OZZY OSBOURNE’S ROCK HALL INDUCTION TO FEATURE ZAKK WYLDE, WOLFGANG VAN HALEN, JELLY ROLL, BILLY IDOL, STEVE STEVENS AND MORE

Corey Grow of Rolling Stone reports:

Ozzy Osbourne, will get an all-star tribute at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland on October 19th. The recognition marks Osbourne’s second induction into the institution, following Black Sabbath’s entry in 2006. The ceremony will stream live on Disney+, and a televised special will air on ABC and be available on Hulu at a later date.

With just a few weeks to go, Osbourne tells Rolling Stone he’s still wrapping his head around the induction. “I don’t know what to think,” he says via email. “I’m still in shock that I’m getting inducted for a second time. But at the same time, I’m very excited.”

Actor and avowed metalhead Jack Black…will have the honor of making the speech inducting Osbourne.

The festivities will include a musical tribute honoring Osbourne’s solo career. Although he didn’t comment on whether or not he’d be singing, he’s looking forward to the performances. Billy Idol, Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan, and country artist Jelly Roll — who recently told Rolling Stone that Mama, I’m Coming Home is his favorite Osbourne song — will all sing Osbourne’s songs at the event…

…And as for the most surprising artist, at least to metalheads, Osbourne says he’s excited to hear Jelly Roll sing his songs. “Who doesn’t love Jelly Roll?” he says. “His voice is soulful, pure, and dirty. I’m so honored that someone would do this for me who I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting.”

The Rock Hall has assembled a group of guitarists who will have to live up to Osbourne’s high standards for the instrument for the performance. Osbourne is famous for working with brilliant, innovative guitarists like late Randy Rhoads, who was posthumously inducted into the Rock Hall in 2021. The singer says the qualities that impress him in a guitarist are “individuality, having your own sound, and [how] the guitar is your voice.”

So it makes perfect sense that Zakk Wylde, Osbourne’s most reliable right-hand man since 1987, who performed on and co-wrote many hit singles with Osbourne including the Grammy-winning I Don’t Want to Change the World, would be among the guitarists in the tribute. Record producer Andrew Watt — who helmed Osbourne’s last two solo albums, playing guitar and co-writing the songs on them — will also play guitar and serve as the performance’s musical director. Billy Idol’s longtime guitarist, Steve Stevens, is also set to perform, as is Wolfgang Van Halen.

The tribute’s rhythm section consists of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, who was a member of Osbourne’s band from 1996 through 2003, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. “The rhythm section is the anchor of the band,” Osbourne says, “and you honestly couldn’t get a better rhythm section than Robert Trujillo and Chad Smith.”

Smith played drums on Osbourne’s most recent solo albums, 2020’s Ordinary Man and 2022’s Patient Number 9. Adam Wakeman, who has worked with Osbourne since 2004 and played keyboards and additional guitar on Black Sabbath’s reunion tours in recent years, will play the keys.

Osbourne has been eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist since 2006…And when he considers all of the musicians who are taking part in the tribute, he says, “It’s a very humbling feeling.”