Crazy Train

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"Crazy Train"
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Template:Infobox song/link by Ozzy Osbourne
from the album Blizzard of Ozz
B-side"You Lookin' at Me Lookin' at You"
Released29 August 1980 (UK)[1]
  • February 1981 (US)[2]
StudioRidge Farm Studio, Rusper, West Sussex
GenreHeavy metal[3][4]
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[[Composer|ComposerTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content.
[[Lyricist|LyricistTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Bob Daisley
[[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content.
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"Crazy Train"
(1980) 		"Mr. Crowley"
(1980)
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"Crazy Train (Live)"
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Template:Infobox song/link by Ozzy Osbourne
from the album Tribute
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  • "Crazy Train"
  • "I Don't Know"
Released22 June 1987[5]
Recorded1981
Genre
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LabelEpic
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[[Lyricist|LyricistTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Bob Daisley
[[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Max Norman
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"The Ultimate Sin"
(1986) 		"Crazy Train (Live)"
(1987) 		"Miracle Man"
(1988)

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"Crazy Train" is the debut solo single by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released in 1980 from his debut album as a solo artist, Blizzard of Ozz (1980). The song was written by Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, and Bob Daisley. The lyrics deal with the subject of the Cold War and the fear of annihilation that existed during that period.[6][7] On its original release, "Crazy Train" reached the top 50 in the UK. Following Osbourne's death in 2025, the song entered the Hot 100 for the first time at number 46 and later peaked at number 39, becoming Osbourne's second US top 40 hit as a solo artist after "Mama, I'm Coming Home".

Production

Guitarist Greg Leon, who initially took Randy Rhoads's place in Quiet Riot, has claimed that he helped Rhoads write what would become the "Crazy Train" riff. "We were hanging out, and I showed him the riff to Steve Miller's 'Swingtown'. I said: 'Look what happens when you speed this riff up.' We messed around, and the next thing I know he took it to a whole other level and end up writing the 'Crazy Train' riff."[8] Bassist Bob Daisley has dismissed rumours that the riff was not created solely by Rhoads.[7]

The track contains what is described as "evil laughter" by Loudwire.[9]

Reception and legacy

AllMusic reviewer Steve Huey described the main guitar riff as "a classic, making use of the full minor scale in a way not seen since Ritchie Blackmore's heyday with Deep Purple."[10]

The song is one of Osbourne's best known and recognizable as a solo performer.[11] It was rated as having the 9th-greatest guitar solo ever by readers of Guitar World magazine.[12] The song was also ranked ninth by VH1 on the list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs[13] and in 2009 it was named the 23rd-greatest hard rock song of all time also by VH1,[14] the highest placement by a solo artist on the list. In 2015, "Sleazegrinder" of Louder included the song in his list of "The 20 Greatest Hair Metal Anthems Of All Time", placing it at number 8. He wrote: "Crazy Train’s signature riff is so iconic that literally everyone you know knows it, could identify it in three seconds or less, and will tell you it’s a damn good tune. And it is. The fact that Rhoads died before he could see what a lasting impact it had on heavy metal is a shame, but holy smokes, what a fucking song."[15]

In 2021, it topped Metal HammerTemplate:'s readers' poll of the Top 50 Ozzy Osbourne songs, with the magazine informing that it is Osbourne's most played song, with over 1150 live performances, over 18 million plays on YouTube, and more than 800 million on Spotify (as of July 2025).[16] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the song number six on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs.[17]

"Crazy Train" has been used as the walk-out song for Premier League football club Aston Villa F.C.. Osbourne was a fan of the team, which is based in his hometown of Birmingham.[18] Similarly, the National Football League (NFL)'s New England Patriots currently use "Crazy Train" as their entrance song.[19][20]

Chart performance

The single reached No. 49 on the United Kingdom singles chart in 1980.[21] In the United States, the song reached No. 9 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart and the single peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in 1981.[22] The master ringtone was certified double platinum and had by September 2010 sold 1,750,000 downloads.[23] The Tribute re-release was accompanied by a music video.

After Osbourne's death in 2025, the song debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 46 with 9.2 million official U.S. streams, 2.4 million radio audience impressions, and 11,000 paid downloads.[24]

Personnel

1980 Studio Version

1981 Live Version (Music Video Version)

2002 re-issue

Charts

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Certifications

Template:Certification Table SeparatorTemplate:Certification Table Separator
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[40] Gold 0 
Italy (FIMI)[41] Gold 0 
New Zealand (RMNZ)[42] 2× Platinum 0 
Spain (Promusicae)[43] Gold 0 
United Kingdom (BPI)[44] Platinum 600,000 
United States (RIAA)[45] 4× Platinum 4,000,000 
United States (RIAA)[45]
Mastertone 		2× Platinum 2,000,000 
Greece (IFPI Greece)[46] Gold 1,000,000 

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."News". Record Mirror. 23 August 1980. p. 4.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 610. ISBN 9780862415419.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Best Heavy Metal Songs: 16 Undeniable Classics". www.udiscovermusic.com. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dave Tompkins. "VH1 - 40 Greatest Metal Songs". cs.uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Music Week" (PDF). p. 11.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kajzer, Jackie; Lotring, Roger (2010). Full Metal Jackie Certified: The 50 Most Influential Metal Songs of the '80s. Course Technology. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4354-5441-5.
  7. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mills, Matt (8 February 2024). "Lawsuits, warfare and "bone movies": The stories behind every song on Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard Of Ozz". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wall, Mick (1 February 2012). "Randy Rhoads: The Guitarist Who Changed The World". Classic Rock.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."10 Weird Vocal Sounds You'll Find in Rock + Metal Songs". Loudwire. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Huey, Steve. "Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."100 Greatest Guitar Solos - Tablature for the greatest guitar solos of all time". Guitar.about.com. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Original TV Shows, Reality TV Shows". VH1. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Vh1 Top 100 Hard Rock Songs". spreadit.org music. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The 20 Best Hair Metal Anthems Of All Time Ever". Louder. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hobson, Rich (18 December 2021). "The 50 best Ozzy Osbourne songs of all time". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tanswell, Jacob (30 July 2024). "How Aston Villa's viral kit video came together: Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, transfer trickery". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Fiske, Angelique (23 February 2017). "For Those About To Rock". Patriots.com. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."LOOK: Patriots show off new entrance in preseason game vs Panthers". 8 August 2024.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ozzy Osbourne". www.officialcharts.com. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Whitburn, Joel (2002). Rock Tracks. Menonomee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 103. ISBN 0-89820-153-5.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Chart Watch Extra: Songs From The Last Century". new.music.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rutherford, Kevin (28 July 2025). "This Ozzy Osbourne Classic Just Hit the Hot 100 for the First Time". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Whitburn, Joel (1998). Bubbling Under Singles & Albums. Menonomee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 152. ISBN 0-89820-128-4.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Canada Digital Top 50: Week of January 11, 2009". Canoe.com. Jam!. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
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