“I think that timing is everything.”
That’s what Billy Morrison said on Loudwire Nights on Friday Night (March 22) as he celebrated the recent release of his brand-new song, “Crack Cocaine,” featuring Ozzy Osbourne on vocals.
The timing of this release was significant given it’s the first time fans have heard Ozzy’s voice since his health issues became more and more public. But as much as timing is everything to Morrison, he also said the timing of “Crack Cocaine” was completely organic.
“We did not plan this,” he told host Chuck Armstrong. “It is truly from the heart, and the fact that Ozzy’s track was already done, I think that just shows that it was meant to be on this record.”
“Crack Cocaine” is the first song shared from Morrison’s new album, The Morrison Project, which is set for release on April 19.
“The interesting thing about Ozzy and all the health stuff,” Morrison explained, “he was still in the health stuff when he sang that. Just because he’s going through what he’s going through doesn’t mean the guy can’t sing. The guy has an incredible voice. He turns it on when that green light goes on and it’s time to record.”
Morrison, who has been friends with Ozzy for 30 years, says it’s frustrating for the Prince of Darkness to face these health issues because his voice is far from diminished.
“Ozzy is an icon and he can still sing like everyone wants him to sing … It’s a physical thing that he’s recovering from, but it doesn’t mean his voice is gone. What you hear on ‘Crack Cocaine’ is literally 20 minutes in the vocal booth.”
Coming Up With a Classic Ozzy Riff
Morrison wrote “Crack Cocaine” with fellow Billy Idol bandmate Steve Stevens, and he told Chuck that once they finished the song, they had a strong feeling that it would become a classic Ozzy track.
“Between us, we came up with this riff with the pinched harmonics and we both looked at each other,” Morrison recalled. “[Steve] obviously knows Ozzy is my best mate and we’re like, ‘We gotta send this to Ozzy. We just wrote the ultimate Ozzy riff that’s never been written.'”
He said they didn’t set out to write an Ozzy riff, but they couldn’t deny it once they heard it.
“It was all by chance…we definitely came up with a classic ‘Ozzy Osbourne, the one that got away’-type riff.”
What Makes Ozzy Osbourne an Icon
As Morrison and Chuck talked about the riff of “Crack Cocaine,” they both quickly celebrated the fact that all these years later — and after all the legendary guitarists Ozzy has worked with — it’s amazing that there are still new songs and riffs to be written for him.
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“That’s what separates someone that is a big rock star from someone that is truly iconic,” Morrison offered. “There are lots of big rock stars, but Ozzy Osbourne is one of the few icons left — like Billy Idol, my guy Billy.”
He said he and Stevens were humbled to come up with the riff for “Crack Cocaine” because they’re following in the footsteps of “riffmeisters like Randy [Rhoads] and Zakk [Wylde] and Tony [Iommi].”
“Me and Steve were going, ‘Well, we think we’ve got one,’ you know? It was crazy, but I stand behind the song. I think it’s a classic Ozzy song.”
What Else Did Billy Morrison Discuss on Loudwire Nights?
Why he loves writing with other artists and musicians: “I’m an old punk rocker who learned three chords and turned it into a career, so collaborating enables me to learn, it enables me to stay humble and learn.”How “Crack Cocaine” ended up getting the green light for release: “Sharon [Osbourne], in the most generous way, said, ‘Look, Ozzy and I love this song. We think you should put it out and Ozzy will do a video.”What it’s like being best friends with Ozzy: “Ozzy is my best friend and I believe he says the same about me. We’ve known each other for nearly three decades and the beauty of our relationship is, yes, we both happen to be musicians, but our relationship is pretty much based on what real friendship is based on.”
Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below
Billy Morrison joined Loudwire Nights on Friday, March 22; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.
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