Ozzy Osbourne turns 60

It's hard to believe, but rock and roll's prince of darkness Ozzy Osbourne turned 60 on Wednesday (December 3rd). The father of heavy metal and former Black Sabbath frontman never anticipated such longevity, figuring he'd succumb to his rock and roll excesses long before he was eligible for social security: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "Let me tell you, when I was 20 I was going, I'd go, 'I'm gonna die by 40.' And that was all right until I was 39 and a half."

Although he's threatened to retire before and is now entering his seventh decade, Osbourne told us not long ago that he has no intention of calling it quits these days: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "I don't wanna stop, you know. It's been the biggest love affair of my life. When you reach a certain age in rock 'n' roll, people think, 'Well, this has got to be his last tour,' or 'This has got to be his last tour,' or 'You've got to come next Tuesday 'cause he ain't gonna do it after that.' You'll know when I've come off the road permanently. I mean, you'll know!"

John Michael Osbourne was born in the Aston district of the gritty industrial town of Birmingham, England, one of Jack and Lillian Osbourne's six kids.

John dropped out of school at the age of 15, working as a laborer, plumber, toolmaker and slaughterhouse worker. He also spent a few weeks in prison after being arrested for burglary.

He later formed a band with classmate and guitarist Tony Iommi. The pair decided to play a darker, blues-influenced style of music instead of the psychedelic rock that was all the rage at the time. That group, originally called Earth, became Black Sabbath. Completed by drummer Bill Ward and bassist Geezer Butler, Sabbath became hugely successful with albums like Paranoid, Master of Reality and Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath.

The group arguably created the template for heavy metal and inspired generations of bands over the past 38 years. Sabbath was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

Ozzy left Sabbath in 1979 and embarked on an even more succcessful solo career with albums like Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman and last year's Black Rain. He reunited with Sabbath in 1997 and the band has toured sporadically since then.

Known for his drug and alcohol abuse for many years, Ozzy was also notorious for such shocking acts as biting the head off a dove, biting the head off a bat, attempting to strangle his wife and manager Sharon and urinating on the Alamo.

He, Sharon and their children Jack and Kelly starred for several seasons in the MTV show The Osbournes, a landmark in the "reality series" genre. Fans, however, did not care for the show's portrayal of Ozzy as a bumbling, out-of-it buffoon.
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