A social media argument about lyric credits has escalated into the bluntest public defence of Ozzy Osbourne's legacy since he died.
It started when a fan raised Lemmy Kilmister's contributions to Ozzy's 1991 album "No More Tears" — the late MOTÖRHEAD frontman is credited as co-writer on "I Don't Want To Change The World", "Mama, I'm Coming Home", the title track and "Hellraiser". Dee Snider replied: "I know too much about the truth behind the scenes. Let's just say that Sharon doesn't like to share."
When another user cited bassist Bob Daisley's claim to have written "a load of lyrics" for the record before being "sacked for the final time", the TWISTED SISTER frontman went further: "A load? How about ALL the lyrics? Ozzy always had bass players write his lyrics. [BLACK SABBATH bassist] @geezerbutler wrote ALL of @BlackSabbath lyrics. Daisley wrote lyrics for the first two solo albums… & Lemmy wrote lyrics."
Kelly Osbourne answered on Instagram Stories, first briefly: "My father's legacy as a musician, songwriter, singer and bandleader speaks for itself. His friends, those who worked with him, those who loved him and millions of fans around the world that still continue to buy his records know exactly what he meant."
Then at length, opening with a jab at the 1984 vintage of "We're Not Gonna Take It": "@deesnider your last hit… not to age myself was the year I was born over 40 years ago." She continued: "There's something spectacularly classless about Dee Snider trying to diminish my father Ozzy Osbourne and his extraordinary abilities and achievements when he is no longer here to challenge his allegations, particularly when Snider cannot claim to know the private reality of my father's life simply by looking in from the outside."
She argued the comparison was self-defeating. "Snider had a brief period of mainstream success more than 40 years ago. My father's career spanned nearly six decades — from helping define heavy metal with BLACK SABBATH to building an extraordinary solo career… trying to make my father smaller won't make Dee Snider bigger."
Snider returned to X to soften it. "To be clear, I HAVE NOTHING BUT LOVE FOR OZZY. He was always lovely to me. @BlackSabbath changed my life! As a songwriter I can be a little touchy about credit and royalties."
Source: blabbermouth.net