Ozzy Osbourne, the father of heavy metal death rock, was long thought to be the anti-Beatle. But in his heart he was always a John Lennon fan, and shows his allegiance in a touching new video tribute.
Lennon would have celebrated his 70th birthday last weekend had he survived a shooting in 1980 outside his New York City apartment at the hands of a crazed fan.
Amid all the tributes and remembrances, Osbourne crafted his own version of “How?” and offered it for sale through Apple’s iTunes to help support Amnesty International.
Ozzy and Director Eddie Fritz filmed the video in a scant four hours on the streets of Manhattan. While it lacks big-budget production values, it
Martin Lewis instigated the project after Sharon Osbourne, who was “amazingly gracious and cooperative,” agreed to enlist Ozzy, according to Roger Friedman’s ShowBiz411 column.
Osburne, hailed as the Godfather of Heavy Metal, helped launch the genre as lead vocalist and lyricist of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath.
He launched Black Sabbath in 1969 with Geezer Butler, just as the Beatles-era was coming to a close. The Fab Four broke up in 1970.
The band focused on a heavy blues style with gloomy sounds and doom-filled lyrics. It was a radically different sound than the Beatles.