Crazy Train

"Crazy Train" is the first single from British heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, released in 1980. A live version of the song recorded in 1981 from the album Tribute was also released as a single in 1987 with an accompanying music video. The song was written by Osbourne, Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley. The subject matter of the lyrics is the Cold War and the fear of annihilation that existed during this period.

Overview
The song's main guitar riff has been praised for its use of the full minor scale. The single reached No. 49 on the United Kingdom singles chart in 1980. In the United States, the song reached No. 9 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart and the single peaked at No. 106 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in 1981. The master ringtone was certified double platinum and had by September 2010 sold 1,750,000 downloads.

The song is one of Osbourne's most well known and recognizable as a solo performer. It was rated 9th greatest guitar solo ever by readers of Guitar World magazine. The song was also ranked 9th by VH1 on the list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs and in 2009 it was named the 23rd greatest hard rock song of all time also by VH1, the highest placement by a solo artist on the list.

Personnel
1980 Studio version
 * Ozzy Osbourne - lead and overdubbed backing vocals
 * Randy Rhoads - guitar
 * Bob Daisley - bass
 * Lee Kerslake - drums, vibraslap

1987 Live version
 * Ozzy Osbourne - vocals
 * Randy Rhoads - guitar
 * Rudy Sarzo - bass
 * Tommy Aldridge - drums
 * Don Airey - keyboards

"2002 re-issue"
 * Ozzy Osbourne - vocals
 * Randy Rhoads - guitar
 * Robert Trujillo - bass
 * Mike Bordin - drums
 * Don Airey - keyboards

Notable cover versions

 * The Flys, on the soundtrack of Universal Soldier: The Return.
 * Lewis Lamedica (used as the theme to the MTV show The Osbournes)

Samples
"Crazy Train" has been sampled in the following songs:
 * "Undead" by Hollywood Undead (in a different key).
 * "Let's Go" by Trick Daddy.

Use in other media

 * This song featured in the film Ghost Rider.
 * The parts of the musical instruments are sung a cappella by children, followed by the entire family singing lyrics, in a 2011 TV commercial for the Honda Pilot.
 * It was used as a theme song of Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen.
 * The Westboro Baptist Church spoofed the song by rewriting it for an anti-gay protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010. In response, Osbourne issued a statement saying, "I am sickened and disgusted by the use of 'Crazy Train' to promote messages of hate and evil by a 'church'." The church also announced plans to perform their version of the song while protesting the funeral of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman in May 2013.
 * The song is a playable track in the video games Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 3.
 * Tom Morello and Serj Tankian covered the song for the tribute album Immortal Randy Rhoads: The Ultimate Tribute, which was released in the spring of 2015.