Ozzy with Zakk Wylde
Photo by Neil Zlozower
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Ozzy with Zakk Wylde
Photo by Neil Zlozower
Legendary vocalist, songwriter, and rock icon Ozzy Osbourne (a.k.a. the Prince of Darkness) began his long, celebrated career fronting the groundbreaking, pioneering heavy-metal band Black Sabbath in the late 1960s before eventually pursuing a path as a solo artist in 1979. For his own recording and touring endeavors, Osbourne has always sought to work with top-notch, virtuosic rock/metal guitarists, and lightning first struck when he selected a relatively unknown player named Randy Rhoads to join his newly christened solo act in 1979. This was an entirely new career move and uncharted territory for Osbourne, but once his debut album, Blizzard of Ozz, was released in 1980, featuring Rhoads’ brilliant, fiery guitar work, it was an immediate hit and became massively successful. It didn’t take long for Osbourne’s success and popularity as a solo artist to eclipse that of his former band, thanks to the release of a strong, successful second studio album, 1981’s Diary of a Madman, not to mention the growing adoration of Rhoads’ guitar work. Tragically, Osbourne’s collaboration with Rhoads came to an abrupt end after the guitarist’s untimely accidental death in 1982, but the singer quickly enlisted the very talented Brad Gillis to join him onstage for the Speak of the Devil world tour and continued forward as a solo recording artist.
After the tour, Gillis headed off to join Night Ranger, and Osbourne picked another exceptionally talented guitarist to join his band, the ever-impressive Jake E. Lee, who collaborated with Ozzy on a pair of well received albums, Bark at the Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986). Both LPs feature plenty of Lee’s virtuosic soloing, combined with his own blend of aggressive rhythms, riffs, and melodic ideas. Not long