Reply To: Ozzy Osbourne Dead at 76

[Peter DeLegge]

On Release said

Sabbath (and Tony Iommi in particular) is without a doubt my all-time favorite and most influential band.  There’s so much more to the band than what a lot of people give them credit for.  I honestly believe that every heavy rock band and (obviously) every metal band has either been directly or indirectly influenced by Sabbath.  I’d put them as one of the most influential band of all time.  And Ozzy’s melodies played a big part in that.

It’s funny, I’ve always loved Ozzy, but he’s the last guy I listen to in Sabbath or his solo band.  But he was unique and was one of the 4 guys who created an entire genre that still inspires me to this day so he will always have my respect.

I’m just happy he stuck around long enough for the last concert 3 weeks ago before he had to go.  I spent the entire day watching the live feed smiling.

I remember when Nirvana first came out — because I was putting myself through college selling commercial printing and playing drums in the midwest. I was working with Touch and Go Records and used to handle printing of posters. Touch and Go’s president, Corey Rusk, a great guy, was my contact. Corey infamously turned down Nirvana for a record deal, but did sign them for a single. I handled the poster on it. So I paid attention to the band early.

I remember telling one of my friends, a guitarist, when Nirvana’s Nevermind came out that the band’s sound owed a lot to Black Sabbath. He told me he didn’t hear it. Years later, Cobain stated that Nirvana’s sound was inspired mainly by two bands, Black Sabbath and The Knack. I felt vindicated!

Post-Sabbath. It seems like every guy I knew back in my youth that played rock guitar was obsessed with Randy Rhodes, and, of course, devastated when he died.

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