"Mr. Crowley" is a song by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, about English occultist Aleister Crowley. Written by Osbourne, guitarist Randy Rhoads and bass guitarist/lyricist Bob Daisley, it was released on Osbourne's debut solo album Blizzard of Ozz in September 1980 in the United Kingdom.[2] A live version was released as a UK single in November 1980. In North America, the studio version was released as a single in 1981.
| "Mr. Crowley" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) 1980 live single artwork | ||||
| Single by Ozzy Osbourne | ||||
| from the album Blizzard of Ozz | ||||
| B-side | "No Bone Movies" | |||
| Released | September 20, 1980[1] | |||
| Recorded | 22 March – 19 April 1980 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal[2] | |||
| Length | 4:55 | |||
| Label | Jet | |||
| Composer(s) | Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley[2] | |||
| Lyricist(s) | Bob Daisley | |||
| Producer(s) | Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake | |||
| Ozzy Osbourne singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song begins with a keyboard solo by Don Airey. "I just cleared [the band] out of the studio and said, 'Come back in half an hour,'" he recalled. "Ozzy came back, heard it, and said, 'You just plugged into my head, man.'"[3]
The first guitar solo by Randy Rhoads became one of the best known in heavy metal. It was ranked on 28th place in the list of the best guitar solos by the readers of Guitar World.[4]
The song was ranked the 23rd greatest heavy metal song of all time, according to a readers' preferences poll held by Gibson.[5]
Overview
edit"Mr. Crowley" was the second of two singles from Blizzard of Ozz, after "Crazy Train". It was inspired by Aleister Crowley's book Diary of a Drug Fiend that Osbourne had read, and a deck of tarot cards found in the studio as recording of the album was commencing. Crowley was an English occultist and ceremonial magician who had founded the Thelemite religion in the early 20th century. Osbourne mispronounces Crowley's name as /ˈkraʊli/, rather than the correct /ˈkroʊli/.
In popular culture
editThe official guide to the video game Fallout 3 uses the lyrics to the song in its walkthrough of You Gotta Shoot 'em in the Head.[6] The game also features a ghoul character named "Mister Crowley".
This song was also featured in the game Brütal Legend.
The song was included in Guitar Hero World Tour, along with "Crazy Train" and an in-game avatar of Ozzy himself, who becomes unlocked as a playable character upon completing both songs in the vocalist career, and was made available to download on 31 May 2011 for play in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode.[7]
On Ozzy Osbourne's 'Hellraiser (30th Anniversary Edition - Official Animated Video)' video, the legend "Mr. Crowley" appears on the sides of the van.
Personnel
editCertifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[8] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Other versions
editThe Cardigans released an a capella version on the B side of their 1995 single 'Carnival'.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum". Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Ozzy Osbourne - Mr Crowley". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
- ^ Everley, Dave (June 2018). "Purple reign – All the right notes (and in the right order)". Classic Rock. No. 249. p. 50.
- ^ 100 Greatest Guitar Solos Archived 22 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. guitar.about.com
- ^ "Full Top 50 Metal Songs List". Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ "Crowley". The Vault, the Fallout Wiki. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ Gaddo, Kyle (27 May 2011). "Ozzy 8-Pack Final Tracklist Confirmed". The Gaming Vault. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
- ^ "American single certifications – Ozzy Osbourne – Mr. Crowley". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ "The Cardigans – Carnival". Discogs. Retrieved 31 July 2022.