Mr. Crowley
Updated: 12/10/2025, 5:32:23 PM Wikipedia source
"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. 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.'" 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. The song was ranked the 23rd greatest heavy metal song of all time, according to a 2011 reader poll by Gibson.
Infobox
Tables
| Chart (2025) | Peakposition |
| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) | 17 |
| US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) | 22 |
| UK Rock & Metal (OCC) | 27 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000‡ |
| ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- Allmusichttps://www.allmusic.com/song/mr-crowley-mt0033933447
- Classic Rock
- 100 Greatest Guitar Solos Archived 22 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. guitar.about.comhttp://guitar.about.com/od/guitaristsatoz/tp/100-Greatest-Guitar-Solos.02.htm
- "Full Top 50 Metal Songs List"https://web.archive.org/web/20161028220122/http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/top-50-metal-0318-2011.aspx
- Metal Hammerhttps://www.loudersound.com/features/ozzy-osbourne-blizzard-of-ozz-track-by-track-guide
- "Ozzy 8-Pack Final Tracklist Confirmed"https://web.archive.org/web/20111016171311/http://www.thegamingvault.com/2011/05/rock-band-3-ozzy-osbourne-8-pack-final-tracklist-confirmed/
- "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 31, 2025"https://sverigetopplistan.se/chart/215/?dspy=2025&dspp=31
- "Ozzy Osbourne Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 July 2025.https://www.billboard.com/artist/Ozzy-Osbourne/chart-history/ARK
- "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 August 2025.https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/rock-and-metal-singles-chart/20250801/111/
- "American single certifications – Ozzy Osbourne – Mr. Crowley"https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Ozzy+Osbourne&ti=Mr.+Crowley&format=Single&type=#search_section