Mr._Crowley
Mr. Crowley
1981 single by Ozzy Osbourne
"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.[1] 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.
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.'"[2]
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.[3]
The song was ranked the 23rd greatest heavy metal song of all time, according to a readers' preferences poll held by Gibson.[4]