Ozzy Osbourne has been eligible for nomination into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 2005 but wasn't nominated until this year. Fortunately for him the first time was the charm as he'll be inducted this Saturday night in a ceremony at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
At the time of his election he said, "Thank you Rock Hall, voters and fans for this induction. My solo career has been a much larger part of my overall music career as a whole, so this feels more special. Not bad for a guy who was fired from his last band."
Ozzy also becomes the 28th artist to be inducted twice, with the first time coming in 2006 as a member of Black Sabbath.
Ironically, when they were first nominated in 1999, he could care less, saying, “The nomination is meaningless, because it's not voted on by the fans. It's voted on by the supposed elite for the industry and the media, who've never bought an album or concert ticket in their lives, so their vote is irrelevant to me… Let's face it, Black Sabbath has never been media darlings. We're a people's band and that suits us just fine."
Unfortunately Sabbath didn't perform at that ceremony, and, from all indications, Ozzy's medical ailments are preventing him from performing Saturday.
Actor and part-time singer Jack Black will induct Ozzy, and those performing three of his songs are Billy Idol, Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan and Jelly Roll backed by Ozzy's producer Andrew Watt; his former guitarist Zakk Wylde; Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens; Wolfgang Van Halen; Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, who was a member of Ozzy's band from 1996 through 2003; Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who played on Ozzy's last two albums, 2020’s Ordinary Man and 2022’s Patient Number 9; and keyboardist Adam Wakeman, son of former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who was inducted with Yes into the Hall in 2017.
Ozzy released his first of 13 albums, Blizzard of Ozz, in 1980, which was an immediate hit thanks to its first single, "Crazy Train."
oining Ozzy in the Performer Category Saturday are Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Dave Matthews Band, Cher, Kool & the Gang, Mary J. Blige, and A Tribe Called Quest.
The ceremony will stream live on Disney+ starting at 6 p.m. followed by a three-hour highlights show on ABC on New Year's Day.
IN OTHER OZZY-RELATED NEWS..................
Jake E. Lee has shared a positive update, following the news that he had been shot earlier this week. He says he was very “lucky” and is on the mend. He apparently texted his friend, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist D.J. Ashba, that he’s on the up and up. “Doing surprisingly well…Just make sure your bday bash is wheelchair accessible! Just jestin’,” Lee wrote. As previously reported, Lee’s management said in a statement that police think the shooting “was completely random.”