Born Frank Anthony Iommi in Aston, Birmingham, England in 1948, he would become one of the most influential hard rock guitarists of all time. But Tony Iommi almost never became a part of rock and roll history. Iommi started playing guitar when he was a teenager, but at the age of seventeen he suffered an accident while working at a sheet metal factory. He lost the tips of his middle and ring fingers on his right hand and was about to give up music. Iommi then strung his guitar with extra light strings and wore plastic covers that he built himself over his damaged fingers.

In August 1968 Iommi’s band Mythology broke up at the same time that another band named Rare Breed broke up. Rare Breed’s singer was a young lad named John “Ozzy” Osbourne. The pair, along with Terry Butler and Bill Ward formed a new band called…Polka Tulk (I know you were expecting Black Sabbath, but stick around for a second.) They then named their band Earth but there was another band named Earth so to avoid confusion they called themselves Black Sabbath in August, 1969.

Due to his factory accident Iommi used to detune his guitar from E to C# to avoid causing more pain in his fingers. Because of this, Black Sabbath were one of the first bands to detune and launch a new sound in heavy metal music. One accident at a young age could have derailed what eventually became a lengthy career in rock and roll but instead it ushered in a new sound that made Black Sabbath pioneers of hard rock.

Black Sabbath is for babies! No, really. Check out Lullaby Renditions of Black Sabbath, out now. Want to hear an exclusive full-length sneak peek of “Iron Man”? Click here! Need a free Lullaby Renditions of Black Sabbath coloring page? Yup, we’ve got that too.

Rob

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Ex-Black Sabbath frontman and prominent foul-mouthed madman Ozzy Osbourne recently decided to dedicate his body to science when he dies because, in his words, “It’s amazing I’m still alive.” Before the dark prince bit the heads off doves, bats, and whatever else he could get his hands on, the man was known as John Michael Osbourne.

Ozzy received his nickname in primary school and refused to go by John for the rest of his days. He suffered some learning problems early on, which he claimed were based on dyslexia, and often said that he was molested by older classmates. He attended Prince Albert Road Junior School and Birchfield Road Secondary Modern School during this time period. He would meet Tony Iommi at Birchfield, and would many years later go on to put together Black Sabbath with the future guitarist.

Ozzy always loved music, however, and starred in many school plays. At 14, he became obsessed with the Beatles, which would lead him to leave school at 15 to break out on his own. He was quoted as saying, “”When I left school I wanted to become a plumber. When I heard the Beatles I wanted to become a Beatle.”

He’d take on many odd jobs, such as construction site laborer, apprentice toolmaker, car factory worker trainee plumber, and slaughterhouse worker. He also spent six weeks in jail after not being able to pay a fine for a burglary charge at a local clothing store. Later he would be back again for punching a cop in the face. It was in Winson Green Prison where he tattooed the now famous letters O-Z-Z-Y across his left knuckles, which he did with a sewing needle and graphite.

Soon, after playing in various bands that would go nowhere, Ozzy found success with Iommi by forming Black Sabbath. The rest, as they say, is history.

Black Sabbath is for babies! No, really. Check out Lullaby Renditions of Black Sabbath, out now. Want to hear an exclusive full-length sneak peek of “Iron Man”? Click here! Need a free Lullaby Renditions of Black Sabbath coloring page? Yup, we’ve got that too.

Ryan Abeling

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Black Sabbath is for babies! No, really. Check out Lullaby Renditions of Black Sabbath, out now. Want to hear an exclusive full-length sneak peek of “Iron Man”? Click here! Need a free Lullaby Renditions of Black Sabbath coloring page? Yup, we’ve got that too.

admin

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Happy birthday to us!

Our newest little devil is out today. Look for it at your coolest local baby boutique or on our website.

Is your family going through changes? If your days are filled with tears because baby kept you up until the witching hour, try these soothing versions of Black Sabbath’s metal classics to rock your little one to sleep. You’re going to feel sweet relief as the hauntingly familiar melodies cast an enchanting spell over the whole family.

Says Rock & Rolla:

“The Verdict: Lullabye Renditions Of Black Sabbath will be greeted with open arms and horns in the air by die hard rock and metal fans who have had an addition to the family.”

Want to hear an exclusive full-length sneak peek of “Iron Man”? Click here!

Can’t wait to learn more and hear samples of all the tracks? Click this!

Need a free Lullaby Renditions of Black Sabbath coloring page? Yup, we’ve got that too!

We wish we could tell you that we were going to get a nice long nap after this, but we’re hard at work on Lullaby Renditions of Elvis Presley, coming this August.

admin

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Our newest little devil, Lullaby Renditions of Black Sabbath, is out tomorrow. In honor of that auspicious nativity in black, check out our new coloring page.

Click here to download, then print and color. (Coloring outside the lines encouraged.)

Want more free Rockabye Baby coloring pages and print & play activities? Click here. We’ve got healthy baby food recipes too!

Can’t wait to hear it? Listen to an exclusive sneak peek of “Iron Man” here.