He’s the founding member, bassist, and primary lyricist of one of rock’s most influential bands. Now, Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler has just dropped a memoir spilling all the tea of how it really went down.
Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath-And Beyond follows the band’s early inception as a scrappy blues quartet through the struggles that led to the many lineup changes while touring around London’s gritty clubs (Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and The Who). The memoir also details the creation of their unique and iconic heavy riffs, tuned-down guitars, and apocalyptic lyrics that helped create the genre of heavy metal as we know it—to commercial success, leading to more than 70 million record sales worldwide without ever losing their cool. LifeMinute editor-in-chief Joann Butler sat down with Geezer to talk all about it and more.
This is a LifeMinute with Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler.
00:00 Intro: The Legendary Geezer Butler
00:43 Why He Wrote His Memoir During the Pandemic
02:14 How The Beatles Inspired Him to Pick Up a Guitar
03:02 Writing Lyrics: War Pigs and Realistic Storytelling
04:42 The Formation of Black Sabbath (and the name “Earth”)
06:33 Defining the Heavy Metal Sound
08:17 The Moment They Knew It Was Special
09:11 Favorite Songs and “Cringy” Moments
10:37 Clearing Up Misconceptions: “After Forever” & “Black Sabbath”
11:49 The 1977 “Fired and Rehired” Story
13:07 Will There Ever Be a Reunion?
13:36 Touring with Van Halen & Friendship with Eddie
14:50 Bass Influences: From Paul McCartney to YouTube
15:47 Advice to His Younger Self: Get a Lawyer!
16:17 Life with Gloria: A Lasting Marriage
17:24 The Origin of the Name “Geezer”
18:09 Dealing with Fame and Family Expectations
20:22 Biggest Life Lesson: Believe in Yourself
22:23 Outro: Where to Hear More