Musician Spotlight: Black Sabbath

Think Black Sabbath, and you’ll probably be thinking of hard rock, heavy metal, loud, striking, angry, thrashing sounds that were indeed the cornerstone of the output Black Sabbath put out during its active years. A British band that came to prominence in the 1970s, Black Sabbath was an antidote to the calm and peaceful music of the 60s, and yet despite its heavy metal roots, it wasn’t just about making noise – there was definitely musical talent there too.

Black Sabbath consisted of lead vocals singer Ozzy Osbourne (born 3rd December 1948), bass player Terry ‘Geezer’ Butler (born 17th July 1949), lead guitarist Tony Iommi (born 19th February 1948), and drum player Bill Ward (born 5th May 1948). The men had met whilst at school in Birmingham, and originally formed groups called Earth and Polka Tulk. Over time, their music and style caused them to create an entirely new group called, as so many know and love, Black Sabbath.

Black Sabbath became known for its dark image, and they certainly cultivated a foreboding, impressive presence when on stage. This look combined with their heavy metal music and their love of all things occult and strange, meant that they could truly enjoy what they were doing, showing off each member’s own personality through their releases; the joy behind the darkness can certainly be heard in some of their classics include ‘War Pigs’, ‘Paranoid’, and ‘Iron Man’. To see what we are talking about, watch this live performance of “War Pigs”:

As the 1970s drew to a close, Black Sabbath was a multi-million album seller, and more and more heavy metal bands had developed in the same vein, proving that their style was about more than just them – it appealed to a vast swathe of young people. By this time, due to drug issues and a feeling of absolute overwhelm, Ozzy Osbourne left the group, and it wasn’t long before Butler and Ward did the same. Iommi kept persevering and continued making music under the Black Sabbath banner through the 80s, taking on a variety of different people to plug the gap the original members had left.

Of course, fans, as much as they might still have enjoyed Black Sabbath’s music, never forgot how it used to be, and without Ozzy’s antics and the powerhouse of Butler and Ward to boost things up, the heady heights of the earlier decade were not reached. Yet good news was to come for those who were waiting patiently, and in the 1990s, Black Sabbath got back together on a number of different occasions and even released a live album in 1998, entitled Reunion.

It was from this album that the single ‘Iron Man’ came, and this is what earned Black Sabbath its very first Grammy for best metal performance. Put back into the limelight by this performance, The Osbournes, a show to MTV depicting the home life of Ozzy Osbourne and his family, ran from 2002-2005, and this gave Black Sabbath something of a new fanbase who, intrigued by Ozzy himself, began to listen to, and enjoy, their particular brand of heavy metal music.

In 2006, Black Sabbath was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Learn more of the band and their music here.