We can argue all day long about who invented heavy metal. But there’s no denying that Black Sabbath largely shaped the genre. Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne banded together to form the legendary quartet in 1968. Four months after releasing their self-titled debut album, the Birmingham, England boys were back in the studio for a follow-up record. Originally written as an afterthought, “Paranoid” became both the title track and the band’s signature song. And 54 years ago today, on Aug. 7, 1970, the world heard it for the first time.
Black Sabbath Didn’t Have Enough Songs For The Album
Paranoid came together in just a few days, but its title track almost never made it onto the album at all.
Videos by American Songwriter
“We basically needed a three-minute filler for the album, and Tony came up with the riff,” Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler told Guitar World in March 2004. “I quickly did the lyrics, and Ozzy was reading them as he was singing.”
Former drummer Bill Ward added in 2016, “It was about 1:30 in the afternoon and Tony had the riffs. By 2:00 we had ‘Paranoid’ exactly as you hear it on the record.”
Ozzy Thought The Song Sounded Too Much Like Led Zeppelin
As Black Sabbath was carving out their place in heavy metal history, another British foursome was on the rise. By August 1970, Led Zeppelin had already hit No. 1 in the U.S. with their definitive sophomore record, Led Zeppelin II.
“We always loved Zeppelin in them days, sitting round on the floor smoking dope and listening to that first album,” Geezer Butler told Guitar World in 2016.
[RELATED: Watch Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi Jam with Queen’s Brian May on the Classic Sabbath Tune “Paranoid”]
Fearing listeners would only hear a Led Zeppelin rip-off, Ozzy raised objections about “Paranoid.”
“In fact we ended up having quite a big argument about it. Guess who was wrong?” Butler said. “The fact that it became such a big hit for us—and is now probably our best known song—says it all, really.”
Initially, Black Sabbath intended to name their album War Pigs, after the opening track. However, fearing backlash from Vietnam War supporters, their label persuaded the band to change it. Thus, Paranoid the album was born Sept. 18, 1970.
Featured image by Zuma/Shutterstock
Most Popular
Comments / 0