The Grammy Awards got a taste of heavy metal last night as Slash, Andrew Watt, Duff McKagan, Chad Smith and Post Malone joined together for a tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne.
As pyro shot up from the stage at the Crypto.com Arena, in Los Angeles — and with Ozzy’s wife Sharon and children looking on from the audience — the band performed a blazing version of “War Pigs,” a classic track from Sabbath’s 1970 album, Paranoid.
A highlight of the performance occurred when Slash and Watt teamed up to perform the song’s electric guitar solo, with Malone reaching over at one point to assist Watt with some finger tapping.
Osbourne died last July 22 just weeks after making his final performance at Back to the Beginning. As the band played, tributes to recently departed rock musicians and producers — including Ace Frehley, Mick Ralphs, Blondie drummer Clem Burke, session bassist Anthony Jackson and producer Roy Thomas Baker — appeared on the screen behind them.
At one point, the camera cut to show Yungblud cheering them on. Earlier in the night, the singer and guitarist was honored — along with Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello and Adam Wakeman — with the Best Rock Performance Grammy for their rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” at the July 5th Back to the Beginning concert.
Yungblud, who was close to Ozzy, hugged Sharon Osbourne onstage before accepting the award.
“To grow up loving an idol that helps you figure out your identity, not only as a musician but also as a man, is something that I'm truly grateful for," he said.
"But then to get to know them and form a relationship with them, honor them at their final show and receive this because of it, is something that I and I think we're all finding so strange to comprehend. We fucking love you, Ozzy!
