One little-known collaboration involving Ozzy Osbourne almost paired him with Madonna, but he ended up contributing to a song with actress Kim Basinger instead.

This topic arose during a conversation with Ozzy Osbourne’s sons, Jack and Louis Osbourne, on a recent episode of the Trying Not to Die podcast.

What Is the Background on Ozzy Osbourne’s Song With Madonna?

During their discussion about Ozzy Osbourne’s musical preferences, Louis Osbourne mentioned the ’80s collaboration between Was (Not Was) and Kim Basinger, which featured a guest vocal from Ozzy that many fans are unaware of. According to Louis, the track was originally intended to feature Madonna.

“Was Not Was did a duet with Madonna. It was written for Madonna and Was Not Was when dad was at his peak in the early ’80s, and so was she, but she didn’t give approval on the record,” shared Louis.

“So that was canned. Then, when Kim Basinger was experiencing a significant acting moment in her career during the ’80s, they decided 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 seen the light of day. And that would be with Was Not Was basically.”

He then laughs about growing up hearing the song in a dance club and recognizing his dad’s voice in it.

“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 deciding to 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, Don Was of Was (Not Was) recalled the history of “Shake Your Head” with Rolling Stone. He shares that at the time of recording (1983), Madonna had not yet become widely recognized.

“She did a great job… but it didn’t sound like Was (Not Was) to me anymore,” says Was, adding that they decided to bring in Ozzy for part of the track.

“We realized about eight years later that we had Ozzy and Madonna on parallel tracks,” he adds. “So we gave it to a remixer… and he turned it into an Ozzy/Madonna duet.”

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However, upon hearing the remixed version, Madonna declined the song. Consequently, Was (Not Was) approached Kim Basinger to record the old Madonna parts instead. Was mentions that while the remix never reached American audiences, it became one of Was (Not Was)’ biggest hits in the U.K.

Released in 1992, nearly a decade after its initial conception, “Shake Your Head” reached No. 4 on the U.K. charts.

Louis Osbourne Guests on the Trying Not To Die Podcast