Was “Crazy Train” an instant hit when the song was released?

[ParaDime77]

I’m trying to wrap my head around this song with fresh ears despite hearing it 1 trillion times. What was it about this song in particular that was so revolutionary? Did hearing it back then just completely fuck peoples minds up when they heard Randy’s playing on it?

[Turner Coates]

One thing is that it was an attention grabber because of the heavy delay effect on the vocal early on.
Zeppelin sometimes had similar vocal effects on Plant, but it was later into the songs. Crazy Train sounded crazy right away.

[Wednesday 13 Fan]

It didn't do a whole lot hit-wise until the live version from Tribute.

[ParaDime77]

Was there a video of sort released for it out of the gate?

I’m trying to wrap my head around the phenomenon of the song as it came out, was it the production that was so mind blowing or was it that Randy was so charismatic and talented nobody has seen anything like it before?

[Bono Nettencourt]

As I recall, Ozzy was more of an underground thing at 1st... MTV hadn't really happened yet.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

I wasn't following Heavy Metal at this exact time... but... in looking back, and recalling how things evolved after... is it safe to say that Randy's Death really kick-started Ozzy's next level career?

Those records got a TON of exposure, the songs, the hype and more well after release... even reading their history, etc.. on Wiki, it seems a lot more attention came later.

Especially for "Crazy Train" being one of the, if not THE biggest hit song in his catalog.

$tEvil

[BernieTaupson]

Was there a video of sort released for it out of the gate?

No.

[BernieTaupson]

This is truly bizarre.

Crazy Train single

Release Date.September 20, 1980
Category: SOLO
Type: Digital
Certified Units: 4 Million
Genre: UNASSIGNED
Previous Certification:
4x Platinum | September 2, 2020
Platinum | September 2, 2020
Gold | October 21, 2005

https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab ... ch_section

[Bono Nettencourt]

I wasn't following Heavy Metal at this exact time... but... in looking back, and recalling how things evolved after... is it safe to say that Randy's Death really kick-started Ozzy's next level career?

Same. Probably. SOTD helped too. After the US festival, Ozzy was huge.

[GreatWhiteSnake]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

[FreddyFender]

Hell no.

Ozzy was popular with rock fans, but heavy metal was not en vogue during the Randy days. New Wave was what was hot. "Metal Health" and "I Wanna Rock" and heavy metal breaking through was a long way away.

Crazy Train really blew up after the video from the Tribute album went into rotation on MTV during the Zakk era.

[FreddyFender]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

I'm from the midwest and we didn't hear any Ozzy on the radio until Diary of a Madman in my city.

[Stinky McFister]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

This.

I realize it can be a regional thing but in the bay area, it was big. I remember it being preceded by 'I Don't Know'. That one-two punch convinced me to buy the record.

[GreatWhiteSnake]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

This.

I realize it's can be a regional thing but in the bay area, it was big. I remember it being preceded by 'I Don't Know'. That one-two punch convinced me to buy the record.

Same...

[Don't Damn Me]

Hell no.

Ozzy was popular with rock fans, but heavy metal was not en vogue during the Randy days. New Wave was what was hot. "Metal Health" and "I Wanna Rock" and heavy metal breaking through was a long way away.

Crazy Train really blew up after the video from the Tribute album went into rotation on MTV during the Zakk era.

I challenge this.
Crazy Train was the first single from Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath. Remember them? They were huge? By 1980 paranoid and Iron Man were still getting regular airplay at least in the tri-state Market that Philadelphia was in. Crazy Train was an instant hit. It was a great song and the solo blew people away. It was the biggest hit he had until maybe Mama I'm Coming Home. It did not experience a larger upkick in single sales after tribute than it did upon release

[The Stench]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

I was only around 8 or 9 when it was released, but I definitely heard it multiple times on the radio then. "I Don't Know" too, but to a lesser extent. My older brother bought Circus magazine regularly and Ozzy was all over it's pages at the time.

[Dyslexicheart]

It wasn't like a "hit" song on the radio, but it was known and liked by rock fans pretty much immediately. Everyone was interested in what Ozzy was going to do after Sabbath, but it was definitely Randy's playing that got everyone's attention.

[Gibsonite]

Anyone who says it wasn't a radio hit out of the gate must've been living somewhere with shitty radio stations. I remember hearing this, I Don't Know and Goodbye to Romance in regular rotation on our local FM station, then Flying High Again a year later when Diary came out. Maybe we were lucky out here, OZFM played lots of metal back in the day..

[Tommy2Tone84]

Hell no.

Ozzy was popular with rock fans, but heavy metal was not en vogue during the Randy days. New Wave was what was hot. "Metal Health" and "I Wanna Rock" and heavy metal breaking through was a long way away.

Crazy Train really blew up after the video from the Tribute album went into rotation on MTV during the Zakk era.

