Black Sabbath



Black Sabbath are an English Heavy Metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham, England in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward. The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of twenty-two musicians have at one time been members of Black Sabbath. Originally formed as a Heavy Blues-Rock band named Earth, the band began incorporating occult- and horror-inspired lyrics with tuned-down guitars, changing their name to Black Sabbath and achieving multiple platinum records in the 1970s. Despite an association with occult and horror themes, Black Sabbath also composed songs dealing with social and political issues such as drugs and war.

As one of the first and most influential Heavy Metal bands of all time, Black Sabbath helped define the genre with releases such as quadruple-platinum Paranoid, released in 1970. They were ranked by MTV as the "Greatest Metal Band" of all time, and placed second in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list, behind Led Zeppelin. Rolling Stone has posited the band as 'the heavy-metal kings of the '70s'. They have sold over 15 million records in the United States alone and more than 100 million records worldwide.

Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's drinking led to his being fired from the band in 1979, but Ozzy began a very successful solo career, selling more than 100 million albums. He was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. After a few albums with Dio's vocals and his songwriting collaborations, Black Sabbath endured a revolving line-up in the 1980s and 1990s that included vocalists Ian Gillian, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin. In 1992, Iommi and Butler rejoined Dio and drummer Vinny Appice to record Dehumanizer. The original line-up reunited with Osbourne in 1997 and released a live album, Reunion. The 1979–1982 and 1991–1992 line-up featuring Iommi, Butler, Dio, and Appice reformed in 2006 under the moniker Heaven & Hell until Dio's death on 16 May 2010.

Years Active

 * 1969 - 1984
 * 1985 - 2006
 * 2011 - Present

Current:

 * Ozzy Osbourne - Lead Vocals (1969 - 1979, 1997 - Present)
 * Tony Iommi - Guitar (1969 - Present)
 * Geezer Butler - Bass Guitar (1969 - 1985, 1990 - 1994, 1997 - Present)
 * Bill Ward - Drums (1969 - 1980, 1983, 1985, 1994, 1997 - Present)

Past Members:
Vocals:

Bass Guitar:
 * Ronnie James Dio - Lead Vocals (1979 - 1982, 1991 - 1992, 2006)
 * Ian Gillan - Lead Vocals (1982 - 1984)
 * Glenn Hughes - Lead Vocals (1985 - 1986)
 * Ray Gillen - Lead Vocals (1986 - 1987)
 * Tony Martin - Lead Vocals (1987 - 1991, 1993 - 1997)
 * Dave Walker - Lead Vocals (1977)
 * David Donato - Lead Vocals (1984 - 1985)


 * Dave Spitz - Bass Guitar (1985 - 1986, 1987)
 * Bob Daisley - Bass Guitar (1986)
 * Jo Burt - Bass Guitar (1987)
 * Laurence Cottle - Bass Guitar (1988 - 1989)
 * Neil Murray - Bass Guitar (1989 - 1991, 1994 - 1995)
 * Gordon Copley - Bass Guitar (1985)

Drums:


 * Vinny Appice - Drums (1980 - 1982, 1991 - 1992, 1998, 2006)
 * Bev Bevan - Drums (1983 - 1984, 1987)
 * Eric Singer - Drums (1985 - 1987)
 * Terry Chimes - Drums (1987)
 * Cozy Powell - Drums (1988 - 1991, 1994 - 1995)
 * Bobby Rondinelli - Drums (1993 - 1994, 1995)
 * Mike Bordin - Drums (1997)

Keyboards:


 * Geoff Nicholls - Keyboard (1980 - 2004)
 * Rick Wakeman - Keyboard (1973)
 * Gerald "Jezz" Woodruffe - Keyboard (1975 - 1976)
 * Adam Wakeman - Keyboard (2004 - 2006)

Releases
CD: (Albums) CD: (Live) CD: (Best of's) CD: (Box Sets) Video's:
 * Black Sabbath (Album) - 1970
 * Paranoid - 1970
 * Master of Reality - 1971
 * Black Sabbath Vol. 4 - 1972
 * Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 1973
 * Sabotage - 1975
 * Technical Ecstasy - 1976
 * Never Say Die! - 1978
 * Heaven and Hell - 1980
 * Mob Rules - 1981
 * Born Again - 1983
 * Seventh Star - 1986
 * The Eternal Idol - 1987
 * Headless Cross - 1989
 * TYR (Album) - 1990
 * Dehumanizer - 1992
 * Cross Purposes - 1994
 * Forbidden - 1995
 * Live at Last - 1980
 * Live Evil - 1982
 * Cross Purposes Live - 1995
 * Reunion - 1998
 * Past Lives - 2002
 * Live at Hammersmith Odeon - 2007
 * We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll - 1975
 * The Sabbath Collection - 1985
 * Black Sabbath: The Collection - 1992
 * Under Wheels of Confusion, Volume One (1970 - 1987) - 1996
 * The Sabbath Stones - 1996
 * The Best of Black Sabbath - 2000
 * Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970--1978 - 2002
 * Club Sonderauflage - 2006
 * Black Sabbath: Greatest Hits 1970--1978 - 2006
 * Black Sabbath: The Dio Years - 2007
 * The Ozzy Osbourne Years - 1994
 * Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970 - 1978) - 2004
 * The Rules of Hell - 2008
 * Black and Blue - 1980
 * Never Say Die (Video) - 1986
 * The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1 - 1992
 * The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 2 - 1992
 * The Last Supper - 1999
 * Inside Black Sabbath - 2003
 * Black Sabbath's Paranoid - 2005
 * Black Sabbath: Rock Review - 2005
 * Black Sabbath: In Their Own Words - 2007
 * Hangin' with Heaven and Hell - 2007