Bobby Ellsworth

Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth
Ellsworth in 2015
Ellsworth in 2015
Background information
Birth nameRobert Ellsworth
Also known asBlitz
Born (1959-05-03) May 3, 1959 (age 65)[1][2]
OriginNew Jersey, U.S.
GenresThrash metal, heavy metal, groove metal
OccupationSinger
Years active1980–present
Member ofOverkill, BPMD
Formerly ofThe Cursed

Robert Ellsworth (born May 3, 1959), best known as Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth, is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of New Jersey thrash metal band Overkill.[3] He has been the vocalist of Overkill since its inception in 1980, and he and bassist D. D. Verni are the band's only constant members.

Ellsworth is a member of the supergroup cover band BPMD.[4] He also previously fronted The Cursed, a now defunct band featuring guitarist Dan Lorenzo, which released the Room Full of Sinners LP in 2007.[5]

Personal life

In 1998, Ellsworth was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of nose cancer and underwent immediate surgery, which successfully removed the tumor.

Ellsworth had a focal seizure in Germany in June 2002, right in the middle of the song "Necroshine". He commented: "The beauty of a stroke is that you don't remember. I don't know what it changed, because I forget how it used to be (laughs). Occasionally I piss my pants when somebody turns a microwave on (laughs). I'm riding my motorcycle. I still swim, I work out. The idea is that when you have a problem, there's two ways to look at it – you can live in the problem or you can live through the problem. For me, I just lived through it. I thought very soon afterwards if it had actually killed me, I said 'Wouldn't it be something to die in the middle of an Overkill show?'."[6]

Ellsworth was critical of the Obama administration. In a 2010 interview, he was asked if he felt that Obama would spawn any songs about political awareness and replied, "You could probably just do one record and call it 'Liar' (laughs)" He then outlined instances where he believed the party displayed hypocrisy and called the Democratic Party "just an awful thing."[7]

In 2014, Ellsworth again faced health issues, battling borderline pneumonia during a German tour.[8]

Ellsworth has been a resident of Vernon Township, New Jersey.[9]

References

  1. ^ OVERKILL (May 3, 2019). "Happy 60th to our very own BB pic.twitter.com/XnA5LwPc7p". twitter.com. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "Overkill". facebook.com. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Overkill's Bobby Blitz – Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?, August 27, 2014, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved September 9, 2021
  4. ^ "BOBBY 'BLITZ' ELLSWORTH, MIKE PORTNOY, PHIL DEMMEL And MARK MENGHI Join Forces In BPMD: 'American Made' Album Due Soon". Blabbermouth.net. January 31, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "The Cursed – Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives". metal-archives.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ Video on YouTube
  8. ^ "Overkill's Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth Discusses His Health Issues: 'I Think Of Myself As Bulletproof' – Blabbermouth.net". August 7, 2014.
  9. ^ "Overkill's Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth: 'I've Had Black Bear Hibernate On My Property Now For 15 Years'", BlabberMouth.net, March 12, 2023. Accessed March 12, 2023."Overkill singer Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth spoke to the Appetite For Distortion podcast about his current residence in Vernon, New Jersey, saying (as transcribed by BlabberMouth.net): "I'm approximately 60 miles west of the George Washington Bridge. So I live up in northwest Jersey. I'm closer to Pennsylvania than I am to New York City; I'm only about 20 miles from PA. But this is what they call the Skylands."