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What did Ozzy Osbourne mean to music?

The "Prince of Darkness" was more than the guy who bit the head off a bat, says University of Rochester music historian John Covach.

Jul 22, 2025

1 min

John Covach

The world lost a heavy metal pioneer on Tuesday when Ozzy Osbourne, the frontman for the group Black Sabbath who went on to astounding commercial success as a solo artist, died at the age of 76.


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University of Rochester music professor John Covach can help frame the contributions the self-proclaimed “Prince of Darkness” made to the genre of heavy metal and popular music.


“What’s That Sound?: An Introduction to Rock and Its History,” which Covach wrote with Carleton College professor Andrew Flory, is widely considered a landmark history of rock music. Covach can help distill heavy metal’s history and influences and Osbourne’s place in both.


He recently helped The New York Times explain what made the album “Pet Sounds” a masterpiece for Beach Boys chief songwriter Brian Wilson. He has offered commentary to the New York Daily News on why artists might relinquish ownership of their music.


Last year, he offered thoughts to The Boston Globe on the timeless appeal of aging rock ‘n’ rollers who are still packing arenas.


Connect with Covach by clicking on his profile.


Connect with:
John Covach

John Covach

Professor of Music and Director of the Institute for Popular Music; Professor of Theory at Eastman School of Music

John Covach is an expert on the history of popular and rock music, 12-tone music, and the philosophy and aesthetics of music.

Rock 'n' RollMusic and CultureProgressive Rock in the 1970sThe BeatlesPopular Music

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