"Despite a revolving door of band members that couldn't ever be kept track of and an edgy reputation that couldn't ever be reconciled, Black Sabbath rose up and continued to stay in the spotlight of the rock music industry from the 1970s all the way into the ‘00s, becoming one of few bands on the very top tier of full-blown success that included the most coveted music groups of all time. Black Sabbath was one of the defining bands to rise up in the heavy metal rock realm, and its most famous member John ""Ozzy"" Osbourne has brought mention of the name Black Sabbath far and wide with his solo career and crazy personal life broadcast on television.Formed in 1969 by teenage friends from Birmingham, England, Black Sabbath originally consisted of vocalist Osbourne, guitarist Anthony ""Tony"" Iommi, drummer William ""Bill"" Ward and bassist Terence ""Geezer"" Butler, first embarking upon their musical journey playing ‘60s-inspired blues-rock sounding music blended with a jazzy style. Changing their name from Polka Tulk to Earth and then finally to Black Sabbath (named after a novel from writer Dennis Wheatley) the quartet broke onto the U.S. rock scene overnight in 1970, inking a deal with Warner Bros. Records while reaching the U.K. Top 10 with the group's self-titled debut album. Shying away from the music of soft rockers like James Taylor and the Carpenters, Black Sabbath continued dropping their flood of energetic hit albums and singles through the 1970s, propelled even further by the 1975 release We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n' Roll.Although Black Sabbath continued releasing hit singles and albums that would last through the years, the band eventually suffered when inner turmoil got the best of some band members. Osbourne jumped ship in 1979 to pursue a solo career, but the rocker appeared on select Black Sabbath records through the following year, anyway. Eventually, although the group won a Grammy Award for ""Iron Man"" in 1999, Black Sabbath went on an extended hiatus in the early 2000s, flatlining while Osbourne continued to enjoy success by opening his circus of a home to television crews filming his popular reality show."