Lita Ford, the fierce guitarist who made her mark with The Runaways, opens up about her deep friendship and creative partnership with Ozzy Osbourne. She shares intimate stories behind their legendary duet and reflects on what it means to carry forward the torch of rock and roll.
Birmingham Backstage: An Emotional Homecoming
At K.K. Downing’s club in Birmingham, Lita Ford adjusts her leather jacket and takes a deep breath. Tonight, she’ll perform “Close My Eyes Forever” — that haunting ballad she crafted with Ozzy back in 1989. There’s something profound about singing this song here, in the very city where Ozzy’s Black Sabbath story began.
The weight of the moment isn’t lost on her. Birmingham pulses with rock history, and Ford can feel it in her bones as she prepares to take the stage.
When Magic Happened in a Small Room
Picture this: 1987, Record One Studios in Los Angeles. Ford was carving out her solo path after The Runaways disbanded, while Ozzy battled his well-documented demons with substance abuse. What started as a casual evening turned into something extraordinary when they found themselves in a cramped room with nothing but a keyboard and a guitar amp.
Wine flowed freely that night. By sunrise, they’d created what would become Ozzy’s only Top 10 single — a track that still gives listeners chills decades later.
A Teenage Sabbath Obsession Comes Full Circle
Ford’s connection to Ozzy runs deeper than most people realize. She was barely a teenager when she first saw Black Sabbath live — just 13 years old and already completely hooked. Her family didn’t just tolerate her musical obsession; they embraced it. Sabbath riffs became the soundtrack to her childhood home.
One Easter dinner stands out vividly in her memory. Ozzy and Sharon rolled up to her family’s house in a stretch limo, turning her quiet neighborhood into chaos. The evening took a comedic turn when Ozzy, after polishing off a bottle of wine, volunteered to carve the lamb. The knife slipped from his hands, clattering to the floor as he sheepishly announced, “I don’t eat meat.”
These moments — raw, unfiltered, perfectly imperfect — capture what made Ozzy so magnetic.
Style, Substance, and Rock Star Authenticity
Ford has nothing but praise for Ozzy’s distinctive look, though she’s quick to credit Sharon with helping polish his image. She believes rock stars walk a tightrope between glamour and grit — the key is staying true to yourself whether you’re wearing designer clothes or thrift store finds.
That memorable recording session came with its own surreal touches. Sharon had given them a life-sized gorilla statue named Koko as a housewarming gift. Ford still laughs about the absurdity of strapping that massive toy into her Jeep for the drive home, while Ozzy took his own route through Laurel Canyon.
She’s honest about the creative process, too. For artists like Ozzy, inspiration often comes tangled up with excess — alcohol and drugs fuel the raw energy that makes their music so powerful, even when it threatens to destroy them.
A Song That Lives Beyond Its Creators
“Close My Eyes Forever” has taken on a life of its own over the years. Ford hears from fans who’ve played it at funerals, during moments of grief, when they need something that understands loss and longing. The song has become bigger than either of them imagined.
Her message to Ozzy’s legion of fans is simple but powerful: don’t mourn the end of an era — celebrate it. Keep the music alive. Keep rocking. Because that’s what real rock legends do — they never truly fade away. Their spirit lives on in every chord, every lyric, every fan who refuses to let the music die.
