John Michael ”Ozzy” Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer-songwriter. Throughout an extraordinary career, which has so far spanned four decades, Osbourne has made major contributions to the worlds of music and popular culture. Osbourne rose to prominence as co-founder and lead singer for pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath (1970-78, 1997 to present) he was, in effect, one of the chief architects of the genre, creating the powerful new sound and provocative performance style that would forever expand the definition of rock music.