Dave's Blog: Black Sabbath-Lita Ford-Ozzy Osbourne

Black Sabbath
The original and present Black Sabbath, from left to right: Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward
The original and present Black Sabbath, from left to right: Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward
Background information
Origin Birmingham, England
Genre(s) Heavy metal
Years active 1968–present
Label(s) Vertigo, Warner Bros., Sanctuary, I.R.S., Reprise, Epic
Associated acts Deep Purple, Heaven and Hell, GZR, Rainbow, Dio, Electric Light Orchestra
Website www.blacksabbath.com
Members
Ozzy Osbourne
Tony Iommi
Geezer Butler
Bill Ward
See: List of Black Sabbath band members

Early life

Ford was born Carmelita Rosanna Ford to a British mother, and a Mexican-American father in London, England. She moved with her family to the United States while still very young, (age 4). She began playing the guitar at age 11. Her vocal range is that of a mezzo-soprano.^[1]

In 1976 at the age of 17 she joined the all-female rock band The Runaways, for whom she played lead guitar.

[edit] Solo career

After the group folded in 1979, she began a solo career. Her first two albums, Out For Blood and Dancin' on the Edge were moderately successful. Out For Blood featured the single "Out For Blood". Her next album Dancin' on the Edge was even more successful. It featured the single "Fire in my Heart" which reached the top 10 in several countries. The next single "Gotta Let Go" was one of Ford's biggest hits. It reached number one on the Mainstream Rock charts and number one in England.

Ford toured extensively and made several guest appearances on TV shows for the next four years, but had no releases; a follow-up to Dancin' on the Edge, titled The Bride Wore Black, was abandoned and never released due to the fact Ford did not like the production of the album and this upset the head of her record label causing Ford to switch from Mercury Records to RCA Records. By the time Ford returned again, the lighter pop-metal she had long favored had broken through to mainstream audiences, which set the stage for her most commercially successful album, 1988's Lita. With Sharon Osbourne as her manager, and again produced by herself, the album featured four commercial hits, first was the #1 "Kiss Me Deadly", next #9 "Back to the Cave", #2 "Close My Eyes Forever", and #3 "Falling In and Out of Love". The ballad "Close My Eyes Forever, was a duet with Ozzy Osbourne.

Her next release was called Stilleto. It featured the singles "Hungry" and "Lisa"; which was dedicated to her mother. However this album was not as successful as Dancin' on the Edge and Lita.

Ford's next release was Dangerous Curves. Ford's last release would be with XYZ Records and would be titled Black. It failed to repeat the success of 1991's Dangerous Curves.

Ford was asked by VH-1 to be in the cast of "The Surreal Life" for its 7th season, in 2007. She declined.

During her solo years, she was an endorsee of B.C. Rich guitars and used Mockingbird and Bich double-neck models.

LitaFord

Early life

Osbourne was born in Aston, part of the city of Birmingham, England, where he spent most of his early life.^[3] Osbourne reportedly suffered from learning difficulties (claimed to be dyslexic,^[4]^[5]) making school life difficult.^[3]

Ozzy Osbourne would later form a band with former classmate Tony Iommi and audition for lead singer. During this time psychedelic rock was enormously popular. To distinguish themselves from the norm, Iommi and his partners decided to play a heavy blues inspired style of music laced with gloomy lyrics.^[6] Names for the band included Polka Tulk and Earth. One day during rehearsals, the band noticed people queuing up outside a cinema where a horror film was being shown, and bassist Geezer Butler observed how curious it is that people like to be frightened. The film these fellows were waiting to see was the Mario Bava directed 'Black Sabbath'. After reading an occult book that Osbourne had let Butler borrow, Butler had a dream of a dark figure at the end of his bed. Afterwards, Butler wrote the lyrics to "Black Sabbath", one of their first songs, in a darker vein. It was the prototype of the songs that became their main style later in their career.^[7