LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 25, 2020…ON THIS DATE 40 YEARS AGO, BLACK SABBATH RELEASED THEIR 9TH STUDIO ALBUM ‘HEAVEN AND HELL.’ THIS IS A HUGE ALBUM IN THE HISTORY OF BLACK SABBATH BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST ALBUM TO FEATURE RONNIE JAMES DIO AS THE GROUP’S LEAD SINGER, REPLACING OZZY OSBOURNE WHO HAD LEFT A YEAR EARLIER. WHAT’S REALLY WEIRD IS THE INITIAL SESSIONS FOR THIS ALBUM ACTUALLY STARTED OFF WITH OZZY IN THE STUDIO. BAND INFIGHTING IN THE 11 MONTH STUDIO SESSIONS RESULTED IN OZZY LEAVING THE GROUP. IN OZZY’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY HE STATED: “it was clear they’d had enough of my insane behaviour”.
IN ANOTHER CRAZY TWIST, DIO WAS ACTUALLY INTRODUCED TO TONY IOMMI BY SHARON ARDEN (WHO WOULD LATER BECOME SHARON OSBOURNE). THE PAIR LATER HAD A CHANCE MEETING AT THE RAINBOW ROOM IN LOS ANGELES WHERE BOTH DISCUSSED FORMING A NEW BAND INSTEAD OF CARRYING ON AS BLACK SABBATH. ACCORDING TO DIO: “It must have been fate, because we connected so instantly.”
ON THEIR FIRST JAM SESSION TOGETHER, THE DUO FINISHED ‘CHILDREN OF THE SEA’ A SONG THAT IOMMI HAD GIVEN UP ON PRIOR TO THE BAND’S FIRING OF OZZY. THE ALBUM HEAVEN AND HELL WAS HUGE COMMERCIALLY FOR SABBATH, SELLING OVER 1 MILLION COPIES IN THE U.S.
HERE’S BLACK SABBATH WITH A LIVE VERSION OF ‘CHILDREN OF THE SEA’
AND AS AN ADDED TREAT ANOTHER GREAT SONG FROM HEAVEN AND HELL. HERE’S A LIVE VERSION OF ‘NEON KNIGHTS’