Mr. Crowley

For people with the surname Crowley, see Crowley (surname).

"Mr. Crowley"
1980 live single artwork
Single by Ozzy Osbourne
from the album Blizzard of Ozz
B-side"No Bone Movies"
ReleasedSeptember 20, 1980[1]
Recorded22 March – 19 April 1980
GenreHeavy metal[2]
Length4:55
LabelJet
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
"Crazy Train"
(1980) 		"Mr. Crowley"
(1980) 		"Flying High Again"
(1981)

"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.

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]

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 used the American pronunciation of Crowley's name of /ˈkraʊli/, rather than the British pronunciation of /ˈkroʊli/.

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]

Personnel

Charts

2025 weekly chart performance for "Mr. Crowley"
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[8] 17
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[9] 22
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[10] 27

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[11] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum". Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Ozzy Osbourne - Mr Crowley". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  3. ^ Everley, Dave (June 2018). "Purple reign – All the right notes (and in the right order)". Classic Rock. No. 249. p. 50.
  4. ^ 100 Greatest Guitar Solos Archived 22 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. guitar.about.com
  5. ^ "Full Top 50 Metal Songs List". Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  6. ^ Mills, Matt (8 February 2024). "Lawsuits, warfare and "bone movies": The stories behind every song on Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard Of Ozz". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 31, 2025". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Ozzy Osbourne Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  11. ^ "American single certifications – Ozzy Osbourne – Mr. Crowley". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
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