Zakk Wylde: Ozzy, Pantera & Black Label Society | Writing Guitar Solos, Hits & Crazy Tour Stories

Episode 117: Zakk Wylde is one of the greatest metal guitarists of all time. He's Ozzy Osbourne's longtime guitarist and co-writer, the founder of Black Label Society, and the man Phil Anselmo called to honor Dimebag Darrell in Pantera. In this deep dive, Zakk takes us through his entire career, from a Jersey kid learning Black Sabbath riffs to writing metal anthems with Ozzy and shredding in stadiums with Pantera and Metallica. Zakk tells the story of how a wedding gig with Sebastian Bach and a Polaroid on Sharon Osbourne's kitchen counter led to the call that changed his life. He breaks down writing "Miracle Man," "No More Tears," and "Mama, I'm Coming Home" with Ozzy and Lemmy, and reveals how a goofy rehearsal joke became the Grammy-winning "I Don't Want to Change the World." Plus his wildest Ozzy tour stories: the first gig in Wormwood Scrubs prison, Ozzy passing out before the Buster Douglas vs. Holyfield fight, sneaking him a beer at the Budokan, and the night Eddie Van Halen played "Heartbreaker" on Zakk's bullseye Les Paul in Japan. We go deep on his friendship with Dimebag Darrell, the day Phil Anselmo called him to join Pantera with Charlie Benante, what it feels like to play Dime's guitar parts, and touring stadiums with Metallica. Zakk also opens up about Ozzy's final show, Back to the Beginning, the text Ozzy sent about making one more album, writing "Ozzy's Song" on the new Black Label Society album Engines of Demolition, and getting sober after a doctor's warning. We also get into how he writes guitar solos, pinch harmonics, his favorite guitar solos of all time, Generation Axe with Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen, Zakk Sabbath, Guns N' Roses, Pride & Glory, Book of Shadows, building his own guitar company Wylde Audio, and the Black Label Society family. Zakk is hilarious, generous and full of crazy stories. This one is a blast. Let's go! Go With Elmo Lovano is the #1 music professional podcast, featuring deep, honest conversations with the legends, artists, musicians, producers, songwriters, and industry leaders shaping music today about how they got where they are and how they keep pushing forward. Huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year! Elmo Lovano drinks Intelligentsia coffee because he’s an Iced Angeleno. https://www.intelligentsia.com Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers.   / gowithelmo   0:00:00 - TRAILER 0:00:58 - INTRODUCTION 0:01:41 - INTERVIEW STARTS 0:03:47 - BLACK LABEL SOCIETY TOUR 0:04:57 - PLAYING PANTERA SONGS IN STADIUMS 0:05:23 - BASEBALL 0:06:47 - PLAYING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AT STADIUMS 0:08:38 - THE ROCK 0:11:59 - NEIL PEART 0:13:00 - EARLY LIFE 0:13:39 - MUSICAL INFLUENCES 0:17:09 - GUITAR TECHNIQUES 0:19:02 - SEBASTIAN BACH, MAKING CONNECTIONS 0:22:19 - AUDITIONING FOR OZZY OSBOURNE 0:27:53 - OZZY OSBOURNE 0:29:06 - TEST WRITING WITH OZZY IN LONDON 0:29:54 - FIRST RIFF ZAKK BROUGHT TO OZZY 0:32:55 - HANGING WITH OZZY AT 21 0:35:46 - FIRST SHOW WITH OZZY WAS AT A PRISON 0:36:44 - JOINING THE BAND, MAKING HITS 0:38:34 - "MAMA, I'M COMING HOME," LEMMY KILMISTER 0:41:39 - BARBARANNE WYLDE 0:42:29 - "NO MORE TEARS" GUITAR RIFFS 0:44:01 - CRAZY OZZY STORY 0:50:57 - EDDIE VAN HALEN 0:53:59 - DAVE GROHL 0:54:50 - LYNYRD SKYNHEAD 0:55:13 - MEETING DIMEBAG DARRELL, PANTERA 0:55:57 - AXL ROSE, GUNS N' ROSES 0:59:38 - CREATING BLACK LABEL SOCIETY 1:03:14 - WHAT DIME WAS LIKE AS A FRIEND 1:05:59 - LOSING DIME 1:07:16 - PANTERA CELEBRATION 1:09:32 - PLAYING DIMEBAG'S GUITAR PARTS 1:11:47 - METALLICA 1:12:40 - ANDREW WATT, "PATIENT NUMBER 9," TAYLOR HAWKINS 1:13:31 - WHAT OZZY WAS LIKE SPIRITUALLY 1:15:25 - OZZY'S FINAL SHOW, BACK TO THE BEGINNING 1:20:13 - BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, "ENGINES OF DEMOLITION" 1:22:17 - WRITING "OZZY'S SONG" 1:25:20 - ZAKK SABBATH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY SHOWS 1:26:20 - SHARON OSBOURNE 1:29:02 - SOBRIETY 1:33:59 - GENERATION AXE 1:34:56 - YNGWIE MALMSTEEN 1:36:26 - STEVE VAI 1:37:16 - WRITING A GUITAR SOLO 1:38:04 - FAVORITE GUITAR SOLOS 1:39:30 - BUILDING A COMPANY 1:41:52 - CHILDREN Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated! Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/ Follow Zakk:   / zakkwyldebls   Follow Go With Elmo:   / gowithelmo     / gowithelmo   https://x.com/gowithelmopod Follow Elmo Lovano:   / elmolovano   https://x.com/elmolovano #zakkwylde #ozzyosbourne #guitar #blacklabelsociety