Geezer Butler


The longtime bassist for the groundbreaking heavy metal outfit Black Sabbath, Terence "Geezer" Butler was born July 17, 1949, in Birmingham, England. As a teen he formed his first band Rare Reed with schoolmate John "Ozzy" Osbourne in the fall of 1967, the two reunited in the blues quartet Polka Tulk which also featured guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. After briefly re-christening themselves Earth the foursome adopted the Black Sabbath moniker in early 1969, borrowing the name from a song written by Butler, a disciple of occult novelist Dennis Wheatley. While Black Sabbath self-titled 1970 debut laid the foundations for their deafening, sludgy hard rock attack, the follow-up Paranoid was their creative and commercial breakthrough, selling four-million copies in the U.S. alone on the strength of fan favorites like "War Pigs," "Iron Man," and the title track; though Osbourne was the band's focal point, Butler wrote the songs' lyrics, drawing heavily upon his fascination with the black arts to explore recurring themes of death and destruction. During the latter half of the 1970s, Black Sabbath's popularity dwindled, and in 1979 Butler briefly left the band; his return to the lineup coincided with Osbourne's departure, although the group continued on with new frontman Ronnie James Dio. Butler again exited in mid-1984, forming the Geezer Butler Band before reuniting with Osbourne in 1987. Butler re-joined Sabbath for 1992's Dehumanizer but again quit the group two years later; after another fling with Osbourne he formed G/Z/R issuing Plastic Planet in 1995. The solo Black Science followed in 1997.

GEEZER'S BASS GUITAR

At this point he is using a french made Vigier bass (they play wonderfully).
I believe he has an excess model as well as a passion. Early pictures show Geezer playing a Fender with Tony playing a white three pickup SG Custom.
The clear plastic bass pictured in Volume 4 insert is supposed to be an Armstrong.
The striped bass Geezer used in 1978 looks like a Gibson but has cross inlays so
it must be a specially built one, possibly by John Birch.

DOES GEEZER USE A PICK OR HIS FINGERS?

He used his fingers, most of the time. Exceptions include "Children of the Grave", and the finish of "Iron Man", when he grabs a pick to do the fast part. More recently, such as on Cross Purposes and on his G//Z/R work, he's used a pick. (personal note: I'll have to watch when I see them this Tuesday to see if Geezer is using a pick on the Reunion Tour.) [from the newsletter]

The bassist Terry Butler who has been part of Florida-based death metal bands like Six Feet Under, Massacre and the "super group" Death, is NOT Geezer.