"Changes" is a song by

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

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

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' author

Stephen Deusner Stephen M. Deusner is an American music critic and part-time record store clerk who lives in Bloomington, Indiana. A native of Tennessee, he has contributed to Pitchfork Media (including '' the Pitchfork 500''), ''Salon'', '' CMT'', ''American Songw ...

labeled it as one of Black Sabbath's best songs.

Overview

The song's

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

melody was composed by guitarist

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...

, 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 a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

, and vocalist

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

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

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

by critic Barney Hoskyns. 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 pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. ...

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,

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 pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. ...

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 27 October 1984) is an English television personality, singer, actress, model, and fashion designer. The daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, she appeared on the reality show ''The Osbournes'' (2002–2005) wit ...

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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, 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 and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinat ...

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 paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' 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 Stall ...

's dance mix) – 6:11 # "

Come Dig Me Out "Come Dig Me Out" is a song by British singer-songwriter Kelly Osbourne. It was planned as the third single to be released from Osbourne's debut album ''Shut Up'', however, the release was cancelled when Osbourne’s record label Epic dropped he ...

" (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 the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became pop ...

style. It was first released as a

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

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'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinso ...

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

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that 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 s ...

to the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

-produced adult animated

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

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

Maya Rudolph Maya Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), and later played supporting roles in the films '' 50 First Dates' ...

and

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...

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 pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

, 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'', `black·''ish'', and 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. ''Black-ish' ...

''. Bradley's version of the song also appeared in an episode of the HBO 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-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

In popular culture

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

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