Paranoid
A three-minute filler written in a hurry that became the band's biggest hit and the song that closed their farewell.
Black Sabbath, from Paranoid (1970)
- Written by
- Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward
- Released
- August 1970
- Length
- 2:48
- Album
- Paranoid
Recorded on 16 June 1970 at Island Studios in London with Rodger Bain producing, and released as a single on Vertigo in August 1970 with The Wizard on the B-side. Butler told Guitar World in 2004 that it was written as an afterthought: the band basically needed a three-minute filler, Iommi came up with the riff, and Butler quickly did the lyrics.
It reached number 4 in Britain, number 61 on the US Hot 100, number 1 in Denmark and Germany, number 2 in Switzerland and the Netherlands, number 3 in Austria, number 7 in France and number 9 in Italy. A 1980 reissue reached number 14 in Britain, and in 2025 it reached number 20 on the UK singles chart. A 1976 reissue used Snowblind as the B-side.
Live
It closed the farewell show at Villa Park on 5 July 2025. On 30 July 2025, the day of Osbourne's funeral procession, the Band of the Coldstream Guards played it at Buckingham Palace. A version from the NEC in Birmingham in December 1997 appeared on a promotional single.
Covers and versions
- Cindy & Bert (1971) A German version called Der Hund von Baskerville.
- The Dickies (1979) It reached number 45 in Britain.
- Type O Negative (1994) A version running 7:20.
- Megadeth (1995) On Nativity in Black, and nominated for a Grammy.
- Weezer (2019) On the Teal Album.
More songs by Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath, Iron Man, War Pigs, Snowblind, N.I.B., Sweet Leaf, Children of the Grave, Planet Caravan, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Sources
- Paranoid (Black Sabbath song), Wikipedia
- Paranoid (album), Wikipedia
- Back to the Beginning, Wikipedia