Paranoid (Black Sabbath song)

"Paranoid"
Single by Black Sabbath
from the album Paranoid
B-side	"The Wizard" (1970 original)
Released	August 1970[1]
Format	7" vinyl
Recorded	1970
Genre	Heavy metal proto-punk[2]
Length	2:53
Label	Vertigo
Writer(s)	Butler/Iommi/Osbourne/Ward
Producer(s)	Rodger Bain
Black Sabbath singles chronology
"The Wizard" (France, 1970) "Paranoid" (1970) "Iron Man" (1971)
Paranoid track listing "War Pigs" (1) "Paranoid" (2) "Planet Caravan" (3)

"Paranoid" is a song by the British rock band Black Sabbath, featured on their second album Paranoid (1970). It is the first single from the album, while the B-side is the song "The Wizard". It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[1]

About

"Paranoid" was the first Black Sabbath single release, coming six months after their debut album was released. Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler (from Guitar World magazine, March 2004):

A lot of the "Paranoid" album was written around the time of our first album,"Black Sabbath". We recorded the whole thing in about 2 or 3 days, live in the studio. The song "Paranoid" was written as an afterthought. We basically needed a 3 minute filler for the album, and Tony came up with the riff. I quickly did the lyrics, and Ozzy was reading them as he was singing.^[3]

Paranoid was also used as the name of the album, and somewhat unusually, the word paranoid is never mentioned in the lyrics. Originally the band had wanted to call the album "War Pigs" after the song of the same name, but the record company persuaded them to use Paranoid instead because it was less offensive.^[4]

Legacy

"Paranoid" was ranked No. 34 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs.^[5] In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 11 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Rolling Stone ranked it number 250 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[6]

The original Black Sabbath recording has been used numerous times in various films and television shows including Sid & Nancy,^[7] Dazed and Confused,^[8] The Stoned Age,^[9] Any Given Sunday,^[10] Almost Famous,^[11] We Are Marshall,^[12] The song was used in the Sega Mega Drive game Rock n' Roll Racing in 1993.

In 1985, Black Sabbath performed the song at Live Aid in Philadelphia. In 2002, Osbourne and Iommi were joined by Genesis drummer Phil Collins and The Who's bass player Pino Palladino in a performance of the song at Buckingham Palace during the Party at the Palace, which celebrated Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee.

In Finland, "Paranoid" has the same status as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" in the United States as a song the audience finds great humour to request during a concert. So regardless of the band or the style of music they're playing "Soittakaa Paranoid!" ("Play Paranoid!") can usually be heard at least once during any gig.^[13]

Personnel

• Ozzy Osbourne - vocals
• Tony Iommi - lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Geezer Butler - bass guitar
• Bill Ward - drums

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
NME	United Kingdom	"All Time Top 100 Singles"[14]	1976	41
Spin	United States	"100 Greatest Singles of All Time"[15]	1989	81
Radio Veronica	Netherlands	"Super All-Time List"[16]	1989	16
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame	United States	"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll"[17]	1994	*
Guitarist	United Kingdom	"Top 100 Guitar Solos of All-Time"[18]	1998	84
Rolling Stone	United States	"500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[19]	2004	250
Q	United Kingdom	"1010 Songs You Must Own!"[20]	2004	*
Q	United Kingdom	"100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!"[21]	2005	11
Q	United Kingdom	"100 Greatest Songs of All Time"[22]	2006	100
VH1	United States	"40 Greatest Metal Songs"[23]	2006	21
VH1	United States	"100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs"[24]	2008	4

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing

7" single (Vertigo 6059 010)^[25]

1. "Paranoid" – 2:45
2. "The Wizard" – 4:20

7" single (Vertigo 6059 014)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
2. "Rat Salad" – 2:30

7" singles (Vertigo AS 109)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
2. "Happy Being Me"^[I] – 15:54

7" 1977 re-release (Immediate 103 466)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
2. "Evil Woman" – 3:25

7" 1977 re-release (Nems SRS 510.044)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
2. "Tomorrow's Dream" – 3:11

7" 1980 re-release (Spiegelei INT 110.604)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:45
2. "Snowblind" – 5:25

• I^ "Happy Being Me" is performed by Manfred Mann Chapter Three and appears on their second album Manfred Mann Chapter Three Volume Two.

Chart positions

Chart (1970)	Peak position
Australian Go-Set National Top 60[26]	18
Austrian Singles Chart[27]	3
Danish Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart[28]	1
Irish Singles Chart[29]	12
Italian Singles Chart[30]	9
Netherlands Singles Chart[27]	2
Norwegian Singles Chart[27]	6
South African Springbok Radio Top 20[31]	3
Swiss Singles Chart[27]	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[32]	61

References

1. Strong, M. C. (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd. p. 65. ISBN 0-86241-385-0.
2. Rolling Stone Paranoid at the Wayback Machine (archived May 3, 2009), retrieved 14 July 2011.
3. "Black Sabbath Paranoid Lyrics". Lyrics007.com. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
4. "Paranoid — Black Sabbath —". Last.fm. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
5. "VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs", 1–4 May 2006, VH1 Channel, reported by VH1.com; last accessed 10 September 2006
6. "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. 9 December 2004. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
7. "IMDb Sid & Nancy soundtrack". Retrieved 28 March 2009.
8. "IMDb Dazed and Confused soundtrack". Retrieved 28 March 2009.
9. "IMDb The Stoned Age soundtrack". Retrieved 28 March 2009.
10. "IMDb Any Given Sunday soundtrack". Retrieved 28 March 2009.
11. "IMDb Almost Famous soundtrack". Retrieved 28 March 2009.
12. {{cite, and "Mike & Molly" web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758794/soundtrack|title=IMDb We are Marshall Mike & Molly soundtrack|accessdate=28 March 2009}}
13. Timo Rautio: Rokatessa roiskuu osa 3 (2004)
14. "NME Lists". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
15. "Spin: 100 Greatest Singles Of All Time (1989)". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
16. "Super All-Time List – From 1989". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
17. "500 Songs That Shaped Rock". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
18. "Guitar Lists". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
19. "The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
20. "1010 Songs You Must Own!". rocklists.net. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
21. "Q Lists". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
22. "Q Lists". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
23. "40 Greatest Metal Songs (VH1 made a decent effort)". listology.com. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
24. "VH1’s 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs". stereogum.com. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
25. "Paranoid Vinyl 7" Discography". sabbath.se. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
26. "27 February 1971 Singles". poparchives.com.au. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
27. "Black Sabbath – Paranoid (song)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
28. "BLACK SABBATH: Paranoid (Single)". musicline.de. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
29. "Paranoid". irishcharts.ie.com. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
30. "Indice per Interprete: B". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
31. "SA Charts 1969 – 1989". rock.co.za. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
32. "Billboard Singles". allmusic. Retrieved 27 February 2010.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics