Blogito ergo sum! Actually, as N.T. Wright averred, "'Amor, ergo sum:' I am loved, therefore I am." Among other things, I am a Roman Catholic deacon. This is a public cyberspace in which I seek to foster Christian discipleship in the late modern milieu in the diakonia of koinonia and in the recognition that "the Eucharist is the only place of resistance to annihilation of the human subject."
Friday, July 25, 2025
Music, a movie, and more music
You'd have to live under a proverbial rock to not know that Ozzy Osbourne died this week. Why such a big deal? It's a great question.
Ozzy's career began when, along with three other guys from Birmingham, England, he formed a band. Originally called "Earth," for reasons that seem to vary, they changed their name to "Black Sabbath." Black Sabbath was the English title of an Italian horror movie. The film's Italian title was I tre volti della paura (i.e., Three Faces of Fear). It featured the word tre because the film is comprised of three different stories: "The Drop of Water," "The Telephone," and "The Wurdulak."
Ozzy Osbourne
Boris Karloff "hosted" the movie, giving an introductions and summaries of the stoies. Karloff also starred in "The Wurdulak." You can watch Black Sabbath for free on YouTube. I watched it tonight. It's a good early '60s horror movie.
It probably isn't too much say that the band Black Sabbath invented heavy metal music. Yet, many of their songs had strangely transcendent, even somewhat overtly religious lyrics. I listened to a podcast this week- "Black Sabbath: The Unlikely Source Of The First Christian Rock Song.". If you're interested in the thesis contained in the title, listen to roughly the first half, which is about 17 minutes.
In 1979, after eight studio albums, Ozzy was kicked out of the band for excessive alcohol consumption and drugs. While the band hired Ronnie James Dio and survived, Ozzy began a remarkably successful solo career. He released his The Blizzard of Ozz album in 1980 and "Diary of Madman" in 1981. Both albums were amazingly successful, far more successful than the music Black Sabbath was putting out.
From 2002 to 2005, along with his wife Sharon and two youngest children, Kelly and Jack, Osbourne starred in a "reality" t.v. series The Osbourne's. Like his solo career, it was a surprising hit. I'll be honest, this genre has never held any interest for me. I haven't watched any of it nor do I plan to do so.
It bears mentioning that Ozzy, then still known as "John" (John Michael being his given name), was married before he married Sharon. In 1971, he married Thelma Riley who, like him, was from Birmingham. They divorced in 1982, just as his solo career went into high gear. Thelma and Ozzy had two children together: Jessica and Louis. Plus, Ozzy adopted Thelma's son, Elliot, whom she had in a previous relationship.
Ozzy Osbourne and Thelma Riley on their wedding day
Ozzy's first family has deliberately kept a low profile. It seems things between Thelma and Ozzy remained amicable after their split and that he maintained relationships with all his children. Ozzy admitted to being a bad husband to Thelma and a not-so-great father Jessica, Louis, and Elliot in his younger days. These were the days of some of his worst substance abuse.
Ozzy was one of those people who seemed to know everyone and who was loved by nearly all. He had his moments. One such was his arrest in San Antonio, Texas for peeing on a centotaph at The Alamo. Another occurred in Iowa when he bit the head off a live bat.
Jazz great Chuck Mangione also died this week. His song "Feels So Good" is perhaps his best known composition. It is a good one.
I saw X in concert here in Utah with Los Lobos last Sunday evening. It was a great show. Man, tough week for a traditio, especially given that I recently posted songs by X and Black Sabbath. I am going with a live version of "Suicide Solution" off Ozzy's first solo album. It was a controversial song when it was released. It's really kind of a warning and alludes to God's judgment- "You can't escape the Master Keeper." Language warning for start of video
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