Related Tags
Ozzy Osbourne names the “best f**king guitar player” he’s ever played with
“Other guitarists do the notes, but it’s not the same.”
Credit: Mauricio Santana/Getty Images
Being the Godfather of Heavy Metal, Ozzy Osbourne has, throughout his career, been accompanied by the cream of the crop in terms of six-string sidekicks.
Beyond his time with Black Sabbath, he was backed by such heavyweights as Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde and Gus G, but as he explains, none have ever matched up to his Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi.
In a new instalment of Osbourne’s podcast The Madhouse Chronicles – which he hosts with Billy Idol guitarist Billy Morrison – the singer says why Iommi is unrivalled in the guitar department.
“Tony Iommi was, and is, the best fucking guitar player I’ve ever played with,” he says. “It’s like, The Beatles wouldn’t have been the same if any one of them had been replaced. The Rolling Stones, if Mick Jagger left [wouldn’t be the same].”
He continues, expanding on what exactly sets Tony Iommi apart from the rest: “I’ve played Paranoid, I’ve played Children of the Grave, and War Pigs, [other guitarists] do the notes but it’s not the same. I find a lot of American guys play too fast. But Tony Iommi, for whatever reason, is fucking great.”
Upon his dismissal from Black Sabbath in 1979, Ozzy Osbourne embarked on his solo career, first recruiting Randy Rhoads as his guitarist. Rhoads tragically died in a plane crash in 1982, whereafter Ozzy recruited Brad Gillis, then Jake E. Lee, then Zakk Wylde, who has played alongside him on and off since 1987, and still does to this day.
Back in January, former UFO and Scorpions guitarist Michael Schenker recalled being invited to play with Ozzy Osbourne after Randy Rhoads died, but ultimately turning the opportunity down because he wasn’t interested in fame further than he already had.
“The only way I could think of getting out of the Ozzy gig,” he said, “was by making outrageous demands, so that’s what I did.”
To learn more about The Madhouse Chronicles, head to Osbourne Media House.