Though the Prince of Darkness is a pivotal figure in the world of rock and metal, Ozzy Osbourne isn’t in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo performer. His wife Sharon Osbourne isn’t happy about the snub and was more than willing to share her thoughts.
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Appearing on The Adam Carolla Show, Sharon Osbourne said getting inducted into the Hall of Fame requires a certain amount of lobbying on the musician’s part. It’s something that neither she nor Ozzy are willing to do. The farthest they went was attending a dinner held by the event.
In order to get nominated, Ozzy would need to appear on more than half the lists of the board members. Sharon insists that the board knows Ozzy belongs there.
“I will never beg,” she said. “And I will never ask for favors. I’ve never asked anyone for a favor. So, my thing is fuck you if you don’t realize that somebody really deserves to be here. And you don’t recognize that? Then, see ya.”
Sharon explained that Ozzy already has met the criteria to be nominated. “They know that Ozzy deserves to be there,” Sharon said. “They know he’s been a solo artist. You’ve gotta be doing it for 25 years. He’s been 43 years as a solo artist.”
Ozzy Osbourne first recorded his solo album Blizzard of Oz in 1980 after splitting from Black Sabbath. He’s gone on to sell an average of 100 million albums as a solo artist. Since he released his first album in 1980, he would have been eligible to be inducted in 2005.
That being said, Ozzy Osbourne is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with his band Black Sabbath. The organization inducted the band in 2006. However, that required a certain amount of indecision with the band being nominated eight times before finally being acknowledged. It was enough for Ozzy to tell the organization to stop.
“Just take our name off the list,” he said via MTV. “Save the ink. Forget about us. The nomination is meaningless because it’s not voted on by the fans. It’s voted on by the supposed elite of the industry and the media, who’ve never bought an album or concert ticket in their lives, so their vote is totally irrelevant to me.”
While Ozzy Osbourne hasn’t been inducted, the likes of Willy Nelson and Dolly Parton (although she did release a rock album to make up for it) as well as other non-genre artists have. It’s enough to make Sharon say, “So where is he? Induct him.”
(Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
