Judge Upholds ‘Suicide’ Song

A lawsuit claiming that an album by rock singer Ozzy Osbourne with the song “Suicide Solution” prompted a 19-year-old Indio youth to commit suicide was largely dismissed today by a Superior Court judge, who ruled that the album’s lyrics did not openly encourage listeners to shoot themselves.

But Judge John L. Cole said he would consider new allegations raised by the family of John McCollom that a “low-pitched hum” on the record, perceptible only to the subconscious mind, may lower listeners’ resistance to suggestions in the lyrics. Osbourne attorney Howard L. Weitzman called the claims about the hum “pretty far-fetched.” Osbourne and CBS Records, defendants in the suit, say there was never any intention in the record to encourage suicide.