roll of Honor''. Past recipients include ''Alice Cooper'', ''Lemmy'', ''Jimmy Page'' and ''Slash'', the former Guns N' Roses guitarist, presented the award.

In 2010, Osbourne won the "Literary Achievement" honour for his memoir, ''I Am Ozzy'', at the ''Guys Choice Awards'' at ''Sony Pictures Studio'' in Culver City, California. Osbourne was presented with the award by Sir Ben Kingsley. The book debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times' hardcover non-fiction best-seller list.

Osbourne was also a judge for the 6th and 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Personal life

Ozzy Osbourne appears in a commercial for the online video game ''World of Warcraft''. Osbourne is a supporter of English association football club Aston Villa, as he grew up in the Aston area close to Villa Park.

Osbourne published a humorous autobiography in October 2009, titled ''I Am Ozzy''. Osbourne says ghost writer Chris Ayres told the singer he has enough material for a second book. A movie adaptation of ''I Am Ozzy'' is also in the works, and Osbourne says he hopes "an unknown guy from England" will get the role over an established actor. Meanwhile, his son Jack is working on a documentary about Osbourne's life and career.

Osbourne also made an appearance at the 30 October 2010 Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington D.C.

Marriages and family

Osbourne has been married twice and is the father of six children (five biological, and one adopted). He was first married to Thelma Riley (now a teacher in Leicestershire) and adopted her son, Elliot Kingsley (1966); together they had Jessica Starshine Osbourne Hobbs (20 January 1972) and Louis John Osbourne (1975). He later married Sharon Arden and had three children with her. They are Aimee Osbourne (2 September 1983), Kelly Osbourne (27 October 1984) and Jack Osbourne (8 November 1985). They also took in family friend Robert Marcato after his mother died, but never legally adopted him. Osbourne also has four grandchildren, Isabelle and Harry from his daughter Jessica, and granddaughter Mia and grandson Elijah from son Louis. He wrote a song for his daughter Aimee, which appeared as a b-side on the album Ozzmosis. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Buckinghamshire, England.

It was reported by the ''New York Times'' in 1992 that Osbourne was a member of the Church of England and prayed before each show.

Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status via the unlikely success of his own brand of reality television. ''The Osbournes'', a series featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly and special guest appearances from his son Louis, but not their eldest daughter Aimee, who declined to participate). The program became one of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5 March 2002, and the final episode aired 21 March 2005. To this day Osbourne refuses to watch any episodes, claiming he was stoned during the entire filming.

The success of ''The Osbournes'' led Osbourne and the rest of his family the opportunity to host the 30th Annual American Music Awards in January 2003. The night was marked with constant "bleeping" due to some of the lewd and raunchy remarks made by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Presenter Patricia Heaton walked out midway in disgust.

In 2002, Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner by Fox News Channel correspondent Greta Van Susteren for that year's event. President Bush noted Osbourne's presence by joking: "The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings – 'Party with the Animals', 'Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath', 'Facing Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'. Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff."

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are one of the UK's richest couples, according to the ''Sunday Times'' Rich List. They ranked at number 458 in 2005, with an estimated £100 million earned from recording, touring and TV shows.

Drug and alcohol abuse

Osbourne has abused drugs and alcohol for most of his life. Although clean and sober now, Osbourne has frequently commented on his former wild lifestyle, puzzled at how he has survived 40 years of abuse.

Upon being fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne spent the next three months locked in his hotel room taking vast amounts of drugs and alcohol all day, every day. He claims that he would certainly have died if his future wife Sharon Osbourne (formerly Sharon Arden), had not offered to manage him as a solo artist.

In 1982 while wearing his future wife Sharon's dress because she had hidden his clothes, Osbourne drunkenly urinated on a cenotaph erected in honour of those who died at the Alamo in Texas, across the street from the actual building. A police officer arrested him, and Osbourne was subsequently banned from the city of San Antonio for a decade. He was later arrested May 1984 in Memphis, Tennessee, again for public intoxication.

In 1984, Osbourne toured with Mötley Crüe. The tour is known as one of the "craziest drug and alcohol-fuelled tours in the history of rock and roll". It is rumoured that while heavily intoxicated, Osbourne snorted a line of ants, in competition with Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe, who had set fire to himself the night before.

