Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal icon and founding member of Black Sabbath, has died after a years long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” the Osbourne family said  in a statement published by The Guardian. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.” Osbourne’s passing comes just weeks after comes just week after he performed a star-studded farewell concert in his native England in his native Birmingham. He was 76.

Born John Michael Osbourne, in Birmingham, England, in 1948, Osbourne’s obsession with music began after hearing the Beatles’ song ‘She Loves You’ as a teenager. He went on to form Black Sabbath (originally named Earth) guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward in the late 1960s. With all-time classic albums including 1970’s self-titled debut and Paranoid, 1971’s Master of Reality, 1972’s Vol. 4, 1973’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and 1975’s Sabotage, the band laid the foundation for heavy metal and many of its subgenres.

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