Pat Boone has paid tribute to late Black Sabbath icon Ozzy Osbourne – see what Boone had to say of his former neighbour below.
- READ MORE: Ozzy Osbourne, 1948-2025: culture-smashing revolutionary that redefined rock and reality TV
The death of the heavy metal pioneer and iconic Black Sabbath frontman was announced on Tuesday (July 22). His family said in a statement that the 76-year-old music icon was “surrounded by love” at the time of his passing.
It came shortly after he took to the stage for the huge ‘Back To The Beginning’ gig in Birmingham on July 5 – marking his final show both as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath. While a cause of death has not been revealed, Ozzy had notably been dealing with a myriad of health issues for numerous years, including being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2019.
Following the news of Ozzy Osbourne’s passing, legendary early pop and jazz musician Pat Boone – who used to be neighbours with the Osbourne family – took to social media to pay tribute. Included in his post were images of the pair on their front yards, tending to their gardens. “I am stunned. I can’t believe that my former next-door neighbour and good friend has passed suddenly,” he wrote.
“When he and Sharon and the kids lived next-door to me for a couple of years, we weren’t rock stars comparing careers – we were just friends and neighbours getting along just fine. I was amazed when Sharon picked my version of Ozzy‘s ‘Crazy Train’ as the opening theme of their hugely successful reality TV show. Others may celebrate his incredible rocking style and hard rock music – but I’ll always remember his warm friendliness as my next-door neighbour. God bless you, Ozzy.”
I am stunned. I can’t believe that my former next-door neighbor and good friend has passed suddenly. When he and Sharon…
Posted by Pat Boone on Tuesday, July 22, 2025
This isn’t the first time that Boone has spoken of his fondness for Ozzy Osbourne. Speaking in previous interview with the Television Academy back in 2012, Boone reflected on their relationship living next-door to one another.
“I got to know Ozzy – he moved in next-door to me, right after that American Music Awards. Amazingly, he moved in right into a house that was for sale right next to us Beverly Hills. So of course we visited back and forth, and I went to visit him. He told me about being in [Alcoholics Anonymous] and says ‘I even say an odd prayer now and then’, I say: ‘Well, it’s not odd to me, Ozzy.’”
“Everybody but Ozzy sort of watched their language – I didn’t ask him to, but it’s part of his vocabulary. And so, on their show, when I tuned in to watch it when it went on the air and I heard all the excitement about The Osbournes, I’m stunned to hear my record of his song ‘Crazy Train’ as their theme song. He liked my version, so did Sharon, and they used that.”
He continued: “On the show, a couple of times, Sharon would say ‘Don’t you miss that nice Pat Boone’. And Ozzy would say ‘He was the best [bleep] neighbour we ever had.’ DJs would ask me about that and I said ‘yeah, because we were the only neighbours that never called the police’. But we got along great, I really liked him.”
Check out an archival clip of Boone speaking on Ozzy below.
In 1997, Pat Boone recorded a covers album, ‘In A Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy’,in which he gave several iconic rock and metal songs his signature jazz treatments. One of the covers he recorded for the album was Ozzy’s ‘Crazy Train’.
Five years later, MTV premiered the Ozzy-led reality TV series, The Osbournes. Boone’s jazzy rendition of ‘Crazy Train’ served as the series’ opening theme throughout its entire run.
Listen to Pat Boone’s cover of ‘Crazy Train’ below.
Countless fans and figures from the music world have shared tributes to the ‘Crazy Train’ singer – including Zak Starkey, Adam Sandler, Ghost’s Tobias Forge, Alice Cooper, Elton John, Yungblud, Billie Joe Armstrong, Jack White, Coldplay, Gojira and Jake E Lee.
Touching messages have also been shared by his Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler.
As well as seeing the last performance from Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler all together, the massive ‘Back To The Beginning’ show also boasted a star-studded line-up, including Guns N’ Roses, KoRn, Tool, Slayer, Pantera, Metallica, Alice In Chains and more. It soon went on to become the highest-grossing charity concert of all time, bringing in money for numerous good causes.
