The Ozzy Osbourne solo song that Paul McCartney said was good

The Beatles really caused a revolution in music with the release of their debut album in 1963 and in the following years until their end in 1970 the group really became the most influential and successful band in history. Formed by Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, the group sold an estimated amount of more than 600 million records worldwide, something no other artist had come close to achieving.

Over the decades, the band’s bassist and singer Paul McCartney had talked about many other artists and some that many of his fans couldn’t even believe he had heard before. One of them was Ozzy Osbourne, the c0-founder and vocalist of Black Sabbath, the band which created Heavy Metal music. McCartney not only talked about him but also mentioned one of his solo songs he believes is good.

The Ozzy Osbourne solo song that Paul McCartney said was good

When Black Sabbath released their groundbreaking self-titled debut album in January, 1970, The Beatles were still recording their final album “Let It Be”, which would be released a few months later. Throughout the decades a lot happened in their careers, with Paul McCartney becoming a successful solo artist. Something that Ozzy also achieved after he was fired from Sabbath in 1979.

Alongside Paul, he is one of the few artists in the world who were able to be successful as part of a band and as a solo act. In 2001, decades after they already had established careers and were playing to millions of fans all over the world, Ozzy invited the Beatle to play bass in one of his new tracks. They were recording new music in the same studio. So the Sabbath vocalist asked Paul if he could play bass guitar in the song “Dreamer” from his album “Down To Earth”. That was the track which Paul later praised saying it was good. However, the bass lines were recorded by Rob Trujillo and not him.

He said that in the famous video from the early 00s where he is being interviewed and Ozzy appears by surprise to say hello. After the Beatle notices that it is Ozzy who is there he jokes saying: ‘Oh God, you’re not letting him in’ and then they hug each other. But right before Ozzy walked in, Paul was talking about when he was asked to play in the song “Dreamer”. (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage): “I was just saying about, ‘Dreamer’ track. Good track but I said I didn’t wanna do the bass line”.

Why Paul McCartney said he couldn’t record the bass on Ozzy’s “Dreamer” track

Paul McCartney gave the excuse that he couldn’t top the bassline that Rob Trujillo had played in the track. Ozzy Osbourne recalled that in an interview with Billboard in 2023 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).

“I think I would die to have a Beatle in my album. (So) I did asked him one time but he came up with an excuse (saying he) couldn’t beat the bass player that was already on. I went ‘Ahh, ok. Maybe you’re right,” Ozzy Osbourne said.

“Down To Earth” was recorded at the Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California from April, 2000 to August, 2001. It was the same location where McCartney recorded the album “Driving Rain” from February to June, 2001.

“Dreamer” was one of the singles from Ozzy’s album. Still is one of the most successful songs from that record. It was written by Ozzy with the help of Marti Frederiksen and Foreigner‘s Mick Jones. The track reached the position 18 on the United Kingdom singles chart at the time.

The story of the first time Ozzy Osbourne met McCartney

Paul McCartney has always been one of Ozzy’s biggest heroes and even though the Black Sabbath was already a huge Rock star for decades when both met he got really nervous. As he recalled in his 2009 book “I Am Ozzy” (Transcribed by Paul McCartney Project), the singer said that they first talked to each other at Elton John‘s birthday party.

“Of all the people I got to meet, though, the most special was probably Paul McCartney. I mean, I’d looked up to that man since I was fourteen. But what the fuck are you supposed to talk to him about, eh? It’s like trying to strike up a conversation with God. Where’d you start? ‘Oh, I see you made the Earth in seven days. What was that like?’”

He continued:

“We were at Elton John’s birthday party: Paul on one side of me, Sting on the other, and Elton opposite. It was like I’d died and gone to rock star heaven. But I’m useless when it comes to making conversation with people I admire. I’m a big believer in just leaving them alone, generally. In that way, I’m very shy. There were some rumors going around in the press for a while that me and Paul were gonna do a duet. But I can honestly say I never heard a word about it from the man himself. And I’m glad I didn’t, ‘cos I would have shit my pants, big time,” Ozzy Osbourne said.

After that they continued to have contact via email. Ozzy always sent him a message after he released new material praising the Beatle for his new compositions.