Sammy Hagar recently opened up about the Black Sabbath farewell show. He revealed that some artists who weren’t invited to participate were upset about being excluded, in comments shared on SiriusXM.
The rock veteran discussed both the honor of being asked to perform and the disappointment felt by those who weren’t included in the tribute event.
“[It was] an honor to have been asked to be on that show. And everyone was there for Ozzy and for Black Sabbath. They were there for the right reasons,” Hagar said. “And anybody that wasn’t asked to be on that show, I know they’re pissed. I have a couple friends that [were, like], ‘Man, well, they didn’t ask me.’ And I’m going, ‘Hey, listen, it wasn’t my choice.’ I took the phone call [from Tom Morello] and said, ‘Yep.'”
Hagar went on to praise several standout performances from the tribute show.
“That event was amazing. There were quite a few magical moments, I’ve gotta tell you. And, of course, Ozzy’s thing was magic — Black Sabbath, my god, that was just magic,” he continued. “But Yungblud, that dude is a bad, bad young boy. He is the man. That guy is gonna be the next big superstar, if he isn’t already. I mean, he’s frickin’ huge, but he’s Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury reincarnated. Man, this guy is just — he was so blown away [by] his performance.”
The singer also highlighted the versatility of guitarist Nuno Bettencourt during the event.
“And the other person that was really impressive in that whole thing was Nuno Bettencourt. Nuno Bettencourt played with almost everyone, and he killed it. Every song that he played, he brought it,” Hagar said. “Tom Morello played a lot of the stuff too, and Tom’s good, but he’s a different kind of player. Tom’s got his own really unique style to where Nuno, he adapted to everybody’s style. And, yeah, it was really good.”
“And Billy Corgan from The [Smashing] Pumpkins. Billy was great. I mean, when he did [Judas Priest’s] ‘Breaking The Law’, it was so badass,” he added. “I don’t know why, but it was really, really cool. It was a great event.”
Hagar’s comments shed light on the exclusive nature of what became one of rock’s most significant tribute events in recent years.
The farewell concert was titled “Back to the Beginning.” It featured a star-studded lineup that demonstrated the massive influence Black Sabbath has had across generations of rock musicians. Ultimate Classic Rock reported that the event included performances by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Slayer, Steven Tyler, and Pantera. All these artists paid tribute to Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne by covering classic songs.
The scale of the tribute was unprecedented in rock history. WMMR noted that the concert lasted ten hours. It included special segments such as a drum-off and video tributes from artists who couldn’t attend, highlighting the massive respect Sabbath commands across the music world.
The event marked the end of an era for the pioneering heavy metal band. Wikipedia documented that Ozzy himself performed limited pieces due to health issues. This made the tribute performances by other artists even more significant as they carried the musical legacy forward.
The exclusivity that Hagar referenced reflects the careful curation required for such a massive undertaking. With only so many performance slots available during the ten-hour event, organizers had to make difficult decisions about which artists to include. This inevitably left some notable musicians disappointed about not receiving invitations to participate in this historic farewell.
