"Changes" is a song by British heavy metal band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

. A

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, it first appeared on '' Vol. 4'', which was released in 1972.

Overview

The song's

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

melody was composed by guitarist

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...

, who was experimenting with the instrument in the studio. The lyrics were by bassist

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heave ...

, and vocalist

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

has referred to the song as "heartbreaking". Quite different from Sabbath's previous work, the song was described as a "forlornly pretty"

by critic

Barney Hoskyns Barney Hoskyns (born 5 May 1959) is a British music critic and editorial director of the online music journalism archive Rock's Backpages. Biography Hoskyns graduated from the University of Oxford with a first class degree in English. He began ...

. It was inspired mainly by drummer Bill Ward's breakup with his first wife. Notably, "Changes" was not recorded with a real string ensemble. Instead, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi used a

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

to create the sound of an orchestra. The ballad is generally an outlier in the band's discography as it does not feature guitar or drums. To alleviate concerns about the band departing their well-known heavy sound, Osbourne promised in a 1972 interview "We're certainly not going to get any less heavy, we will probably do 'Changes' on stage with a Mellotron, but we'll never take strings on stage with us or anything like that." The band first performed the song live in 1973. "Changes" was ranked the 12th best Black Sabbath song by Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check.

Personnel (original version)

vocals *

piano,

bass guitar, Mellotron

Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne version

Three decades later, Ozzy recorded another version of the song, this time with his daughter,

Kelly Osbourne Kelly Michelle Lee Osbourne (born on October 27 1984) is an English television personality, singer, actress, and fashion designer. She is a daughter of Ozzy Osbourne, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, and came to prominence while appearing on the reali ...

as a duet. The revised lyrics for this version, released on 8 December 2003, reflect the moments of their life together. The single reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the second father-daughter duet to top the chart after Frank and

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

did so with "

Somethin' Stupid "Somethin' Stupid", or "Something Stupid", is a song written by C. Carson Parks. It was originally recorded in 1966 by Parks and his wife Gaile Foote, as Carson and Gaile. A 1967 version by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy Sinatra became ...

" in 1967. "Changes" also reached the top 20 in Germany, Ireland, and Norway. According to the Ozzy Osbourne official website, the single sold over one million copies. This version of the song was ranked number 27 on the "50 Worst Songs of the '00s" list in a 2009 ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' article.

Track listings

* UK CD1 # "Changes" – 4:07 # "Changes" (

Felix da Housecat Felix da Housecat (born Felix Stallings Jr., August 25, 1971) is an American DJ and record producer, mostly known for house music and electro. Felix is regarded as a member of the second wave of Chicago house. Musical career Early life Stalli ...

's dance mix) – 6:11 # " Come Dig Me Out" (live) – 3:54 * UK CD2 # "Changes" – 4:07 # "Changes" (Who's the Daddy dub mix) – 5:41 # "Changes" ( enhanced video) – 4:07

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Charles Bradley version

Charles Bradley recorded a cover of the song in a

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

style. It was first released as a

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

Black Friday single in 2013, and would later be released as the title track of Bradley's 2016 album ''

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * '' Changes: A Love Story'', 1991 novel by Ama Ata Aidoo * ''Changes'' (The Dresden Files) (2010), the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a 1983 novel by Danielle Steel * ''Chan ...

''. The following year, Bradley's cover received increased exposure when it was used as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

to the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

-produced

adult animated An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Big Mouth''. The series' cast members

Maya Rudolph Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress and comedian. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). During her tenure on the show, she appeared in supporting roles in ...

and

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for his film and television work in the Comedy film, comedy and Horror film, horror genres. He has received List of awards and nominations r ...

also performed a version of the song for the series' soundtrack in character as Connie the Hormone Monstress and the Ghost of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

, respectively. Charles Bradley's version of the song is featured in the 5th episode of the 4th season of the show ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons with 176 episodes. ''Black-ish'' follows an uppe ...

'' and the end credits for the 2nd episode of the 6th season of '' Suits''. Bradley's version of the song also appeared in an episode of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series '' Big Little Lies'', and was featured on the soundtrack album of the show's second season. This version saw further use in an April 2022 promo for

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

In popular culture

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

sampled "Changes" on "Going Through Changes", a track on his 2010 album '' Recovery''.

References

{{authority control 1972 songs 2003 singles 2013 singles British soft rock songs Sanctuary Records singles Songs written by Ozzy Osbourne Songs written by Tony Iommi Songs written by Geezer Butler Songs written by Bill Ward (musician) Black Sabbath songs Ozzy Osbourne songs Kelly Osbourne songs Number-one singles in Scotland UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles UK singles chart number-one singles Rock ballads Male–female vocal duets 1970s ballads