Thought Experiment: What If It Was The Blizzard of Ozz, Or The Ozzy Osbourne Band Being Inducted Into The Rock Hall?

Today's post is from our friend HIM. 

Everyone here knows my take on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Old news. And, by now, everyone also knows that Ozzy is being inducted as a solo artist into that same dumpster fire, after having been inducted as part of Black Sabbath. Cool. Great. Moving on.

Well, not moving on really. Because, as is equally known to BBG! Readers, I have sorta’ had a falling-out with my love of Ozzy the more I learned about the inner workings of his, well, brand. He is still the music of my youth. I still consider his solo work up through No More Tears great (some more or less so). But I can’t really support the mythos that has built up around him anymore. To borrow quite easily from literature and film, once the curtain was pulled back, the wizardry of Oz was exposed for what it was: a charismatic frontman with a unique voice who had, by and large, to rely on the talent of those around him (in several cases, never fully giving them their due) to propel him to success without the equally talented mates who were a part of Sabbath.

Thus, this thought experiment: if inducted as The Blizzard of Ozz (the band as it was originally conceived to be), who gets in? This one is actually pretty easy: Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley, and Kerslake. A claim could be made for Airey too. But I am not sure. And, once you scratch the surface of Diary of a Madman, the follow-up to the initially-eponymous release (now more clearly stamped as a solo, solo, album) it is really the same group of guys in spite of what lying liner notes might suggest. So, yeah, maybe Airey too. Thing is, no band is getting in on the strength of two albums, no matter how great they are or how well they hold up.

So, we arrive at the next step: if inducted as The Ozzy Osborne Band (meaning: if Ozzy was honest about how the sausage was made), who gets in? I think the initial four most certainly would, with Daisley getting some sort of special star for being a sucker for punishment and a paycheck and not hiring good lawyers. But, who else? I’d add Jake E. Lee (not that Ozzy would bark at that moon, which is perhaps not an ultimate sin on his part, given how many people he has ghosted). I’d also add ‘The Pinch’, Zakk Wylde. If anything, he carried Ozzy far beyond what many thought would be his expiration date. There are others—Gillis, Aldridge, and so on—who made a mark in his band. But they seem to be caught up in the swells of what became, more and more, Ozzy on his own with hired guns.

Which is sorta’ my point. If you judged Ozzy solo, on his truly solo stuff (with band members and writers coming and going), it ain’t the classic stuff that most of us really enjoyed.  Ozzy, pre-Tribute (1987), is what we dug, even if we dug some of that stuff coming out after that. And the quality of those songs up to the mid-80s is predicated on great artists contributing great music that, by and large, Ozzy sung because of them for us. My guess is that the post-1985 stuff wouldn’t even pass muster as deserving induction—from any tainted palace of greed—if it was considered apart from those golden years (and, of course, the halo from the Sabbath days).

So, I kinda’ lied. I still think the RaRHoF is a sham. And not because it selects a diverse group of musicians. No, because it isn’t a real assessment of anything, which diminishes caring about those in and out of it. But we do love some of the bands and artists in and out of it, don’t we?

Basically, let’s be honest about their newest inductee: Ozzy, solo, doesn’t deserve to be in there . . . alone.

Point is, he was never alone and could never have had the success he had without a lot of people that he often disparaged, ignored, erased, or led on. And Sharon? Well, she doesn’t get in regardless of what you think about her. Bill Aucoin never got in either, and certainly has hands that are less dirty than Sharon’s. But I also think (as I mentioned previously) that her being attacked for what Ozzy did is a bit of a trick of light. She surely kept him alive, for which most everyone should be thankful. She is also an apple off the Arden tree, in spite of protestations to the contrary. At the same time, I think she served as a vortex of animus for a lot of things that Ozzy (“oh, poor, clueless, Ozzy!”) did with clear-eyed calculation.

And let me know if you think others deserve to stand next him when he accepts a trinket for his work. At least that is doing the work that this hall could do. Imagine that? Fans doing something that matters more that any trophy could? But also speaking truth? Wow. I guess we don’t need a gala. Neither did Steve Miller or John Lydon.

Comments

[fletch]

To be perfectly honest, I'm stoned after quiet riot at M3. My thought on this (and I'll have even way more on this after this weekend), because some Dio Tribute band is currently on. BORING. . Would the RARHOF ever, even try to induct solo David Lee Roth?

I know that I'm way in the minority, but Dave's first two solo albums sucked. His other two later albums were much better.

