Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train
Description
“Crazy Train” is the debut solo single by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and was released in 1980 from his debut album as a solo artist, Blizzard of Ozz (1980). The song was written by Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, and Bob Daisley. The lyrics deal with the subject of the Cold War and the fear of annihilation that existed during this period.
Production and reception
Guitarist Greg Leon, who initially took Randy Rhoads’s place in Quiet Riot, has claimed that he helped Rhoads write what would become the iconic “Crazy Train” riff. “We were hanging out, and I showed him the riff to Steve Miller‘s ‘Swingtown‘. I said: ‘Look what happens when you speed this riff up.’ We messed around, and the next thing I know he took it to a whole other level and end up writing the ‘Crazy Train’ riff.” Guitarist William Weaver has also claimed to have written the signature riff and then presented the music to Rhoads in a studio session.
AllMusic reviewer Steve Huey described the main guitar riff as “a classic, making use of the full minor scale in a way not seen since Ritchie Blackmore‘s heyday with Deep Purple.”
The song is one of Osbourne’s best known and recognizable as a solo performer. It was rated 9th-greatest guitar solo ever by readers of Guitar World magazine. The song was also ranked ninth by VH1 on the list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs and in 2009 it was named the 23rd-greatest hard rock song of all time also by VH1, the highest placement by a solo artist on the list. In 2021, it topped Metal Hammer‘s readers’ poll of the Top 50 Ozzy Osbourne songs, with the magazine informing that it is Osbourne’s most played song, with over 1150 live performances, over 18 million plays on YouTube, and more than 500 million on Spotify (as of March 2023). In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the song number six on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs.
The single reached No. 49 on the United Kingdom singles chart in 1980. In the United States, the song reached No. 9 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart and the single peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in 1981. The master ringtone was certified double platinum and had by September 2010 sold 1,750,000 downloads.[15] The Tribute re-release was accompanied by a music video.
Personnel
1980 studio version
- Ozzy Osbourne – lead vocals
- Randy Rhoads – guitar
- Bob Daisley – bass
- Lee Kerslake – drums, vibraslap
1987 version (originally recorded live in 1981)
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
- Randy Rhoads – guitar
- Rudy Sarzo – bass
- Tommy Aldridge – drums
- Don Airey – keyboards
2002 re-issue
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
- Randy Rhoads – guitar
- Robert Trujillo – bass
- Mike Bordin – drums
- Don Airey – keyboards
