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Ozzy Osbourne is one of the most important figures in the history of
Heavy-Metal. Born John Osbourne on December 3, 1948 in Birmingham, ENGLAND,
he began performing as lead singer of Black
Sabbath releasing with the band the first album in 1970.
Osbourne embarked on a solo career in 1980 when recorded "Blizzard
Of Ozz"; his first solo-LP peaked at #7 on the U.K. Albums chart
and hit #21 on the U.S. Pop chart; the main single, "Crazy Train",
became a top 10 hit on The Mainstream Rock chart.
"Diary Of A Madman" arrived a year later, like its predecessor,
it went platinum and peaked at #16 on the U.S. Top 200 LPs & Tapes
chart while the lead single, "Flying High Again", shot to #2
on The Mainstream Rock chart.
In 1982 he has courted publicity, when he bit off the head of a bat during
a live show; subsequently he received medical treatment for rabies. A
few months later some members of Osbourne's entourage including guitarist
and close friend Randy Rhoads tragically killed in a plane crash.
Ozzy Osbourne, after married his girlfriend-manager Sharon Arden, returned
to the spotlight and issued the concert-album, "Speak Of The Devil",
a collection of Black Sabbath covers
which hit #14 on the U.S. Albums chart.
The next year he released "Bark At The Moon", his third solo
studio record and another American Billboard 200 top 20 entrant.
The follow-up, "The Ultimate Sin", which arrived three years
later, peaked at #6 on The Billboard Top 200 chart and "Shot In The
Dark" entered the top 10 of The Mainstream Rock Tracks chart; he
was subsequently accused of encouraging suicide through the song titled
"Suicide Solution", written in relation of Bon Scott's death,
the legendary singer of AC/DC, who died of
an alcohol overdose.
In 1987, Osbourne decided to release "Tribute" that was dedicated
to the memory of his lost friend, Randy Rhoads; the live-set, recorded
in 1981, peaked at #6 in U.S. Albums chart.
His fifth studio-effort was released in October 1988, after Zakk Wylde
joined as new guitarist; "No Rest For The Wicked" reached the
#13 spot on The Billboard Top 200 Albums list, it included "Miracle
Man", in which Ozzy gloats about the downfall of the TV preachers
who had long attacked him as an agent of Satan.
His wife helped him to overcome the alcoholism and drug abuse, Osbourne
also reject the satanic image he constructed around himself during the
early '80s and in 1989, with Lita Ford, released the single "Close
My Eyes Forever", the track peaked at #8 on The Billboard Hot 100.
"No More Tears", followed two years later, an album more adult
Rock-oriented which rose to #7 in U.S. Top 200 chart spawning a string
of Active Rock top 10 hit singles: the title-track reached #10, "Time
After Time" hit #6, "Road To Nowhere" peaked at #3 and
"Mama I'm Coming Home" soared to the #2 position, the latter
became his most successful solo-single to date on The Billboard Hot 100
peaking at #28; for Ozzy Osbourne it has been a long road, but he finally
found his way, to the 36th Annual Grammy Awards, taking home the award
for Best Metal Performance for "I Don't Want To Change The World".
Around this time he duetted with actress Kim Basinger on "Shake Your
Head", a commercial dance-House single-track.
In October of 1995 Osbourne issued his seventh solo-studio-LP, "Ozzmosis",
a multi-million seller which peaked at #4 on The Billboard Top 200 Albums
chart, it generated two Mainstream Rock top 5 hit singles: "Perry
Mason" and "See You On The Other Side", Zakk Wylde then
left without much drama to started his solo career and later formed Black
Label Society.
The next year saw Osbourne created the Ozzfest festival tour with the
most important contemporary Metal bands and a Black
Sabbath reunion.
In November 1997, he released "The Ozzman Cometh: Greatest Hits",
a double-disc retrospective with a new song, "Back On Earth";
released as a single, the track crashed into the top 3 of The U.S. Active
Rock chart.
After the release of other live recording, he returned with new material
in 2001; his eighth studio-effort, "Down To Earth", reached
the #4 position on the U.S. Top 200 chart and "Gets Me Through"
hit #2 on The Mainstream Rock Tracks chart; the follow-up single,"Dreamer",
was another Active Rock top 10 hit.
March 2005 saw the release of "Prince Of Darkness", this four-disc
set aims to satisfy fans of both Osbourne personas, discs one and two
storm through the singer's '80s and '90s solo heydays with an emphasis
on previously unreleased live recordings, B-sides and classics; disc three
is a compilation of bizarre collaborations with everyone from Kim Basinger
to Motörhead mouthpiece Lemmy Kilmister;
disc four features newly recorded covers including Mountain's "Mississippi
Queen", which debuted at #10 on The Mainstream Rock Tracks chart
and King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man".
"Black Rain", Ozzy Osbourne's first album with new studio material
in six years, was released in May 2007; the disc features the monster
Hot Mainstream Rock #1 hit single "I Don't Wanna Stop".
Ozzy Osbourne biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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