Osbourne experienced tremors for some years and linked them to his continuous drug abuse. In May 2005 he found out it was actually Parkin Syndrome, a genetic condition, the symptoms of which are very similar to Parkinson's disease. Osbourne will have to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition. Osbourne has also shown symptoms of mild hearing loss, as depicted in the television show, ''The Osbournes'', where he often asks his family to repeat what they say. At the TEDMED Conference in October 2010, scientists from Knome joined Osbourne on stage to discuss their analysis of Osbourne’s whole genome, which shed light on how the famously hard-living rocker has survived decades of drug abuse.

Condemnation and lawsuits

Early on in his career, many Christian groups accused Osbourne of being a negative influence for teenagers, and that messages on his songs, his actions, and his stage decorations were portrayals of devil worship used only to glorify Satanism. At least one scholar has compared the controversy surrounding Osbourne and accusations of Satanism to those levelled against the renowned occultist Aleister Crowley. Both were demonised by the media and some religious groups for their antics. Osbourne tempts the comparison with his song "Mr. Crowley". Both Osbourne and Crowley enjoyed the infamy of being labelled Satanists, though Osbourne firmly denies the charge. Some critics condemn both men as anti-Christian.

In 1981, after signing his first solo career record deal, Osbourne bit the head off a dove during a meeting with some record-company executives in Los Angeles. Apparently he had planned to release doves into the air as a sign of peace, but due to being intoxicated at the time, he instead grabbed a dove and bit its head off. He then spat the head out, with blood still dripping from his lips. Despite its controversy, this act has been parodied and alluded to several times throughout his career and is part of what made Ozzy Osbourne famous.

On 20 January 1982, Osbourne bit the head off a bat he thought was rubber while performing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2004 ranked this incident number two on its list of "Rock's Wildest Myths." While the ''Rolling Stone'' article stated the bat was alive, the teen who threw it onto the stage said it was brought to the show dead. According to Osbourne himself in the booklet to the 2002 edition of ''Diary of a Madman,'' the bat was not only alive but also managed to bite him, resulting in his having to take rabies shots.

In 1985, California teenager John McCollum committed suicide while listening to Ozzy Osbourne's "Suicide Solution." The song deals with the dangers of alcohol abuse. McCollums' suicide led to allegations that Osbourne promoted suicide in his songs. Despite knowing McCollum suffered clinical depression, his parents sued Ozzy Osbourne (''McCollum v. CBS'') for their son's death, claiming the lyrics in the song, "Where to hide, suicide is the only way out. Don't you know what it's really about?" convinced McCollum to commit suicide. The family's lawyer suggested that Osbourne should be criminally charged for encouraging a young person to commit suicide, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favor, saying there was no connection between the song and McCollum's suicide. Osbourne was sued for the same reason in 1991 (''Waller v. Osbourne''), by the parents of Michael Waller, for $9 million, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favour in that case as well. One critic claims that Osbourne sings "Get the gun, get the gun, shoot, shoot, shoot," a charge firmly denied by him.

In lawsuits filed in 2000 and 2002 which were dismissed by the courts in 2003, former session musicians Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and Phil Soussan claimed that Osbourne was delinquent in paying them royalties and had denied them due credit on albums they played on. In November 2003, a Federal Appeals Court unanimously upheld the dismissal by the United States District Court in Los Angeles of the lawsuit brought by Daisley and Kerslake. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Osbourne does not owe any royalties or credit to the former session musicians, who were let go in 1981. To resolve further issues, management chose to replace Daisley and Kerslake's contributions on the original masters, replacing them with Robert Trujillo on bass and Mike Bordin on drums. The albums were then reissued.

In July 2010, Osbourne and Iommi decided to discontinue the court proceedings over ownership of the Black Sabbath trademark. As reported to Blabbermouth, "Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to cooperate together for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business."

