Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist is opening up about the touching last conversation he had with the Black Sabbath singer.
In an interview with Guitar World, Zakk Wylde, who served as guitarist for Osbourne, detailed the final text he received from the rock icon before the singer died earlier this month. Wylde performed during Osbourne's Back to the Beginning farewell concert on July 5, and according to the guitarist, Osbourne reached out to him after the show.
"Everybody and their mother were in the backstage dressing room and I just wanted to give him a break," Wylde said. "I figured we'd see him later on – the next day or whatever. But no. The last text I got from Oz was saying, 'Zakky, sorry, it was like a madhouse back there. I didn't see you.' He goes, 'Thanks for everything.' It was just us talking, saying, 'I love you, buddy.' That was it."
Rock star Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76, weeks after final Black Sabbath show
Wylde, who worked with Osbourne beginning in the 1980s, reflected that the singer was "almost like an older brother" to him. "There was almost a 20-year age gap between us," he told the outlet. "With our relationship, there was the fun drinking – but if I ever needed advice, I could talk to him."
