The day after Ozzy Osbourne‘s passing, guitarist Joe Bonamassa joined “CBS News 24/7” to remember the legendary BLACK SABBATH frontman and cultural icon, who died late last month at the age of 76. Asked what Ozzy meant to him as a musician, Joe said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, Ozzy was one of a kind. 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.”
Regarding how he ended up working on “For What It’s Worth”, a cover version of the BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD classic recorded for Ozzy Osbourne‘s 2005 “Prince of Darkness” box set, and later re-released on Ozzy‘s “Under Cover” album, Joe said: “I got called around 2004, 2005, to play a solo on a record called ‘Under Cover’. 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?’
“So I got to do this,” Joe continued. “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. And one of the things people, I think, overlook is 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].”
Joe also talked about the many great guitarists Ozzy hired to play for his solo band after exiting BLACK SABBATH, a list that included Randy Rhoads, Bernie Tormé, Brad Gillis, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, Joe Holmes and Gus G. Bonamassa said: “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. 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 that was forward-thinking and hungry.”
Joe continued: “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. And his music really required a very specialized guitarist because it was very simple music, but people like Zakk Wydle, they 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 died the morning of July 22, his family announced in a statement.
“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time,” the family said.
No cause of death was given, but Osbourne had battled a number of health issues over the past several years, including Parkinson’s disease and injuries he sustained from a late-night fall in 2019.
