One little known Ozzy Osbourne collaboration almost paired him up with Madonna, but he ended up adding to a song with movie actress Kim Basinger instead.
The topic came up during a discussion with Ozzy Osbourne’s sons Jack and Louis Osbourne during a recent episode of the Trying Not to Die podcast.
What Is the Background on Ozzy Osbourne’s Song With Madonna?
Within the discussion about Ozzy Osbourne’s musical tastes, Louis Osbourne brought up the ’80s era collaboration between Was (Not Was) and Kim Basinger that featured a guest vocal from Ozzy as well that many fans don’t realize. But according to Louis, the track was initially set to feature Madonna.
“Was Not Was did a duet with Madonna. It was written for Madonna and Was Not Was and it was when dad was pumping in the early ’80s and so was she and she really fucking popped and then didn’t give approval on the record,” shared Louis.
“So that was canned. And then when Kim Basinger was having that big acting moment in the middle of her career in the ’80s, they decided they were going to try and make her a pop star as well. So they tracked Kim Basinger on it instead,” he added.
Louis, Ozzy’s son from his first marriage, concludes, “So somewhere out there, there is a duet recording of Madonna and dad that has never ever seen the light of day. And that would be with Was Not Was basically.”
He then laughs about growing up and hearing the song in a dance club and spotting his dad’s voice on the song.
“No one really knows it,” adds Jack Osbourne. “Because commercially it was promoted as Was Not Was and Kim Basinger. They didn’t really push that it was my dad as well. They didn’t credit dad for being the other vocalist on there. I don’t know why. It might have been the record label just being like oh lets market it as Was Not Was with Kim Basinger.” Take a listen to the track below.
Was (Not Was)’ “Shake Your Head” featuring Kim Basinger and Ozzy Osbourne
What Don Was Recalls About the Initial Madonna-Ozzy Pairing
Back in October, Was (Non Was)’ Don Was recalled the history of “Shake Your Head” with Rolling Stone. He shares that at the time of the recording (1983), Madonna had not yet become a household name.
“She did a great job… but it didn’t sound like Was (Not Was) to me anymore,” Was says, adding that they decided to bring in Ozzy for a portion of the track.
“We realized about eight years later that we had Ozzy and Madonna on parallel tracks,” Was adds. “So we gave it to a remixer… and he turned it into a Ozzy/Madonna duet.”
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But upon hearing the remixed version, Madonna turned down the song. So, Was (Not Was) approached Kim Basinger to record the old Madonna parts instead. Was says that while the remix never reached American audiences, it became one of Was (Not Was)’ biggest hits in the U.K.
Issued in 1992, almost a full decade after it was initially conceived, “Shake Your Head” reached No. 4 on the U.K. charts.
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Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll
