Ozzy Osbourne photo

Ozzy Osbourne

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Ozzy Osbourne

John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality.

He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname “Prince of Darkness”.

Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 due to alcohol and drug problems, but went on to have a successful solo career, releasing 12 studio albums, the first seven of which received multi-platinum certifications in the US.

Osbourne has since reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions. He rejoined in 1997 and helped record the group’s final studio album, 13 (2013), before they embarked on a farewell tour that ended with a February 2017 performance in their hometown, Birmingham.

His longevity and success have earned him the informal title “Godfather of Metal”.

Osbourne’s total album sales from his years in Black Sabbath, combined with his solo work, are over 100 million.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath and into the UK Music Hall of Fame as a solo artist and as a member of the band.

He has been honoured with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Birmingham Walk of Stars. At the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, he received the Global Icon Award.

In 2015, Osbourne received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

In the early 2000s, Osbourne became a reality television star, appearing as himself in the MTV reality show The Osbournes alongside wife and manager Sharon and two of their three children, Kelly and Jack. He co-stars with Jack and Kelly in the television series Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour.

Ozzy Osbourne guitar tabs

Mr. Big photo

Mr. Big

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Mr. Big

Mr. Big is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1988. The band was originally composed of Eric Martin (lead vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitar, backing vocals), Billy Sheehan (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Pat Torpey (drums, percussion, backing vocals).

Though primarily a metal band, they are most known for scoring softer hits. Their songs are often marked by strong vocals and vocal harmonies.

Their hits include “To Be with You” (a number-one single in 15 countries in 1992) and “Just Take My Heart”. The band takes its name from a song by Free which it covered on the 1993 album Bump Ahead.

Mr. Big remained active and popular for over a decade despite internal conflicts and changing music trends, releasing four studio albums: Mr. Big (1989), Lean into It (1991), Bump Ahead (1993) and Hey Man (1996).

Guitarist Paul Gilbert departed the band in 1999, and Richie Kotzen was brought as a guitarist and vocalist. The band released two more albums with this line-up: Get Over It (1999) and Actual Size (2001). Mr. Big broke up in 2002.

Following requests from fans, Mr. Big reunited with its original line-up in 2009. The band’s first post-reunion tour was in Japan. In 2010, Mr. Big released its first album in 15 years with the same line-up: What If…. During the recording of the follow-up album …The Stories We Could Tell (2014), Pat Torpey was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and participated only marginally as a touring support.

The band’s ninth album, Defying Gravity (2017), was its last record involving Torpey as drum producer; he died the following year. Not wanting to continue without Torpey, the band intended to release a final studio album, conduct a farewell tour and disband. However, since then they have been on hiatus, they still exist as musical entity, but with no concrete plans to continue with a different drummer and haven’t discussed their future, as affirmed by Billy Sheehan.

Mr. Big is frequently cited as an example of the “Big in Japan” phenomenon, where a musical act is disproportionately more popular in Japan compared to similar groups. Some consider Mr. Big as one-hit wonder for “To Be with You”, but they maintained consistent popularity in the Japanese market for years.

Mr. Big guitar tabs

Motorhead photo

Motörhead

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Motörhead

Motörhead (/ˈmoʊtərhɛd/) were a British rock band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer, songwriter and only constant member Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox.

The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Though several guitarists and drummers have played in Motörhead, most of their best-selling albums and singles feature the work of Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor on drums and “Fast” Eddie Clarke on guitars.

Motörhead released 22 studio albums, 10 live recordings, 12 compilation albums, and five EPs over a career spanning 40 years. Usually a power trio, they had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart.

The albums Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, and particularly the live album No Sleep ’til Hammersmith cemented Motörhead’s reputation as a top-tier rock band. The band are ranked number 26 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. As of 2016, they have sold more than 15 million albums worldwide.

Most often classified as heavy metal, Motörhead has been credited with being part of and influencing numerous musical scenes, thrash metal and speed metal especially. Lemmy, however, always insisted that they were a rock and roll band. He said that they had more in common with punk bands, but with their own unique sound, Motörhead is embraced in both punk and metal scenes.

Their lyrics typically covered such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance abuse, and, most famously, gambling, the latter theme being the focus of their hit song “Ace of Spades”.

Lemmy died on 28 December 2015 from cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The day after his death, drummer Mikkey Dee and guitarist Phil Campbell both confirmed that Motörhead had disbanded. By 2018, all three members of Motörhead’s classic lineup (Lemmy, Taylor and Clarke) had died.

Motörhead guitar tabs

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