Ozzy Osbourne lived an incredible life, full of rock ‘n’ roll, sex, drugs, booze, and a whole bunch more things that people really freaked out over.During his nearly 50 years redefining what we know as rock music, the “Prince of Fucking Darkness” dealt with his fair share of criticisms, protestors, Satanic Panic parents, and angry politicians. And that was just in the first couple of decades. Scroll down to read more about some of the times he made a major impact on music, but got shit for it.Black SabbathLet’s just be very clear about this… Black Sabbath completely changed the definition of “rock ‘n’ roll” forever by putting heavy metal on the map in a way it had never been understood before. We absolutely cannot and will not discount the fact that Ozzy’s bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward deserve equal credit for shaping the genre the way they did, but just like those early Black Sabbath years would have been weaker without any one of them, Ozzy’s distinctive singing is a crucial element to the band’s overall influence.From “The Wizard” to “Iron Man” to “Into the Void” to “Changes” to “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” to “Hole in the Sky” and everything that came between and after… it inspired generations of teenagers to love heavy rock and drove parents crazy with all the macabre imagery.Recently addressing all the Satanism accusations the band faced in their early career, Butler said, “A lot of the stuff was misinterpreted, I think, just because of the name of the band, Black Sabbath,” then going on to clarify that he identifies as Christian and was always surprised others didn’t notice those influences in their music.Blizzard of OzzVersion 1.0.0After Ozzy left Sabbath in the late ’70s, he went on to kickstart his solo music career with his debut album, Blizzard of Ozz, in 1980, and boy was it a wild one. The album’s very first single was “Crazy Train,” which, to this day, remains one of the greatest rock songs of all time, and with a riff so legendary that people around the world who aren’t even rock fans would be familiar with it if you played it for them.The real “freak out” moment, though, came with “Suicide Solution,” a song that Ozzy co-wrote with Bob Daisley and guitarist Randy Rhodes. A family sued Ozzy and his label over the song, claiming it influenced their son to take his own life. Ozzy and Daisley argued that the song was actually about the death of AC/DC frontman Bon Scott, as well as Ozzy’s own struggles with substance abuse.Ultimately, the case was thrown out on the grounds that Ozzy’s freedom of artistic expression was protected by the First Amendment.Diary of a Madman TourIn 1982, Ozzy set out on the Diary of a Madman Tour in support of his second album of the same name. First trekking across Europe, the tour made its way to North America in December of that year, and eventually gave the world two iconic — and perhaps infamous— rock moments of all-time.During Ozzy’s show at the Des Moines Veterans Memorial Auditorium in January 1982, a fan threw a dead bat onto the stage. Ozzy picked up the bat, held out its wings, and, believing it to be a toy, bit into it. He then threw it back into the audience. I probably don’t even need to remind you how long people freaked out over.The next notable moment came just a few days later, when Ozzy was performing at Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois. While playing the hit song “Mr. Crowley,” Ozzy picked up Rhoads by his right leg, and a professional photographer captured the moment. The photo was later used as the cover art for the live album, Tribute (1987), which was a tribute to Rhodes, who, sadly, died on the Diary of a Madman Tour in a tragic plane crash.OzzfestFrazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABAIn the mid-90s, Ozzy and his wife/manager, Sharon Osbourne, founded Ozzfest in the most beautifully vindictive way. She’d been trying to get Ozzy on the traveling Lollapalooza festival, but the organizers were not keen on having him join. Responding accordingly, Ozzy and Sharon created Ozzfest and began taking their traveling metal show on the road.Over the next several years, Ozzfest continued to grow until it became one of the biggest festivals in North America, and a proving ground for young bands who may never have had a chance to perform in front of such massive audiences.As someone who was there in the early 2000s, I vividly recall seeing bands like Darkest Hour, Throwdown, Bury Your Dead, Lamb of God alongside Main Stage acts like Dimmu Borgir, Judas Priest, Mudvayne, and then godfathers themselves… Black Sabbath.I also remember the loud protesters freaking out in front of the venue with signs about how “god hates rock music” and megaphones that they just recited bible verses into for hours. (Man, did they hate it when Slayer played.)Back to the Beginning Festival View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ozzy Osbourne (@ozzyosbourne)Just weeks before his death, Ozzy joined Black Sabbath on stage one last time at the Back to the Beginning festival. Taking the stage one last time to perform a solo set and one with his longtime bandmates, Ozzy and co. invited a slew of who’s who from the rock and metal world, such as Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello and English rock star Yungblud.Turns out, the charity concert was one for the record books. Billboard confirmed that the event raised over $190 million, surpassing Live Aid (1985), FireAid (2025), and Hope for Haiti Now (2010) by a lot. All proceeds from Back to the Beginning will be distributed between three worthy causes: Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorn Children’s Hospice, and Cure Parkinson’s.This is the best kind of freak out Ozzy could ask for in his career… the world going crazy for a heavy metal and rock legend, generating more money for charity than any event ever has. RIP to an absolute Master of Reality.The post 5 Times Ozzy Osbourne Redefined Rock Music (and Freaked Everyone Out) appeared first on VICE.