"The Wizard" is a single from rock band Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep (band)

Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...

's 1972 album Demons & Wizards

Demons & Wizards (Uriah Heep album)

Demons and Wizards is the fourth album released by British rock band Uriah Heep.The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve, the front of which was designed by Roger Dean and contains a hidden erotic image of male and female genitalia...

and was the first single to be lifted from the album. It was composed by Mark Clarke and Ken Hensley

Ken Hensley

Kenneth William David Hensley is a keyboard player , guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s....

. It is a gentle, semi-acoustic ballad whose lyrics deal with a man wandering until he meets "the Wizard of a thousand kings", a possible reference to the druid

Druid

A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....

 Merlin

Merlin

Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...

, to Gandalf

Gandalf

Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...

, to an angel

Angel

Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...

 or even God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

.

Personnel

• Mick Box
  Mick Box
  Michael Frederick Box , better known by his stage name Mick Box, is the lead guitarist of British rock group Uriah Heep, having previously been a member of The Stalkers and Spice, both with original Uriah Heep vocalist David Byron. He is the only member from the band's founding in 1969 who is...
  
   — Guitar
• Lee Kerslake
  Lee Kerslake
  Lee Kerslake is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Uriah Heep, in addition to his work in the Ozzy Osbourne band...
  
   — Drums
• Mark Clarke — Lead vocals, bass guitar
• Ken Hensley
  Ken Hensley
  Kenneth William David Hensley is a keyboard player , guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s....
  
   — Keyboards
• David Byron
  David Byron
  David Byron -Early Life 1967-1969:From mid-60's to early 70's David Byron did a lot of session work for a company called Avenue Recordings singing lead and backing vocals...
  
   — Lead vocals

Cover versions

A cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of "The Wizard" was released by power metal band Blind Guardian

Blind Guardian

Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres...

 on their 1995 single "A Past and Future Secret

A Past and Future Secret

"A Past and Future Secret" is the first cd single from German power metal band Blind Guardian, and the third track on their 1995 album Imaginations From the Other Side. It is an acoustic song, and its guitarwork and lyrical themes strongly evoke the Arthurian legends cycle, the end of which it...

", and 1996 compilation album The Forgotten Tales

The Forgotten Tales

The Forgotten Tales is a compilation album by Blind Guardian. It was published in 1996. The cover artwork was created by Andreas Marschall. "'The Forgotten Tales'" contains several cover versions of popular songs, including "Mr. Sandman", "Surfin' USA", and "Spread Your Wings" as well as alternate...

.