The job title listed in Ozzy Osbourne‘s death certificate has nodded to his legacy as a rock legend, it’s been revealed.
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The heavy metal pioneer died last month (July 22) at age 76, which came shortly after he took to the stage for his final-ever live show at Black Sabbath’s huge ‘Back To The Beginning’ event in Birmingham on July 5.
Yesterday (August 5), The New York Times reported that his death certificate listed the cause of death as a heart attack. It also mentioned that he suffered from coronary heart disease as well as Parkinson’s disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2003 but didn’t reveal publicly until 2020.
The certificate, submitted by his daughter Aimee Osbourne at a registry in London, nodded to his pioneering of the heavy metal genre, listing “Songwriter, Performer and Rock Legend” as his occupation.
Osbourne was laid to rest in the grounds of his UK mansion during a private ceremony that was attended by Elton John, members of Metallica and more last week. Prior to that, his cortege travelled through his home city of Birmingham in a procession attended by thousands of fans.
During the procession, the Osbourne family stopped by a fan memorial at the Black Sabbath Bridge and bench. There, a visibly emotional Sharon Osbourne, who was seen clutching her late husband’s ring which she had tied onto a chain around her neck, was consoled by her children Jack, Kelly, and Aimee. Kelly appeared to be wearing Ozzy’s iconic round, purple-tinted sunglasses.
On Monday (August 4), Kelly Osbourne thanked fans for the “love, support and beautiful messages” she has received since the death of her father.
“I’ve sat down to write this a hundred times and still don’t know if the words will ever feel like enough,” she wrote on Instagram. “But from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
“The love, support, and beautiful messages I’ve received from so many of you have truly helped carry me through the hardest moment of my life. Every kind word, every shared memory, every bit of compassion has meant more than I can ever explain.”
“Grief is a strange thing,” she continued. “It sneaks up on you in waves. I will not be ok for a while, but knowing my family are not alone in our pain makes a difference. I’m holding on tight to the love, the light, and the legacy left behind.”
He had played his final live show in his hometown just weeks before his death, raising “a ton” of money for Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorns Children’s Hospice, and it was later confirmed it may have been one of the highest-grossing charity concerts of all time.
Osbourne’s bandmate Geezer Butler has said that he “wasn’t prepared” to see how frail he was during the show, at which he performed seated and at one point tried and failed to get up from his black throne.
Guitarist Tony Iommi also told ITV News that he and Butler agreed that “he really just held out to do that show,” adding: “We think he held out to do it, and just after that, he’s done it and said goodbye to the fans. And that was the end of it, really.