Band members

; Current members (as of 2010)

Gus G. – lead guitar (2009–present)

Rob "Blasko" Nicholson – bass (2003, 2006–present)

Adam Wakeman – keyboards, rhythm guitar (2004–present)

Tommy Clufetos – drums, percussion (2009–present)

; Recording timeline

rowspan="2" style="width:10%;"	Role	Album
''Blizzard of Ozz''(1980)	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"	''Bark at the Moon''(1983)	''The Ultimate Sin''(1986)	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"	''No More Tears''(1991)	''Ozzmosis''(1995)	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"
!Guitars					Gus G.
!Bass		Phil Soussan		Geezer Butler	Robert Trujillo	colspan="2"
!Drums		Tommy Aldridge		Deen Castronovo		Tommy Clufetos
!Keyboards	Don Airey	Johnny Cook	Don Airey		colspan="2"	Rick Wakeman	Tim Palmer/Michael Railo	Zakk Wylde	Adam Wakeman

Discography

;Solo albums

''Blizzard of Ozz'' (1980)

''Diary of a Madman'' (1981)

''Speak of the Devil '' (1982)

''Bark at the Moon'' (1983)

''The Ultimate Sin'' (1986)

''No Rest for the Wicked'' (1988)

''No More Tears'' (1991)

''Ozzmosis'' (1995)

''Down to Earth'' (2001)

''Black Rain'' (2007)

''Scream'' (2010)

References

External links

The Official Ozzy Osbourne Website

Ozzfest Information

Ozzy Osbourne Live Photo Gallery

Category:1948 births Category:Black Sabbath members Category:British harmonica players Category:English male singers Category:English rock singers Category:English heavy metal singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:English expatriates in the United States

an:Ozzy Osbourne bn:অজি অসবর্ন be:Озі Осбарн bg:Ози Озбърн ca:Ozzy Osbourne cs:Ozzy Osbourne cy:Ozzy Osbourne da:Ozzy Osbourne de:Ozzy Osbourne et:Ozzy Osbourne es:Ozzy Osbourne eu:Ozzy Osbourne fa:آزی آزبورن fr:Ozzy Osbourne ga:Ozzy Osbourne ko:오지 오스본 hr:Ozzy Osbourne io:Ozzy Osbourne id:Ozzy Osbourne is:Ozzy Osbourne it:Ozzy Osbourne he:אוזי אוסבורן ka:ოზი ოსბორნი lv:Ozijs Osborns lt:Ozzy Osbourne hu:Ozzy Osbourne nl:Ozzy Osbourne ja:オジー・オズボーン no:Ozzy Osbourne nn:Ozzy Osbourne oc:Ozzy Osbourne pl:Ozzy Osbourne pt:Ozzy Osbourne ro:Ozzy Osbourne ru:Осборн, Оззи simple:Ozzy Osbourne sk:Ozzy Osbourne sl:Ozzy Osbourne sr:Ози Озборн sh:Ozzy Osborne fi:Ozzy Osbourne sv:Ozzy Osbourne th:ออซซี ออสบอร์น tr:Ozzy Osbourne uk:Оззі Осборн vi:Ozzy Osbourne zh:奥齐·奥斯本

name	Jayen Varma
birth name	Kerala Varma Jaya Kumar
born	February 03, 1961
origin	Tripunithura, Cochin Kerala, India
instrument	Bass guitar, Mridangam, Drums
genre	Ragazz, Funk, Fusion
occupation	Bassist
years active	1981 - present
website	http://www.jayenvarma.net
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist }}

Jayen Varma (born February 3, 1961) is an Indian electric bass player. He is known for developing tabla and mridangam style finger technique on bass guitar to play slap bass. The style developed by him is widely known as Indian slap bass, which won him fans around the globe and accolades from some of the great names in bass guitar like Jeff Berlin, Bootsy Collins, Marcus Miller etc. He belongs to the State of Kerala in India. As per the validation in 2008 by ''The Registry of Official World Records (Record Holders Republic) USA&UK;'', he is the fastest in percussive bass playing.

References

External links

On the trail of a bass guitarist The Hindu ''India's National Newspaper''

Slap Bass and Indian Slap Bass the Evolution Bass Musician Magazine

Interview American blues news

Video Interview WebIndia123.com

Interview The Northeast Today

A note on Indian Slap Bass Guitar Video Channel

Interview For Bass Players Only

Video Interview Mathrubhumi Video Channel

Official Website

Category:Living people Category:Indian guitarists Category:1961 births Category:Bass guitarists Category:Malayali people Category:People from Kerala Category:Jazz fusion bass guitarists

it:Jayen Varma