I challenge this.
Crazy Train was the first single from Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath. Remember them? They were huge? By 1980 paranoid and Iron Man were still getting regular airplay at least in the tri-state Market that Philadelphia was in. Crazy Train was an instant hit. It was a great song and the solo blew people away. It was the biggest hit he had until maybe Mama I'm Coming Home. It did not experience a larger upkick in single sales after tribute than it did upon release

It probably has to do with age too. Many of us were on the younger side when Blizzard was released. I remember H&H getting released more so than Blizzard but I wasn’t the biggest Sabbath fan in 1980 either. SOTD made me a Sabbth fan. Me and many of my friends weren’t that hip to Ozzy until DOAM and SOTD. While I was hip to Ozzy, I wasn’t really hip to Randy yet. I was also confused why Night Ranger’s guitarist was in the band and then I had more confusion over Kerslake and Daisley vs Aldridge and Sarzo.

Like someone else mentioned, it probably had to do with regions and certain markets too. Blizzard and Crazy Train were released pre-MTV so it was literally word of mouth, radio and rock music magazines. It sounds like many within the industry and press weren’t all that excited or positive about Ozzy’s solo career. Many had it DOA before it even had a chance to take off. I envy many of you longtime fans who were there from the beginning. Who not only got to see Randy but got to see the original Blizzard lineup. At this point, I would be content with having gotten to see Brad on the DOAM tour.

I do remember seeing some of the After Hours songs on MTV but can’t remember if that was before or after Tribute’s release.

As far as Crazy Train goes, what is the big mystery? It only has one of the most iconic, bad ass intros, guitar riffs and solos in it, with lyrics that are as relevant today as they were 43 years ago. It’s a brilliantly written song from beginning to end. Blizzard is mostly a masterpiece. Why it didn’t sell Back In Black numbers at the time is a real head scratcher.

Eddie usually gets most or all of the credit for this genre but Randy was as much of an architect and influence as Eddie was.

Crazy Train was the third riff I ever learned. The first being Smoke On The Water and the second being Iron Man.

[Mister Freeze]

"Crazy Train" is one of those classic rock songs (like "You Shook Me All Night Long") that grew in stature over time. It's something you can't measure with chart positions.

The kind of radio station that would play "Crazy Train" in 1980 isn't as mainstream as one that would play it in 1987. (I even remember seeing the '87 video on Friday Night Videos.) That Tribute album introduced a lot of people to Ozzy's greatest hits at the height of hair metal mania. Giving Randy Rhodes equal billing helped too. There's something about dead guitar heroes that creates a certain aura.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

""""""""""""""""It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go..."""""""""""""""""""""

This is always funny to me, when someone says, writes or implores this.

Especially with Heavy Metal artists that they favor.

"They were huge...." blah blah blah

The proper way to write this is....

It was all over the FM Rock Radio station where I LIVED from the get go...

What gets played in Wisconsin or St. Louis doesn't always gets played the same in Wichita or Jacksonville. #facts

$tEvil

[GreatWhiteSnake]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

""""""""""""""""It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go..."""""""""""""""""""""

This is always funny to me, when someone says, writes or implores this.

Especially with Heavy Metal artists that they favor.

"They were huge...." blah blah blah

The proper way to write this is....

It was all over the FM Rock Radio station where I LIVED from the get go...

What gets played in Wisconsin or St. Louis doesn't always gets played the same in Wichita or Jacksonville. #facts

$tEvil

Cracked you up did I? Find that so funny that I didn't type, "where I lived in Western CO". Ok now I've added that for you. Hope you're still chuckling. WOW

[MetalSludgeCEO]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

This.

I realize it can be a regional thing but in the bay area, it was big. I remember it being preceded by 'I Don't Know'. That one-two punch convinced me to buy the record.

""""""I realize it can be a regional thing """""""

Exactly.

$tEvil

[GreatWhiteSnake]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

""""""""""""""""It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go..."""""""""""""""""""""

This is always funny to me, when someone says, writes or implores this.

Especially with Heavy Metal artists that they favor.

"They were huge...." blah blah blah

The proper way to write this is....

It was all over the FM Rock Radio station where I LIVED from the get go...

What gets played in Wisconsin or St. Louis doesn't always gets played the same in Wichita or Jacksonville. #facts

$tEvil

Haha now we're suddenly literary experts blah blah blah! Yes I could have included the qualifier "where I lived" blah blah blah but an intelligent reader would know that's implied. I'm NOT a huge Ozzy fan. Funny you telling anybody the proper way to do anything blah blah blah. I guess we're still a bit touchy about being called late to the Post Malone party blah blah.. blah...

[MetalSludgeCEO]

Anyone who says it wasn't a radio hit out of the gate must've been living somewhere with shitty radio stations. I remember hearing this, I Don't Know and Goodbye to Romance in regular rotation on our local FM station, then Flying High Again a year later when Diary came out. Maybe we were lucky out here, OZFM played lots of metal back in the day..

"""""""""""""" in regular rotation on our local FM station""""""""""""""""""

Use of the words "our local FM station" is proper.

