Sammy Hagar praises Ozzy Osbourne: ‘You did it all’

A rock legend who performed at Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert 2½ weeks ago is amazed that Osbourne sang at that show.

“For him to have been that close to death on July 5 and still get up there and performed like he promised, wow!” Sammy Hagar said in text Tuesday morning, after learning of Osbourne’s death. “That puts him in a category of his own. Talk about commitment and loyalty to your fans … Ozzy was an will always be a one-of-a-kind, true rock legend.”

Osbourne died Tuesday at age 76. He had announced in 2020 he suffered from Parkinson’s syndrome. The show Hagar refers to was the instantly iconic “Back to the Beginning” festival at Villa Park in Birmingham, England.

The Red Rocker, who is between residencies at Dolby Live, sang “Flying High Again” and “No More Tears” at the event.

The show brought together the original lineup of Black Sabbath for the first time in 20 years, with Osbourne on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums.

“Nobody’s going to out do that, ever,” Hagar said. “RIP my brother, you did it all.”

Osbourne was seated in a black-leather throne, his mobility curtailed by his illness. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave helped assemble the all-star lineup. Hagar, Steven Tyler, Metallica, Axl Rose and Slash of Guns N’ Roses, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, Pantera, Tool, Grija, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit and Jonathan Davis of Korn were just some of those who performed in the show.

So did Jake E. Lee, former Osbourne guitarist who lives in Las Vegas. Lee played on Osbourne’s “Bark at the Moon” and “Ultimate Sin” albums and the “Ultimate Sin” tour. Lee was cut loose from the band by Osbourne’s wife, Sharon, due to unspecified internal band conflicts.

Lee said on appeared on “Ozzy’s Boneyard” SiriusXM radio show during the event. The guitar great said, “There’s no bad blood between me and Ozzy, or for that matter me and Sharon, I understand that business is business. I don’t take it personally. I wanted to be a part of it. This is historic. This is monumental.”

Lee said he saw Osbourne for the first time in 38 years at the festival. “When I got fired,” Lee reminded.

“I had a little trepidation. I saw Sharon first she put her hands on my face and gave me a big hug, “Lee said. “I went over to Ozzy. He was sweet, he said, ‘Thank you for being a part of this,’ and I said, ‘Thank you for inviting me.’ We talked a little. I always wanted to see Ozzy again, make sure to tell him, ‘We’re good. Life is too short.’”

Lee had recently made news this past October when he was shot while walking his dog outside of his Las Vegas home. Lee was shot three times one bullet going through his forearm, one through one through his foot, and one in his back that broke a rib and damaged a lung. Lee said in June the assailants had been arrested and are due to be sentenced.

Ozzy’s bassist from “Original Sin,” Phil Soussan, is also a Las Vegan. Soussan wrote the hit single, “Shot in the Dark” from the album. Soussan said in a phone chat Tuesday that he was stunned at the timing of Osbourne’s death.

“It was obviously shocked because it was on the heels of his last concert, but I was thrilled that he had such a great concert to mark the end of such a spectacular career,” Soussan said. “It has just blindsided me. We have lost a huge influence in our type of music, the rock and metal music, that Ozzy was such a huge influence on.”

Soussan recalled his first visit to America with Osbourne, flying to New York from the U.K. with to shoot the “Shot in the Dark” video. The entourage took the trip in a Concorde jet. Osbourne was not fond of flying.

“So we’re on this incredible plane, and when the thing went to take off, he had his hand on his knee, he was grabbing it so hard he was leaving indentations and bruise marks on my knee,” Soussan said. “But when we got to New York, he was like a kid in a candy shop. So excited to see America. He was taking me around like he was my big brother, making sure I enjoyed this experience.”

Osbourne’s personality was counter to his dark image as Black Sabbath’s front man.

“People would look at the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness and not realize there was an awful lot of comedy that was going on behind it,” Soussan said. “He was like a prankster, a comedian. With Ozzy, everything was a little bit tongue-in-cheek.”

Ashba, Osmond, and Ozzy

Guitar great DJ Ashba met Osbourne at Ozzfest in 2001, his band Beautiful Creatures in the lineup. Sharon Osbourne introduced Ashba to Axl Rose at the event. That led to Ashba joining Guns N’ Roses for several years before Slash returned to the band. Ashba was a force in the GNR series at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in 2012 and 2014.

Naturally, there is a link between the Osbournes and Donny and Marie Osmond. The Osmonds appeared in a Pepsi Twist commercial with the Osbourne in 2003, during their family’s reality-show era. Jack and Kelly Osbourne turn into Donny and Marie, who break into “I’m a little bit country, I’m a little bit rock and roll!”

Ozzy then wakes from a dream, shouting, “Sharon! I dreamt the kids turned into the Osmonds!” Backstory: Ozzy was a big fan of the Osmond Brothers’ “Crazy Horses.” Donny posted the clip on his socials, which has far outlasted the beverage.

Remembering my brother in music, Ozzy Osbourne. I've always looked back at this commercial we shot in '03 so fondly. The last time we spoke was backstage of Dancing with The Stars season 9, when he told me how much he loved the Osmond song, "Crazy Horses"...talk about crazy!… pic.twitter.com/fUBHNxqZuK

— Donny Osmond (@donnyosmond) July 22, 2025

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.