Ozzy Osbourne to Be Honored by Maynard James Keenan, Zakk Wylde, Rob Trujillo and More at Rock Hall Ceremony
For the second time, Ozzy Osbourne will be fêted by his peers when he’s inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — this time for his solo career. There’s been a lot of speculation as to whether Osbourne will be able to perform at the end of the night, given his ongoing health issues, but we do know one thing — some of metal’s biggest names will take the stage to pay tribute to the “Prince of Darkness.”
Announced earlier this morning, officials revealed that Maynard James Keenan, Zakk Wylde, Rob Trujillo, Billy Idol, Jelly Roll, Chad Smith, Wolfgang Van Halen, Steve Stevens, and Andrew Watt will be on hand to celebrate the Black Sabbath frontman. Not to be forgotten, Jack Black will also be on hand during the ceremonies, though it’s not clear whether he’ll just be there as a presenter or if he’s performing as well.
Prior to his induction to the rock hall as a solo act, his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne lambasted the people behind the whole thing for not already having Ozzy inducted for his work on albums like Blizzard of Oz, Diary of a Madman, and Bark at the Moon, among others.
“I will never beg, and I will never ask for favors. I’ve never asked anyone for a favor. So, my thing is fuck you if you don’t realize that somebody really deserves to be here. And you don’t recognize that? Then, see ya…
“We went to a dinner last year for the people who had been inducted in last year. They invited us to the dinner and we went. And people were saying to Ozzy, ‘Oh, you’ve been inducted in,’ and we were, like, ‘No, actually. We were just invited for the food, so we’re here.’ That’s as near as we’ve got, but no.
“They know that Ozzy deserves to be there. They know he’s been a solo artist. You’ve gotta be doing it for 25 years. He’s been 43 years as a solo artist. He sold nearly a hundred million albums as a solo artist. So where is he? Induct him.”
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will take place on October 19 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s unclear whether or not Ozzy will perform at his own induction ceremony, but if there was any time to muscle through the pain or sing while sitting down, it would be this one. Here’s hoping to a healthy and happy Ozzy for that to happen.