Also, by comparison... as someone noted above, Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot songs were HIT songs... true hit songs... those songs, their videos, etc...

Those few singles of theirs got 5-10x the radio play, and the hype, and sales proved it.

Both those bands, easily out-sold Ozzy's 2 first solo records by a mile, esp at the time.

But of course, over time, Ozzy's albums lasted longer, continued to sell and more.

This is like the young fans who think Gn'R was HUGE in Hollywood or HUGE out of the gate with "Appetite..." neither are true but over time, that album would not go away and they became mega giants much-like Ozzy did well after his first 2 solo album records.

Ozzy eating the bat and the plane crash that killed Randy, both happened in 1982, after the debut solo album and "Crazy Train" were released.

Note: "Crazy Train" was recorded in March 1980, released in the UK in August 1980 and in the US in February 1981.

The real rotation for this song began more than a year after the face, when the bat and Randy incidents happened.

$tEvil

[MetalSludgeCEO]

It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go...

""""""""""""""""It was all over FM Rock Radio from the get go..."""""""""""""""""""""

This is always funny to me, when someone says, writes or implores this.

Especially with Heavy Metal artists that they favor.

"They were huge...." blah blah blah

The proper way to write this is....

It was all over the FM Rock Radio station where I LIVED from the get go...

What gets played in Wisconsin or St. Louis doesn't always gets played the same in Wichita or Jacksonville. #facts

$tEvil

Cracked you up did I? Find that so funny that I didn't type, "where I lived in Western CO". Ok now I've added that for you. Hope you're still chuckling. WOW

""""""Ok now I've added that for you."""""""""

Good boy.

$tEvil

[woblinweebles]

Looking at old Billboard magazines, it lasted 21 weeks (late April through September) on the top rock tracks in 1981. Peaked at #9 around July 4th.
https://books.google.com/books?id=JiQE ... zy&f=false

I don't recall hearing it as much as "Flying High Again" which lasted a few weeks longer and got up to #2 on the chart, but I spent most of the summer of 1981 in a town without a rock station.

[GoodJudge]

I was way to young for this song the first time around and even a bit for Tribute. Others have said above that (in certain markets) this song didn't really take off fully until the Tribute version video hit MTV.

So my question for those who were there is how come it took so long for the Rhoads legend to build up? Is it because in the early 80s Ozzy was seen as a washed-up drunk who broke up Sabbath, so only a few die-hards still supported him? And was it only when metal in general came more into fashion that more people started listening to and appreciating the older songs, and Randy's talent?

[Bono Nettencourt]

Hell no.

Ozzy was popular with rock fans, but heavy metal was not en vogue during the Randy days. New Wave was what was hot. "Metal Health" and "I Wanna Rock" and heavy metal breaking through was a long way away.

Crazy Train really blew up after the video from the Tribute album went into rotation on MTV during the Zakk era.

I challenge this.
Crazy Train was the first single from Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath. Remember them? They were huge? By 1980 paranoid and Iron Man were still getting regular airplay at least in the tri-state Market that Philadelphia was in. Crazy Train was an instant hit. It was a great song and the solo blew people away. It was the biggest hit he had until maybe Mama I'm Coming Home. It did not experience a larger upkick in single sales after tribute than it did upon release

It probably has to do with age too. Many of us were on the younger side when Blizzard was released. I remember H&H getting released more so than Blizzard but I wasn’t the biggest Sabbath fan in 1980 either. SOTD made me a Sabbath fan.

You weren't the only one. Releasing that album and touring it after Randy's death was a genius marketing move, especially since at the same time Sabbath was sputtering out following the 2 Dio albums.

[FreddyFender]

I was way to young for this song the first time around and even a bit for Tribute. Others have said above that (in certain markets) this song didn't really take off fully until the Tribute version video hit MTV.

So my question for those who were there is how come it took so long for the Rhoads legend to build up? Is it because in the early 80s Ozzy was seen as a washed-up drunk who broke up Sabbath, so only a few die-hards still supported him? And was it only when metal in general came more into fashion that more people started listening to and appreciating the older songs, and Randy's talent?

Ozzy made an impact when the first record came out, but as stated through the thread, some people heard radio playing Blizzard of Oz tracks right out of the gate, others like myself didn't. So that's why I said it wasn't a "hit" - it was not taking America by storm or anything. Blizzard of Oz WAS in the record stores, kids were talking about it. But it wasn't everywhere the way we think of it now.

But Randy was one of the hottest guitar players in the world by the time he died - just a few years after Blizzard. "Flying High Again" and "Over The Mountain" got serious airplay by me. By the time "Tribute" came out, heavy metal ruled the world and Ozzy was cool... the live version of "Crazy Train" was on MTV all the time... that was years later.

But I guess your question is kind of complicated, because I remember my girlfriend seeing Ozzy on the BATM tour w Crue opening and her saying that Ozzy was just some old, fat guy.