10 Greatest Hard Rock Frontmen Of The '70s

At the start of the decade, metal music was still starting to find its sea legs. Along with acts like the Doors and Iron Butterfly catering to the darker side of flower power, the electric blues coming from the other side of the Atlantic presented something a lot grittier than what you got from the Beatles and Stones. Once you got a load of Black Sabbath though, Ozzy Osbourne practically grabbed you by the throat and made you pay attention.

It's almost strange what Ozzy's effect was on the rest of the music world, considering most of his style is still in the typical blues rock vain. With many songs having a few jolts of "Oh lord," practically a third of Osbourne's delivery is indebted to the blues greats of old like Howlin Wolf, only pushed to the nth degree. However, that kind of music takes on a bit of a different tone once paired with the demonic lyrics from Geezer Butler.

Whenever Ozzy took to the stage, his energy was almost akin to someone in an insane asylum, as if he's being let out of his cage just for a few minutes before going back into the shadows again. No matter what kind of metal you listen to, you will never find another band not living in the halls that Ozzy built.