Ozzy's impact on music beyond metal

By Jess Santacroce
Music Writer, 955 The Heat, Phoenix Radio

On July 22, 2025, music fans mourned the loss of Ozzy Osbourne. One of the most important figures in the heavy metal genre, Osbourne passed away at just 76 years of age, much earlier than expected for his generation, following a battle with Parkinson’s disease and emphysema. Osbourne leaves behind a legacy that includes not only heavy metal music as we know it today, but a profound impact on several other genres of music, including some most music fans would never connect to Ozzy, Black Sabbath, or metal in general. 

Clear connections: Punk, alternative, and grunge 

Most would not be surprised to learn that Ozzy and Black Sabbath had a profound influence on punk music. While the website “This vs. that” lists key differences between the two genres in every category from lyrics to fashion aesthetics, it notes that they share a “loud, aggressive sound” and “rebellious spirit.” More importantly, punk artists have long noted the influence metal, and in particular Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, have had on their music.  

Henry Rollins of Black Flag has been widely reported to be heavily influenced by Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. Just four days ago, on July 25, 2025, writer Jack Whatley posted his article “The Black Sabbath Album that Changed Henry Rollins’ Life” from the vault of “Far Out,” a UK-based magazine. In 2011, Rollins spoke to Artisan News about the history of Black Sabbath, noting that Black Sabbath “defined Heavy Metal,” describing them as a band who “took the Blues into Heavy Metal” and first realizing that his “life had soundtrack” when he first heard Black Sabbath (Artisan News Service, 2011) 

Other genres widely known to be heavily influenced by Ozzy’s music and stage presence include alternative and grunge, with members of Pearl Jam and Nirvana noted as lifelong fans. 

Breaking stereotypes and blending: Pop music

Watch any movie or television show filmed or set in the 1980s to early 1990s, and you will likely leave with the impression that pop music of the time and metal music did not mix. The “good” kids, defined by pop culture as the ones in the popular crowds, listened to pop music. Black Sabbath and other metal bands were for for the “bad” kids, the ones who only went to school to meet up so they could smoke behind the building, crudely criticize everyone else, and plan wild parties. 

While there was a distinct teen subculture based around Heavy Metal music during the 1980’s and early 1990’s, many pop music fans and pop music artists are also big fans of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. As tributes from a variety of celebrities poured in following the news of Osbourne’s passing, one of the most surprising may have been from Elton John, who was reportedly not only a friend of Osbourne’s but a fan of his music. 

Beyond unexpected fans, Ozzy’s influence on music reaches into modern pop music overall. Plenty of perky, happy, lighthearted pop music certainly still exists, but Ozzy’s dark lyrics and image invited darker, more introspective themes into popular music overall. Today, it is not at all unusual for pop music, even that with a seemingly happy or hopeful beat or melody, to address deeper or even morose themes in the lyrics. There is even a subgenre of pop music today known as “dark pop,” in which the sounds of pop music are blended with the more introspective, morose, or even depressing or frightening themes Ozzy brought to the mainstream. 

Billie Eilish, Lorde, and Lana DelRay are among the most often mentioned “dark pop” artists. 

Completely unexpected: Hip-hop and country 

Hip-hop and country fans may be tempted to think Ozzy had no impact on their favorite music at all, as the styles, lyrical content, and aesthetics of each of these musical genres are not only typically quite different from each other, they are noticeably different from anything we associate with Ozzy or Black Sabbath. 

Hip-hop fans may be surprised to learn that many of their favorite tunes contain samples of Black Sabbath songs. The “Black Sabbath” page on the music sampling listing website “Who Sampled” lists 259 songs that sampled Black Sabbath lyrics, a large number of them Hip-hop or Rap songs. The list for “Ozzy Osbourne” lists 79 more. 

“Let’s Go,” a 2004 song by Trick Daddy, featuring Twista and Lil’ Jon is perhaps the most famous example of this blending of Ozzy’s music and Hip-Hop, as “Crazy Train,” seems to echo in the background of the entire Rap song. 

As artists from rock and other genres began experimenting with country crossovers, multiple news articles reported Ozzy as having no interest in doing so himself. Yet while Ozzy had no direct connection with country music, both Carrie Underwood and Jelly Roll have performed crossoever covers of his songs, and Dolly Parton participated in the farewell tribute following the final Black Sabbath concert just weeks before Ozzy’s death. 

His passing has left countless fans and fans of those influenced by his music, behind. 





Works cited:

Artisan News Service You Tube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwuhurXyOSc