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Who would have thought that four guys from an industrial neighborhood in Birmingham, UK would go on to create a genre of music that would set a trend for decades to come.

Like many others before them, Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Geezer Butler (bass), Tony Iommi (guitar), and Bill Ward (drums) started out playing the Blues in some dingy basement in the late 60s. The band name Polka Tulk did not do much for them, neither did the name Earth that followed it.

In 1969, changing the name to Black Sabbath seemed to do the trick, as well as the music style they developed into, courtesy of Tony Iommi's dark guitar sound, supported by Ozzy Osbourne's unmistakably unique keening vocals.

Interestingly enough, it was the bassist Geezer Butler that supplied the gloomy lyrics that seemed to speak to the generation at that time. Add the heavy drums of Bill Ward, and the magic formula was complete. Perhaps it was this combined recipe of individual talents that started them on the road to an incredible popularity with the release of their first album in 1970.

With the release of the Single "Paranoid" from the follow up album with the same name, heavy metal arrived not knocking at the door, but bursting right on through. This did not make Black Sabbath popular with the radio stations. However, four million copies of the Paranoid album sold world wide, and set the stage for their popularity.

Black Sabbath toured extensively, and brought their music and darkly appealing ways to the United States starting in December 1970.

By 1974 five LPs were under Black Sabbath's belt, all of which sold over one million copies in America alone. This relentless work was not without a price. Drug and alcohol abuse lead Ozzy Osborne to quit the band in 1977.

While Dave Walker filled his position for a while, Ronnie James Dio is more widely known for taking part in filling that spot from 1979 to 1982. While Dio to many had the better technical vocal skills, Black Sabbath with Dio never reached the popularity it had with Ozzy Osbourne, even though the Dio-Sabbath albums reached platinum and gold on the charts, respectively.

When Dio left Black Sabbath in 1982 to start his own band, Rainbow, some very respectable names followed in his footsteps. However, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, and Tony Martin never managed to bring Black Sabbath the popularity it had with Ozzy.

However, vocalists weren't the only ones using a revolving door. By 1986, all that was left from the original Black Sabbath lineup was Tony Iommi, even though the original lineup briefly re-united in 1985 for the Live Aid concert. All four original members found each other again also in 1992 for another tour.

In the interims, Tony Iommi worked with many different lineups trying to keep the Sabbath legacy going. In 1997, Ozzfest was born, and with it another rebirth of the original lineup, even though drummer Bill Ward only played two shows in Birmingham, with Mike Bordin playing the other dates.

This resulted in a live album "Reunion", which went platinum in the U.S., and also put the old song "Iron Man" on the map again by earning a Grammy that year. The fans stayed faithful to Black Sabbath, and filled the stands for a two-year tour.

Since then, Iommi has released some solo work and Ozzy has become a TV reality star with his own series - aptly named "The Osbournes".

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