Black Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968, by guitarist Tony Iommi,
bassist Geezer Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne, and drummer Bill Ward.
The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant
presence in the band through the years.
Black Sabbath are cited as pioneers of heavy metal.
They have sold over 70 million records worldwide. Black Sabbath were inducted
into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
They have also won two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance.
-Wikipedia
Also known as:
The Polka Tulk Blues Band, Earth
From:
Aston, Birmingham, England
Genres:
Heavy metal
Years active:
1968-2006, 2011-present
Associated acts:
Heaven & Hell, Mythology, Rainbow, Dio
Name Origin:
They were originally called Earth. They saw Boris Karloff's 1963 horror movie "Black Sabbath"
and called their first song "Black Sabbath". They found out at a gig that there was another
band called "Earth", so they changed their name.
Members:
Tony Iommi (lead guitar)
Geezer Butler (bass, synthesizers)
Ozzy Osbourne (lead vocals)
Past members:
Bill Ward -
was the last original member to reunite with Sabbath in 1997.
(1969-1980, 1982-1983, 1985, 1994, 1997-2012)
(drums, percussion, backing vocals)
Occasional (lead vocals)
Dave Walker -
(1977)
(vocals)
Ronnie James Dio -
recorded three successful studio albums with Black Sabbath.
(1979-1982, 1991-1992; 2007)
(vocals)
Geoff Nicholls -
(1979-2004, 2006)
(keyboards)
Occasional (bass, back up guitar)
Vinny Appice -
(1980-1982, 1991-1993, 1998, 2007)
(drums)
Ian Gillan -
(1982-1984)
(vocals)
Bev Bevan -
(1983-1984, 1987)
(drums, percussion)
David Donato -
( 1984-1985)
(vocals)
Eric Singer -
(1985-1987)
(drums)
Dave Spitz -
(1985-1986, 1987)
(bass)
Glenn Hughes -
(1985-1986)
(vocals)
Ray Gillen -
(1986-1987)
(vocals)
Bob Daisley -
(1986)
(bass)
Tony Martin -
(1987-1991, 1993-1997)
(vocals)
Terry Chimes -
(1987)
(drums)
Jo Burt -
(1987)
(bass)
Cozy Powell -
(1988-1991, 1994-1995)
(drums)
Neil Murray -
(1989-1991, 1994-1995)
(bass)
Bobby Rondinelli -
(1993-1994, 1995)
(drums)
Mike Bordin -
(1997)
(drums)
Covered by:
Anthrax, Faith No More, Cannibal Corpse, The Cardigans, Shooter Jennings,
Pantera, Danzig, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Hand of Doom.
Black Sabbath Trivia:
• Black Sabbath formed in Birmingham, England in 1968 under the name Polka Tulk Blues Band (soon shortened to "Polka Tulk"), and later Earth, playing blues rock and hard rock.
• Earth moved in a darker direction when their bassist, Geezer Butler, a fan of the black magic novels of Dennis Wheatley, wrote an occult-themed song titled "Black Sabbath" (the song name was apparently inspired by a 1963 Mario Bava film).
• Tony Iommi lost the tips of two fingers on his fretting hand while working in a sheet metal factory
bull; In the late seventies Osbourne and Ward supposedly took LSD every day for two years.
• Elton John is a huge fan of Black Sabbath,
• While touring in Texas Ozzy was arrested for peeing on the Alamo.
• Ozzy once bit off the head of a bat during a concert
Black Sabbath Quotes:
"I can honestly say, all the bad things that ever happened to me were directly, directly attributed to drugs and alcohol. I mean, I would never urinate at the Alamo at nine o'clock in the morning dressed in a woman's evening dress sober."
"I've had every known chemical--cocaine, booze--and tobacco is the hardest one in the world for me to quit. You watch old flicks? It's suggestion by looking at something: You see a cigarette, and it makes you want to smoke!"
"The down side of being outrageous is that you have to go around explaining your @#$%& self to people. If you're too cocky, somebody might just pull out a @#$%& gun and cock it and blow your @#$%& face off. You gotta be really careful what you bite off. Don't bite off more than you can chew. It's a dangerous world."
âOf all the Things I've ever Lost, I miss my Mind the most."
"I push this one button and the shower goes on and I think, where the f*ck am I?"
Black Sabbath Awards:
2014
Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance: God is Dead
1999
Grammy Award for Metal Performance: Iron Man,
2006
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Tour Dates: