Mr. Crowley
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Mr. Crowley is a 1981 heavy metal song performed by Ozzy Osbourne (with Randy Rhoads collaborating on the lyrics), released on the album "Blizzard Of Ozz". The song is one of Osbourne's first two singles as a solo artist following the breakup of Black Sabbath. It reached #46 on the UK charts.
The song's title is a reference to the infamous Aleister Crowley, and the song as a whole is addressed to him. Mr. Crowley seems to cast the life of the occultist in a critical light; Osbourne asks Crowley, "Mr. Charming, did you think you were pure?" and invites Crowley to "ride my white horse", a possible reference to Death, who rides a pale horse according to the Bible. It is also commonly thought to refer to Crowley's addiction to heroin which was a prescribed medication for him. The line is open to interpretation, as Osbourne indicates in the following line, "It's symbolic, of course." Osbourne ends the song with a plea to the long-dead Crowley, "Was it polemically sent?/I wanna know what you meant", perhaps referring to Crowley's often-controversial doctrines. Osbourne also says in the reissue of Blizzard of Ozz that, in Black Sabbath, he had a roadie named Frank who'd worked with Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page had given him a book signed "To Frank, Polemically Yours".
The guitar solo in Mr. Crowley is ranked number 28 on Guitar World Magazine's 100 poll of the "100 greatest guitar solos". According to band mythology, Osbourne was dissatisfied with the first guitar solo that Randy Rhoads recorded for the song. Rhoads, in angry protest, went into the studio right away and banged out the famous solo. Afterwards, he stormed out and asked how THAT solo was. Osbourne smiled and said: "This is it!"
Despite Osbourne's links to the occult, he was apparently unaware of the correct pronunciation of Crowley's name. Osbourne pronounces it to rhyme with "foully"; the name pronounced correctly rhymes with "holy".
Famous covers include Moonspell (Darkness and Hope, 2001) and Cradle of Filth (Nymphetamine, 2004). Tim 'Ripper' Owens, Joe Lynn Turner, The Cardigans and Judas Priest have also recorded covers of the song.
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