In a new interview, Zakk Wylde reflected on the “incredible life” of his friend and longtime musical partner Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away last week at the age of 76.
The guitarist, while speaking with Guitar World, also discussed his final interactions and text exchange with Ozzy surrounding the “Back to the Beginning” concert, during which Wylde and Ozzy shared the stage for the final time
Wylde called the historic July 5th show “business as usual” when it came to performing Ozzy’s solo songs — which the guitarist said are “ingrained in my head” — but that the priority was “making sure that Oz was okay” rather than playing perfectly.
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“With ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home,’ when we got the acoustic out, I had to be like, ‘Keep the guitar away from the microphone so I can sing,’ because Oz’s voice was having trouble at certain notes,” recalled Wylde. “I was like, ‘I need to make sure I’m always there so I can double him.’”
He continued, “It was definitely pretty amazing. Seeing Oz onstage when Sabbath got done, that’s the last time I saw him. … I’m blessed and grateful, man. Anything other than that would be selfish. And on top of it, to go out with what’s the biggest-grossing charity event of all? That’s unbelievable. He helped a whole lot of people instead of making a profit. My God, what an incredible master. What an incredible life.”
The chaos of the day prevented Wylde from spending quality time with Ozzy offstage, though the latter was sure to send out a text of gratitude to his trusty guitar player.
“Everybody and their mother were in the backstage dressing room and I just wanted to give him a break,” Wylde said. “I figured we’d see him later on — the next day or whatever. But no. The last text I got from Oz was saying, ‘Zakky, sorry, it was like a madhouse back there. I didn’t see you.’ He goes, ‘Thanks for everything.’ It was just us talking, saying, ‘I love you, buddy.’ That was it.”
Wylde went on to reflect on his familial relationship with Ozzy, who’s the godfather of his oldest son.
“Whether I was playing with him or not, if Sharon called me and my wife up and said, ‘Guys, can you watch the house while we’re away on a business trip?’ I’d do it. It’s like, ‘If you need me to bring milk and eggs over, I’ll do it.’”
He added: “It was — with all your friends in your life, lions attract lions, you know? And the hyenas you hang out with, that sorts itself out later! But Ozzy was the easiest-going, warmest guy. He was so easy to get along with.”
Wylde will be carrying on Ozzy and Black Sabbath’s legacy via his Zakk Sabbath tribute project, which is set to embark on a fall US tour — shows that were announced back in June. The trek kicks off October 30th in Rancho Mirage, California, and runs through December 16th in San Diego (get tickets here).
Separately, Wylde just hit pause on Pantera’s current US tour, as he and his bandmates mourn Ozzy’s passing. The outing will resume August 2nd in Mansfield, Massachusetts, with tickets available here.
Content shared from consequence.net.