[Kixchix]

Excellent topic Him. I was a partying 14-17 yo kid from the Ozzy years ‘84-‘87. The Jake years that led into Tribute. Blizzard and Diary were foreign (at the time) to me. Randy’s legacy was not. Ozzy was an all time great, legit living legend back in ‘87! In Hit Parader and Circus Ozzy always spoke so fondly of how Randy saved his life (and career). So all the machinations of business and managers is something my memory kinda eschews. I know Sharon had the strings. I learned later (post 2000) of all the composers that made Blizzard and Diary great. I prefer to keep Ozzy in my mind as a regular bloke that escaped Birmingham and a life likely in jail or menial labor for a life in Rock n roll. He seemed like US. He loves US. He does this as a representative of US. He had a lightning in a bottle type of voice that made a kid think that “I could sing if Ozzy can”. But we couldn’t. When he became a reality TV star I was happy the world could see the real Ozzy. But we didn’t. We did love him though. We saw a dude who has a burning desire to stay alive, stay creative, (seemingly) be a humble man and love his family. Yes; editing and “the machine” showed me what I wanted to see. I think but do not know that Ozzy simply did what he had to do to keep being a rock star. And holy fucking shit he fucking did it!

[Bryon]

This is an interesting topic and to me, it makes me think about all the people behind the curtains for every great act. With very few exceptions, everyone gets plenty of help. This could be help with songwriting or production, but think of all the other stuff that makes someone a Rock Star. PR, costume/stage design, roadies, management, etc. In other words, no one does it alone and the machine is designed to help everyone who's caught up in it.

So yeah, Ozzy absolutely got a ton of help along the way, and I don't think anyone (least of all him) would ever suggest that he'd be where he is without the people he surrounded himself with. But with all that being said, he is an undeniably a Legend. Anyone with any passing interest in pop-culture or music knows who he is, and has had a tremendous influence on rock & metal. His voice is instantly recognizable and he has multiple songs that are canon for any rock fan.

For those reasons alone he deserves to be in the ROR Hall of Fame, and he should have been there long ago, IMO. It's not the songwriters or musicianship hall of fame, it's Rock and Roll, and not many embody the spirit, rebelliousness and just pure fun of R&R like Ozzy does.

[Him]

Kixchix, that was a blast of fresh air!!! Thank you. I think you and I share the same struggle when it comes to "Uncle Ozzy" (what my mom called him when she heard him roaring from my tiny speakers in my bedroom back in the day). Thing is, my mom also said that he looked like Liza Minnelli. And the Ultimate Sin era doesn't really debit my mom's ideas!

Bryon, you stated: "So yeah, Ozzy absolutely got a ton of help along the way, and I don't think anyone (least of all him) would ever suggest that he'd be where he is without the people he surrounded himself with." Respectfully, you are right to feel that way (and I felt that way back when I didn't have access to the internet). But it isn't true. Daisley. Kerslake. Lee. I can even deduct a credit or two in some cases. But, in all cases? Nah. Can't do it. And when you factor in (pre-solo) info/issues, you can't really put the Blizzard back into the Bottle. Telling us (Geezer) that Ozzy could hum some great stuff isn't a pass, nor is it a slag on Ozzy. When you factor in solo issues (I don't know, right?) about re-releases, that is a hard thing to get past. And, again, to hide behind Sharon is to just be embarrassed that you don't have a lot left to offer fans.

Again, he was a unique and gifted vocalist (not singer), who was surrounded by even better writers, musicians, and producers. While he lifted them up on occasion, they elevated his career and also allowed him to create his mythos as the Madman ("GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!) even after the shtick became as worn and flaccid as the water cannons and as unsurprising as the buckets that showered adoring fans.

I love what Ozzy did for my youth. But I can't stand by the idea that what I thought then and what I know now are similar. They aren't.

Ozzy being inducted solo means that those that made Ozzy solo work aren't being given credit. And that is, as is so much of the turgid RaRHoF, a shame.

When you embody something for someone, and you turn out to be shell of that which they admire, what do you, Byron? Me? I listen to that which made me happy, long ago. And, like Kixckix, I occasionally have to squint and avert my eyes to make that make sense.

All I ask is that people sing the praises of those who made--and I mean, made--Ozzy the myth that he was/is. Because myths can withstand scrutiny. After all, they are made of campfire tales, long lost mutterings, and nostalgia for what we forgot . . . no less what we are sure we remember.

[fletch]

Dear Jann Wenner,

In the first two albums, Dave was following trends, not making them. By 1994, with YFLM, he was on his own and owning it.

A fan.

Why isn't Suzi Quatro in the RARHOF?

[fletch]

Oh, and Stephen Pearcy kicked my ass on Saturday. Sobriety is working well for him. What an amazing performance! It was cold and rainy. I was about to leave. That fcker brought the heat.

Wow!