The first Black Sabbath song I ever heard was called ‘Back Street Kids.’ Released in 1976, it contained the line “I’m a rock n roll soldier, gonna play it until I’m dead.” Almost fifty years later, the band members are nearly dead, and they’re playing their last ever show this weekend. I’ve been a fan of this band for a long time and, believe me, I could write a whole book about them. But space is limited so I’ll just jot down a few memories.
As a teenager, the only hard rock group I’d heard was AC/DC, so I assumed that’s what heavy was. Then someone said, have you heard Black Sabbath? Listening to ‘Back Street Kids’ it was clear Sabbath were in a different zone. Tony Iommi’s guitar sounded like a motorbike revving turned into music. Ozzy Osbourne’s voice was a primeval yet soulful howl.
I then bought a Sabbath compilation record with their older songs from the early 70s – classics like ‘War Pigs,’ ‘Iron Man,’ and ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.’ I became a lifelong fan. There was something unique about the band. It wasn’t just the great songs or the incredible playing of Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward, along with Ozzy’s charismatic voice. It was the whole Sabbath vibe delivered through a heaviness of sound, lyrics, and imagery. They were one of a kind. When the song ‘Children of the Grave’ came out in 1971, you can bet there was no other band in the world putting out music like that. Other, hippy type bands might have written anti-war or protest songs, but Sabbath had the music to fit the subject matter.
Geezer Butler was the main lyric writer. His lyrics were grandiose and intriguing on songs like ‘Spiral Architect’ and ‘A National Acrobat.’ With songs like ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Wheels of Confusion’ he expressed the mental struggles felt by so many young people, while ‘Killing Yourself to Live’ and ‘Hard Road’ were about trying to survive in our crazy world. Although the themes were a little dark, the songs meant something, and the fact the music was brilliant made it all the better.
In high school days, myself and a friend used to present the heavy metal show on local FM radio. We played a lot of different bands, but the songs of Sabbath always featured strongly. In fact, the show’s opening theme was the cough from the start of ‘Sweetleaf’ and the closing theme was the mad laughter from the end of ‘Am I Going Insane!’
When the band broke up in 1979, that might have been the end of it. Instead, we got two new bands. Ronnie James Dio came in as the new Sabbath singer on the incredible Heaven and Hell album, while Ozzy went solo and got guitar legend Randy Rhoads to make the Blizzard of Oz album. Ironically, 1980, the year after they broke up, was probably the high water mark for Black Sabbath. Neither Sabbath nor Ozzy ever really topped those two albums.
After that, Ozzy’s solo career flourished, but when Dio left Sabbath, the band went through some tough times, and the music press turned on them. Mind you, the music press had always been hostile to Sabbath, especially the sort of posers who used to write for Rolling Stone. It was only in the early 90s when media darlings like Metallica and Nirvana cited Sabbath as a key influence that the iconic status of the band became widely recognised. There are very few bands who can be credited for inventing a musical genre. As Black Sabbath invented heavy metal, they are one of the few who can.
Black Sabbath have been with me for most of my life and a lot of memories are personal. Their music means a lot. One day, I hope to write a book about music, and they will get their own long chapter.
From a guitar lesson point of view, it is my honour to teach some of the great guitar songs written by Tony Iommi, and the excellent bass lines played by Geezer Butler. I hope some more students will come in who have an interest in this band.
Meanwhile, I will tune into the online stream of the Black Sabbath farewell concert this weekend, which is a celebration of their music. They fully deserve this recognition as icons of rock music.
Some of my favourite songs:
Vintage Sabbath with Ozzy – War Pigs, Children of the Grave, Sweetleaf, Killing Yourself to Live, Hole in the Sky, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Dirty Women.
Best of the Dio era – Heaven and Hell, Neon Knights, Die Young, Lonely is the Word.
Underrated, lesser known Sabbath songs – Spiral Architect, Air Dance, Johnny Blade, Back Street Kids, After All, Anno Mundi.
Killing Yourself to Live https://youtu.be/jCehccEZzX4?list=RDjCehccEZzX4
Spiral Architect https://youtu.be/zO5hJhI94Ow?list=RDzO5hJhI94Ow