Terence Michael Joseph “Geezer” Butler (born 17 July 1949 in Birmingham, England) is an English musician and songwriter. Butler is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded with Heaven & Hell, GZR, and Ozzy Osbourne.Butler is noted as being one of the first bassists to use a Wah-wah pedal on his bass, as showcased at the beginning of “N.I.B.” which inspired many later bassists, such as Cliff Burton who cited him as an influence.
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Full Name: Terence Michael Joseph Butler
Description: Bassist, UK
Known For: Member and bassist for “Black Sabbath”
Instruments: Bass
Music Styles: Hard Rock
Location: United Kingdom
Date Born: 17th July 1949
Location Born: Birmingham, United Kingdom
CONTACT DETAILS
Web Site: http://www.geezerbutler.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gzrmusic
YOUTUBE VIDEO
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Geezer Butler
An English musician and the founding bassist for the heavy metal band “Black Sabbath”. His nickname supposedly arises from his habit as a teenager of referring to everyone as “Geezer”. He was also involved in Heaven & Hell from 2006 to 2010.
Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, with old friend John “Ozzy” Osbourne in the autumn of 1967. Separated for a time, Osbourne and Butler reunited in the blues foursome, Polka Tulk, along with guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. They renamed their band Earth, but after finding a band in the small-time English circuit with the same name, soon adopted Black Sabbath in early 1969.
Butler played rhythm guitar in his pre-Sabbath days, including with Rare Breed, but when Sabbath was formed, Iommi made it clear that he would not want to play with another guitarist, so Butler moved to bass.
Butler is noted as being one of the first bassists to use a Wah-wah pedal on his bass, as showcased at the beginning of “N.I.B.” which inspired many later bassists. For the Black Sabbath’s third album, Master of Reality, he was also one of the first bassists to down-tune (from the standard EADG to the lower C#F#BE), in order to match Iommi who had started tuning his guitar to C# (three semitones down).
While Ozzy Osbourne was the frontman of the band, Butler wrote almost all of the band’s lyrics, drawing heavily upon his fascination with religion, science-fiction, fantasy and horror, and musings on the darker side of human nature that posed a constant threat of global annihilation.
During the latter half of the 1970s, Black Sabbath’s popularity dwindled, although the group continued on in the early 1980s with ex-Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio and then with ex-Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan.
Butler quit the band in the middle of 1984, forming the Geezer Butler Band. In 1988 he joined Ozzy Osbourne to take part in the No Rest For The Wicked World Tour. Butler re-joined Black Sabbath in 1991 for the reunion of the Mob Rules line-up, but again quit the group after the Cross Purposes tour of 1994.
In 1995 Butler joined with Osbourne to play on the Ozzmosis album.After recording Ozzmosis, he formed G/Z/R, issuing Plastic Planet in 1995.
His next solo album, Black Science, followed in 1997. Butler returned to Sabbath one more time for the 1997 edition of Ozzfest, and has remained with the band since. In 2005 he released Ohmwork, his third solo album. In October 2006 it was announced that Butler, along with Tony Iommi, would be reforming the Dehumanizer-era Black Sabbath line-up with Vinny Appice and Ronnie James Dio, under the name Heaven & Hell to differentiate between the reunited touring band fronted by Osbourne, and the current Sabbath line-up
Equipment.
Butler is currently endorsed by Lakland basses and plays Joe Osborn and Bob Glaub signature basses.[ For amplification Butler plays Ampeg SVT-2PRO heads and SVT-810E 8×10 cabinets. According to a 1995 interview, Butler is known to use effects such as wah wah, chorus and flanger pedals. In the past, he has been known to use Fender, Dan Armstrong Plexi, Rickenbacker, Yamaha BB and Vigier Basses. As of 2012 he is endorsed by Hartke bass amplification.
He is married to Gloria Butler, who managed Heaven & Hell. He also shares his Los Angeles home with several cats, of whom he has posted pictures on his website. His son, Biff Butler, was the frontman in the Nu Metal band Apartment 26.
According to Ozzy Osbourne’s autobiography I Am Ozzy, Geezer “never uses foul language”. An avowed vegan, Butler appeared in an advertisement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in 2009.
Geezer is a passionate fan of Aston Villa football club and can be seen attending games along with fellow Sabbath member Tony Iommi. In 2006, when Black Sabbath were being inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, Butler was quoted as saying into the microphone “Up The Villa”.
Further information can be obtained at the web sites listed on the Links button above
WORKS
Discography
Solo
1995 – Plastic Planet (as “g//z/r”)
1997 – Black Science (as “geezer”)
2005 – Ohmwork (as “GZR”)
Black Sabbath
1970 – Black Sabbath
1970 – Paranoid
1971 – Master of Reality
1972 – Black Sabbath Vol. 4
1973 – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1975 – Sabotage
1975 – We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll
1976 – Technical Ecstasy
1978 – Never Say Die!
1980 – Live at Last!
1980 – Heaven and Hell
1981 – Mob Rules
1982 – Live Evil
1983 – Born Again
1992 – Dehumanizer
1994 – Cross Purposes
1994 – Cross Purposes Live
1996 – The Sabbath Stones
1998 – Reunion
2002 – Past Lives
2002 – Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978)
2004 – Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978)
2007 – Black Sabbath: The Dio Years
2007 – Black Sabbath: Live at Hammersmith Odeon
2013 – 13
Ozzy Osbourne
1990 – Just Say Ozzy
1995 – Ozzmosis
Heaven & Hell
2007 – Live from Radio City Music Hall
2009 – The Devil You Know
2010 – Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell
Non-album compilations
1989 – Stairway To Heaven/Highway To Hell (with Ozzy Osbourne)
1994 – Nativity in Black (with Bullring Brummies)