Few rock figures are more recognizable than Ozzy Osbourne. With his long hair, distinctive glasses, and unique personality, Osbourne is a seminal rock star.
But many argue Ozzy isn't truly Ozzy without Black Sabbath, and the band created by guitarist Tony Iommi is regularly credited with launching the heavy metal genre.
In honor of some old school head banging, here are 12 photos remembering Black Sabbath, the band that gave us Ozzy Osbourne.
1
1968 - Beginnings
Tommy Iommi and Bill Ward enlisted Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler with other players to form a heavy blues band. They were originally called “Poka Tulk Blues Band.” That band broke up over lack of dedication except for the core four members, who renamed themselves Earth.
2
1969 - Formation
After rehearsing across the street from a movie theater playing the Italian horror film Black Sabbath, Osbourne and Butler pen the lyrics to a song of the same name. The song pushes the band in a darker direction. They drop the Earth moniker and become Black Sabbath with the mission to write horror rock songs.
3
1970 - Debut
Their debut album, Black Sabbath, releases on in February on Friday the 13th. It sells well, reaching platinum status and is generally regarded as the first heavy metal album.
4
1970 - Paranoid
Sabbath goes back in the studio just four months after release of the debut and records the followup. Originally titled War Pigs, after the anti-Vietnam War song, the band delivers a single that took “Top to bottom twenty-five minutes” to write and record. Paranoid becomes the album title and the band’s biggest hit.
5
1971-1974 - Albums And Touring
The band’s popularity affords them more studio time and a ‘briefcase of cash to buy drugs.’ Master of Reality contains the Sabbath fav Sweet Leaf. The band embarks on a successful world tour in 1973.
6
1975 - Sixth Album
The band records Sabotage,their sixth record in five year, which some reviewers considered great, but the album fails to achieve platinum status, the first Sabbath record to do so.
7
1975 - Ozzy Injured & Greatest Hits
The band is forced to cut a world tour short when singer Ozzy Osbourne ruptures a muscle in his back during a motorcyle accident. The band’s record company release We Sold Our Soul For Rock And Roll a greatest hits album without their knowledge or permission. It sells two million copies in the U.S.
8
1976 - Expansion and Contraction
The band adds a keyboardist for the Technical Ecstasy album. It takes more effort and Osbourne admits to heavy drug use and losing interest in the band. He is admitted to an asylum by the end of recording.
9
1976 - Dud And Tour
Technical Ecstasy is the band’s second consecutive album to not reach platinum status. Despite that, the band embarks on a successful world tour that boasts a fledgling AC/DC, among others, as an opener.
10
1977-8 - Quit And Restart
Ozzy quits the band during rehearsals for Sabbath’s next record. The band flirts with an ex-member of Fleetwood Mac briefly but Ozzy Returns in 1978. The band tours with Van Halen as an opener, and reviewers note VH’s energy blows Sabbath off the stage.
11
1979: The End Of Ozzy (For Now)
Citing his heavy drug use and almost complete disdain for anything resembling professionalism, the band fires Ozzy Osbourne. Sabbath enjoys a renaissance with Ronnie James Dio on vocals and Ozzy enjoys a successful solo career.
12
2025: The Final End
After several reunion tours and a new album, Black Sabbath is set to perform one final time with all original members on July 5, Birmingham, England.
