9 Successful Bands That Changed Their Vocalist

The Birmingham natives of Black Sabbath were one of the key driving forces behind the music scene in the Midlands during the late 60’s and early 70’s, and they managed to transfer this success to the global stage with multiple hit records, mostly due to the charismatic, hyper-entertaining nature of original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne.

Osbourne is one of the most famous and influential frontmen in the history of rock, thanks to the range of his early vocal work and his outstanding stage presence. The manic singer fronted Black Sabbath to bucket-loads of success by featuring on the bands' first eight studio albums, which included Paranoid, Master of Reality, and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

However, Osbourne’s heavy reliance on alcohol and drugs resulted in little-to-no creative input from his standpoint, which ended in his untimely dismissal from the group in 1979. It was actually Sharon Osbourne who came up with the idea for her future husband’s replacement, suggesting former Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio, after a failed attempt to convince Ozzy to rejoin.

Dio’s vocal range eclipsed that of the man he replaced, and his debut Heaven and Hell was a complete overhaul of Black Sabbath's musical style, which was a fresh and interesting concept to follow. After recording the follow-up album Mob Rules, a critical failure, Dio would leave shortly after to start his own solo group.

Former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillen was brought in to record the album Born Again, and the band received yet another spell of critical panning, but despite this, the album was a financial success, and charted at #4 in the UK.

Following the departure of Gillen, David Donato, an unknown American singer, was added to the line-up, but management were unhappy with his work and he was soon axed. Glenn Hughes was then brought in for the album Seventh Star, which received mixed reviews, but the act did not find a consistent vocalist until the introduction of Tony Martin on the album The Eternal Idol.

Martin received praise for his “powerful voice” which brought a “new fire” to the band, and he would go on to record on the albums Headless Cross, and Tyr, remaining with Black Sabbath until the return of Dio in 1990. Dio recorded the Dehumanizer album with the band, which received mixed reviews but experienced large financial success.

But not long after he would quit the band, refusing to play a support slot for Ozzy Osbourne’s band during a supposed retirement show, citing Osbourne as a “clown”. This led to Tony Martin returning as the bands' singer for his second stint, but this line-up was scrapped in favour of a reunion with Ozzy Osbourne in 1997.

The reunion lasted until 2006 when the heavy metal godfathers re-joined with Dio once again, but legal issues with Osbourne led to the band touring under the banner of Heaven and Hell.

Upon the death of Ronnie James Dio in 2010, the original Black Sabbath line-up reunited and recorded the album 13, their final studio release. Ozzy remained the lead singer until 2017, when they called it quits after embarking on their final tour.