Here’s How Zakk Wylde Ended Up Back in Ozzy’s Band

Ever since Ozzy Osbourne announced Zakk Wylde would be joining him on guitar for some upcoming live dates this year I’ve been on an unstoppable tear of Ozzy’s solo material. I even went us far as dusting off my electric guitar and attempting to learn Zakk’s solos on “I Don’t Want to Change the World” and “Desire”… and yeah, that didn’t go so well, but at least it felt good to play the ol’ axe again.

If you’ve been wondering how it came to pass that Zakk came back to the fold in place of Gus G., who’d been touring with Ozzy since 2009, Zakk recently told Kansas City radio station 98.9 The Rock in an interview that Gus was simply unavailable and he was the obvious next choice. Here’s the quote:

“Oz called up. He said at this juncture Gus couldn’t do it. And he said, ‘Who else could get the dishes as clean and the linens as fluffy as they were back in the day?’ So that’s the reason why… It really has nothing to do with the guitar playing. It’s just ’cause Gus couldn’t do it. So they’re, like, ‘Well, we’ll let him play guitar while he’s here anyway doing dishes and linens.”

I’m super-excited Ozzy’s doing solo shows again, and with Zakk on guitar to boot; hopefully an NYC date will be announced soon. In the meantime, here’s an under-celebrated deep cut from Ozzy’s canon: