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Ozzy Osbourne had some ideas for his funeral when he mused about it 14 years ago.
In a 2011 “Dr. Ozzy Osbourne” column response for The Times, the Prince of Darkness answered a fan’s question about what he wanted his funeral to look like.
“Is it too morbid to plan your own funeral?” the fan wrote in, “or is it a thoughtful gift for your surviving relatives, like when Peter Sellers asked for Glenn Miller’s ‘In the Mood’ to be played during the service? (His final joke: Everyone knew he hated the song.)”
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Osbourne, who died on July 22 at 76 years old, had a thoughtful and lighthearted response to the “morbid” question.
“I honestly don’t care what they play at my funeral; they can put on a medley of Justin Bieber, Susan Boyle and We Are the Diddymen if it makes ’em happy,” he began, “but I do want to make sure it’s a celebration, not a mope-fest.”
“I’d also like some pranks: maybe the sound of knocking inside the coffin; or a video of me asking my doctor for a second opinion on his diagnosis of ‘death,’ ” the Black Sabbath musician quipped. “There’ll be no harping on the bad times.”
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“So to answer your question, yes, a bit of planning is the right thing to do for the family you leave behind. It’s worth remembering that a lot of people see nothing but misery their whole lives.”
“So by any measure, most of us in this country — especially rock stars like me — are very lucky,” he concluded. “That’s why I don’t want my funeral to be sad. I want it to be a time to say ‘thanks.’ “
In a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone, the publication asked what he’d want on his epitaph when he’s gone. “Just ‘Ozzy Osbourne, born 1948, died so-and-so,’ ” he said.
“I’ve done a lot for a simple working-class guy. I made a lot of people smile. I’ve also made a lot of people go, ‘Who the f— does this guy think he is?’ I guarantee that if I was to die tonight, tomorrow it would be, ‘Ozzy Osbourne, the man who bit the head off a bat, died in his hotel room…’ I know that’s coming.”
“But I’ve got no complaints. At least I’ll be remembered,” added Osbourne.
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More recently, the “Crazy Train” singer spoke about death and how he wanted to be remembered in his final interview with PEOPLE in 2022. “Survival is my legacy,” he said at the time.
“I mean, I’m 73. People go, ‘Well, you’re 70… why don’t I throw the towel in?’ Why should I? People still want to buy my records. People still want to see me, so why should I? It motivates me to get off my backside and do something.”
“I mean, if my career had gone down the toilet and I knew it was the end, I’d be pretty miserable.”
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As for what he hoped his legacy would represent for others, Osbourne said, “Never give up. If you’ve got a passion for something, you’ve got to find a way around it to carry on the passion.”
