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Mr. Crowley
1980 single by Ozzy Osbourne From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"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.
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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 28th best guitar solo by the readers of Guitar World in 2011.[4] The song was ranked the 23rd greatest heavy metal song of all time, according to a poll by Gibson.[5]
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Overview
"Mr. Crowley" was the second of two singles from Blizzard of Ozz, after "Crazy Train".[6] It was inspired by Aleister Crowley's book The 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/.
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In popular culture
The 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.[7]
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.[8]
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Personnel
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
- Randy Rhoads – guitars
- Bob Daisley – bass guitar
- Don Airey – keyboards
- Lee Kerslake – drums
Certifications
See also
References
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