Ozzy Osbourne is a Senior Citizen

In what can only be described as a medical miracle, Ozzy Osbourne has officially survived to old age.  Today, the Prince of Darkness celebrates his 65th birthday.  With the possible exception of Keith Richards, no rock star has cheated death as many times as Ozzy.  The chances that any human being could withstand decades of alcohol and drug abuse, a nasty bout of rabies after biting the head off a live bat, countless run ins with the law, and living with Sharon are astonishing.

The first time I saw Ozzy live was on his "No More Tours" Retirement tour in 1992.  I have seen him 7 or 8 times since. My favorite Ozzy show was Ozzfest 1997 at Mile High Stadium in Denver. He played a 90 minute solo set, then came out for a Black Sabbath reunion.  He was on the top of his game that day.

I have also seen Ozzy at his worst.  When Sharon was diagnosed with cancer in '02, Ozzy had nobody to keep him out of trouble.  He was so drunk that I witnessed something I have never seen before or since.  He played the same song twice in the same concert.

If you've ever attended an Ozzy concert, you know that he always kicks off "Crazy Train" by telling the crowd "you guys are (bleeping) crazy".  At Ozzfest '02 in San Francisco, Ozzy was so wasted he could barely stand.  He played "Crazy Train" at the beginning of the show.  Then, about an hour later, he launched into his classic "let's go (bleeping) crazy" intro again.  I remember the stunned reaction from his band mates.  Zakk Wylde glanced over at Robert Trujillo with a puzzled look on his face, shrugged his shoulders and chuckled before launching into the opening riff.  Ozzy was so hammered that he played the same song twice in the same concert.  Damnedest thing I've seen.

He's given us so many great songs over the years and his influence on hard rock and pop culture is significant.  We've laughed with him, we laughed at him.  But any man who can urinate on a national landmark, snort a line of ants and live to tell about it is a legend in my book.  To borrow a line from his son Jack's documentary movie, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne.