Ozzy & Co.
RIP music legend Ozzy Osbourne, 76. Born in the west midlands of England, he grew up with three sisters. He participated in school plays, including Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado and H.M.S. Pinafore. He dropped out at 15 and was employed in construction, plumbing, toolmaking, car maintenance and a slaughterhouse. At 17 he was convicted of robbing a clothes shop and spent six weeks in prison. He credits the Beatles as the inspiration for the path he took. He was a founding member of what is regarded as the first heavy metal band, Black Sabbath. After eight studio albums, he was fired in 1979 because of his substance abuse, although his three bandmates had problems with drugs and alcohol as well. Ozzy went solo with great success, despite his continuing drug use. He would front 13 albums, the last in 2022. Total sales, including his work with Sabbath, are estimated in excess of 100 million. He was beloved and often showed his appreciation to fans, shouting “I love you all” during concerts. Anyone who thinks metal isn’t worthy of discussion is mistaken. I’m not an expert on Ozzy’s canon, but I think the following songs from his days with Sabbath may last: Black Sabbath — “What is this that stands before me?” “Oh, no, God help me, please.”; the chilling Behind the Wall of Sleep; one of the all-time great drug songs, Snowblind: “Lying snowblind in the sun/Will my ice age ever come?”; Paranoid — I don’t know if Tony Iommi’s great guitar lead is anything like the affliction but it fits perfectly. The tracks are all credited to Iommi, Osbourne, Butler, Ward, the four founding members. I don’t believe it has been determined who actually wrote each. From Ozzy’s solo canon, I like the opening of Crazy Train, driven by the late Randy Rhoads’ guitar, and Bark at the Moon, which has a fun video. In 1994 he was awarded a Grammy for I Don’t Want to Change the World from Live & Loud, Best Metal Performance. Married twice, he was a father of six. He was married to his second wife, Sharon, from 1982 until his death. Had they not wed, I suspect Ozzy would have long since perished. She created Ozzfest, a series of concerts featuring metal bands. From its inception in 1997 until 2005 it grossed $170 million dollars in ticket sales, and brought in $50 million in merchandising. She was an executive producer of the reality show The Osbournes, which shot 52 episodes. When I think of Ozzy, the phrase “I’ll never grow up” (Moose Charlap, Carolyn Leigh) from Peter Pan comes to mind. It’s probably far from the truth, but he came as close to it as any human ever will. He drove bandmates crazy, was dogged by controversy, accused of satanism, of driving fans to suicide, of biting the head off a bat, but he navigated it all, loved by legions. Awesome, Sir. Thank you. Photo from amazon.com:
Here’s Sabbath rocking the Ed Sullivan Theater on The Late Show with David Letterman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDwGu-3A85s&list=RDfDwGu-3A85s&start_radio=1
Headline from nypost.com: “Trump announces sweeping Japan trade deal with $550B investment by Tokyo.” The country will pay a 15% tariff.
More hope on the medical front. Headline from newsmax.com: “Study: Cancer Drug Combo May Reverse Alzheimer’s.” Although the use of “may” puts a bit of a damper on it, it’s welcomed news.
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From NM: “Dillard’s Moving From Delaware to Texas, Citing Legal Concerns.” At least seven other major firms have moved due to government tyranny. Is this part of Quid Pro Joe’s legacy?
As much as I despise the people behind Russiagate, I want it all to go away. The best revenge would be a successful presidency.
To all the celebrities protesting the cancellation of Steven Colbert’s show, pool your resources and give CBS the money to keep him on the air.
Headline from foxnews.com out of the University of Maryland: “‘I lost my locker room’: College football coach reveals how NIL cash tore team apart.” Wow.
Another perfect day for the Anti-Inflation Book Shop to do business. Traffic was slow, but it was great being out there. My thanks to the Lady Eve, who bought two packages of adult diapers for a friend, and to the woman who bought a World Atlas and a pictorial on sewing; and to Occupy Jack, who selected Dog Tricks: Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Carol Lea Benjamin & Captain Arthur J. Haggerty; and to the woman who chose Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier.
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