Ozzy Osbourne's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Speech

Osbourne was inducted by Jack Black at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland Ohio

Jack Black: It is my great honor to officially induct the greatest to ever lace them up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the one, the only, Ozzy Osbourne.

Ozzy Osbourne:

I fucking love you guys.

Well, here we are. You know what? I can't believe I'm here myself. I mean, firstly, let me get the thankers out of the way because I'm not going to bore you with a long, drawn-out fucking monologue.

I'd like to thank whoever voted me into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for my solo work. A great thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I really thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

And more so, my fans. My fans have been so loyal to me over the years. I cannot thank them enough.

I've been fortunate over the years to play with some of the world's greatest guitar players, drummers, bass players. A few of them are here tonight. But I want to spend one—one thing—for a guy by the name of Randy Rhoads. Because if I hadn’t have met Randy Rhoads, I don’t think I’d be sitting here now.

And more so, more than that—my wife Sharon saved my life. And my grandbabies, and my—I love them all.

So with all that, I’m going to get on with the show and hand it back to Jack.

Jack Black: Thank you, Ozzy. Thank you for existing, you legend. We love you. Let’s hear it for Ozzy.

Yeah.

JACK BLACK PRESENTING OZZY OSBOURNE

What’s up, Cleveland? Make some noise! Plumber, car horn tuner, slaughterhouse worker—the greatest front man in the history of rock and roll: Ozzy Osbourne.

I remember the first time I heard of Ozzy. I was 13 years old, wandering around the record store. What should I get? Sticks? Journey? An older rock aficionado noticed my indecision and said, “Stop fucking around, kid. This is the album you need to get—the Blizzard of Ozz.”

Man, was he right. Thank you, nameless rock aficionado, wherever you are. You changed my life.

I remember looking at that album cover, Ozzy’s face. Before I even heard the music, I was transfixed. He looked so cool—that rad white suit with the white fringe on the sleeves, that crazy look in his eyes, the skull, the cross, holy shit. The whole thing just looked so badass. It was the most metal thing I’d ever seen. And I didn’t even know what metal was. He was teaching me.

I didn’t realize I was entering a whole new world of heavy metal music. I took that record home, and when the needle hit the vinyl, heaven opened up above me.

Ahh—then track two, “Crazy Train.” There was an explosion of colors in my brain. “Suicide Solution,” “Mr. Crowley,” “Revelation,” even “Goodbye to Romance.” You best believe Ozzy could take it down a notch. He could do it all. Blizzard of Ozz was the best thing I’d ever heard. A heavy metal masterpiece.

That fuckin sound was raw power. Randy Fuckin Rhoads, giving Eddie Van Halen a run for his money. And Ozzy—that voice. It could cut through glass. Magic. Joy. Beauty.

So then I went back into Ozzy’s earlier albums with Black Sabbath. And I was like, "unholy shit, this motherfucker invented heavy metal!"—along with Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and the immortal Tony Iommi. The darkest, heaviest shit the world had ever heard. And through all that power, Ozzy’s voice carving through the sonic blast furnace like an air raid siren. He made the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention, clear and crisp as a morning bell.

And that smile. He looked so happy. He looked insane. So much charisma—the Jack Nicholson of rock.

Okay, so he invented a genre. Had the greatest second-act comeback in rock history. Then what? How about No More Tears in 1991, with the guitar god Zakk Wylde. Proving insane lasting power. Five times platinum—you heard me right, cinco platino.

It was then that he decided to totally touch his tender side. So he called up Lemmy Kilmister from Motörhead, naturally. And together with Zakk, they wrote “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” And thus, Ozzy took a little dip into the Top 40 just to prove he could.

Then what? The Osbournes. Yeah, he teamed up with his family to create another genre: reality TV. Maybe the most evil thing he ever did. But there’s no denying it—his whole family were fuckin' hilarious and intensely entertaining. Another massive hit.

Then what? Oh, maybe just a little thing called Ozzfest. Only the most successful heavy metal music festival of all time. Ozzy, stop creating incredibly successful, genre-defining, world-changing hits. It’s too much success for one lifetime.

And you know, a lot has been made of his evil alliance with the dark lord Satan. But in truth, Ozzy is a loving father and husband and friend. Loyal to his family and friends to the end of the world and back.

And now I stand here, yeah, just another nameless rock aficionado. And I’m talking to you 13-year-olds watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. All five of you. Put down your phones—unless you’re watching on a phone, then put it closer to your face.

Oh man, rock aficionado is about to drop some truth. Sure, you could go stream Post Malone and Taylor Swift and get all the warm hugs you need for your broken hearts. Or you can stay up all night and get your minds blown by Ozzy’s entire catalog for the first time.

Holy shit!. You kids are so fuckin' lucky!