Black Sabbath ‘Paranoid’ – The Band Was Out To Lunch
Black Sabbath ‘Paranoid’ was written as an afterthought: sheer filler. The record company told the band last minute that needed a song that was under three minutes to finish the album. In a recent interview with Sky Art’s Greatest Guitar Riffs, Tony Iommi talked about the process behind “Paranoid.”
“We didn’t have enough songs to fill the album, so the producer said, ‘We need another song…It can’t be any more than two and a half minutes.’ We’ve never written anything less than bloody five minutes!”
The situation became more complicated.
“The others had gone out to have something to eat. I came up with this riff, so when they got back I played them this idea of Paranoid. It’s basic. It’s not technical by any means. What I’ve always done is, not try and play anything that’s flash. I play things that I think is right for the song.”
Geezer told Guitar World in 2004, “The song ‘Paranoid’ was written as an afterthought. We 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.” Geezer has criticized the song as sounding too much like Led Zeppelin.
**Side note: The word “paranoid” is not a part of the lyrics.
Black Sabbath ‘Paranoid’ – Their Biggest “Hit”
“Paranoid” ended up becoming Black Sabbath’s highest charting song, peaking at #4 in the U.K. Black Sabbath didn’t release many singles… most bands (like Led Zeppelin) didn’t release singles during this timeframe. It hardly mattered. The ticket and album sales more than made up for any missed opportunity at chart success.
Part of Tony Iommi’s recent Guitar World Interview included his lifelong friend, Brain May of Queen. They actually jammed together on “Paranoid!” Brian was a bit apprehensive saying, “I’m going to commit sacrilege by joining in!” Check it out:
Tony keeps two fingers covered. In an accident on his last day of work at a sheet metal plant, Tony lost the tip of two fingers and was told he’d never play again. Tony crafted his own prosthetic fingertips and learned to play with them. Loudwire has a great interview with Tony talking about the events and aftermath.
The album, Paranoid, celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 18th, 2023. Check out Sabbath’s best Ozzy songs ranked:
Black Sabbath: The Best 30 Songs From The Ozzy Osbourne Era(s), Ranked