“I wrote the music before Oz passed away… I wrote the lyrics after we laid Ozzy to rest”: How Zakk Wylde wrote his tribute song to Ozzy Osbourne

British musician Ozzy Osbourne (left) and American guitarist Zakk Wylde perform at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Chicago, Illinois, July 12, 1989.

Zakk Wylde was Ozzy Osbourne's right-hand man on-and-off for decades – since 1987, to be exact. After earning his reputation thanks to his guitar work on Ozzy's 1988 album No Rest for the Wicked, followed by 1991’s No More Tears, and 1995’s Ozzmosis, Wylde and Ozzy developed a sibling-like relationship that continued till the day the Prince of Darkness passed away, on July 22, 2025.

“I don't think any of us were picturing Oz passing away two weeks after the gig [referring to Back to the Beginning],” he tells Guitar World in an upcoming interview.