Ozzy Osbourne is among the 16 artists named to the 2024 Inductee Class for The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. And according to Billboard, all is sweetness and light between Ozzy and the Rock Hall as the Prince of Darkness prepares for his second induction — this time as a solo artist.
During an interview with Sweden's Rockklassiker podcast about this new album, Orgy Of The Damned, Guns N' Roses guitar legend Slash commented on Ozzy's induction.
Slash: "I think it's great. I think Ozzy is one of the most influential people in rock and roll, period, and there's legions of fans out there that will agree with me on that. So it's a no-brainer that he should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, as Ozzy. Black Sabbath is one thing, but when Ozzy went out on his own and did Blizzard Of Ozz - that record came out right around the same time that Back In Black (AC/DC) came out - that was a huge year in fucking music. And Ozzy went on to become one of the biggest record sellers in the business. So, yeah, I think that it goes without saying that he should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame."
Osbourne, you may remember, tried to get Black Sabbath taken off the 1999 nominations list, calling the nod “meaningless.” But he happily went in with the band in 2006, and he tells Billboard via email that to become one of the Rock Hall’s multiple inductees “feels big. I’m more than honored.”
The honor comes after his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne called out the Rock Hall last year for not considering Ozzy as a solo artist even though he’s been eligible since 2006. Osbourne began that career after leaving Black Sabbath acrimoniously in 1979 and scoring eight consecutive multi-platinum albums starting with Blizzard Of Ozz in 1980. On his own he’s also released iconic songs such as “Crazy Train,” “Flying High Again,” “Bark At The Moon,” “Shot In The Dark” and “No More Tears.”
“I definitely wouldn’t say I was confident” about solo success, says Osbourne, adding that the 2021 induction of Randy Rhoads, his late songwriting partner, in the musical excellence category “made me feel we could be on to something. With every new music venture there’s always a certain amount of surprise that comes when you see the fans embrace it, because no one wants to make a record and have it flop. I feel like I was invited to a party in 1980, and it hasn’t stopped. Not bad for a guy who was fired from his last band.”
Read the full report at Billboard.com.
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony will be held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday, October 19.
