By Vickie Sellers
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname “Prince of Darkness”.
Born in Marston Green and raised in Birmingham, Osbourne became a founding member of Black Sabbath in 1968, and provided lead vocals from their self-titled debut album in 1970 to Never Say Die! in 1978. The band was highly influential on the development of heavy metal music, in particular their critically acclaimed releases Paranoid, Master of Reality and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 due to alcohol and drug problems. Osbourne then began a successful solo career with Blizzard of Ozz in 1980 and has released 13 studio albums, the first seven of which received multi-platinum certifications in the US. Osbourne has since reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions. He rejoined in 1997 and helped record the group’s final studio album, 13 (2013), before they embarked on a farewell tour that ended with a February 2017 performance in their hometown, Birmingham. His longevity and success have earned him the informal title “Godfather of Metal”.
Osbourne’s total album sales from his years in Black Sabbath, combined with his solo work, are over 100 million. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath and into the UK Music Hall of Fame as a solo artist and as a member of the band. He has been honoured with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Birmingham Walk of Stars. At the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, he received the Global Icon Award. In 2015, Osbourne received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
In the early 2000s, Osbourne became a reality television star, appearing as himself in the MTV reality show The Osbournes alongside wife and manager Sharon and two of their three children, Kelly and Jack. He co-stars with Jack and Kelly in the television series Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour. The show’s third season debuted in June 2018.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Gilbert Stuart (portrait painter) –
- Cleveland Abbe (meteorologist, known as Old Probabilities) –
- Bobby Allison (race car driver) –
- Ozzy Osbourne (singer) –
- Daryl Hannah (actress) –
- Brendan Fraser (actor) –
Died
- Madeline Kahn (actress) –
- Henry Chauncey (founded the Educational Testing Service, whose SAT is used by thousands of colleges and universities) –
- David Hemmings (actor) –
Events
- Illinois was admitted to the Union as the 21st state–
- Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United States–
- Oberlin College, the first college to admit women (first coeducational college), founded in Oberlin, Ohio. First named Oberlin Collegiate Institute–
- Johann Ludwig Krapf and Johannes Rebmann are the first Europeans to see Mt. Kenya–
- Quebec Bridge opened to rail traffic, Quebec City–
- George Gershwin, the young American composer, appeared as a soloist at a concert in Carnegie Hall, N.Y.C., playing his Concerto in F, the first jazz concerto for the piano in musical history–
- Eleanor Roosevelt, Mayor La Guardia, and Governor Lehman dedicate the New Deal’s first low cost housing project in NYC–
- Discovery of the “Pumpkin Papers” secret documents was announced–
- Annette Toft was two millionth immigrant to Canada since WWII ended–
- Commonwealth Pacific Cable (COMPAC) opened–
- Final run of luxury train 20th Century Limited finished–
- Pioneer 10, U.S. unmanned spacecraft, reached its closest approach to Jupiter, 21 months after its launch–
- Jupiter flyby of Pioneer 11 spacecraft–
- Polar bear cub born, Toledo Zoo, Ohio–
Weather
- A storm raged in Denver, Colorado, and eventually left 45.7 inches of snow, smashing a previous record–
- Providence, Rhode Island, had a record high of 66 degrees F–
- Boston, Massachusetts, had a temperature of 69 degrees F, breaking the old record of 65 degrees F for this date–
- Concord, New Hampshire, set a record at 65 degrees F–
- In Portland, Maine, the temperature reached 68 degrees F, beating the old record high of 55 for this date–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
