Paranoid (Black Sabbath song)

"Paranoid" is a song by the British heavy metal 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]

"Paranoid"
Single by Black Sabbath
from the album Paranoid
B-side"The Wizard"
ReleasedAugust 1970[1]
Recorded1970
Genre
Length2:48
LabelVertigo
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rodger Bain
Black Sabbath singles chronology
"The Wizard"
(1970)		 "Paranoid"
(1970)		 "After Forever"
(1971)

Song information

"Paranoid" was the first Black Sabbath single release, coming six months after their self-titled 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.[5]

According to extant lyric sheets, "Paranoid" was at one time titled "The Paranoid."[6]

"Paranoid" eventually became 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.[7]

"Paranoid" drew controversy for apparently encouraging suicide, much like the song "Suicide Solution". Particularly, the lyric "I tell you to enjoy life" was misheard as "I tell you to end your life".[8]

Legacy

"Paranoid" was ranked No. 34 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs.[9] 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.[10] "Paranoid" was ranked the fifth best Black Sabbath song by Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check.[11]

The original Black Sabbath recording has been used numerous times in various films and television shows including Sid & Nancy,[12] Dazed and Confused,[13] The Stoned Age,[14] Any Given Sunday,[15] Almost Famous,[16] We Are Marshall,[17] The Angry Birds Movie, Suicide Squad, Kong: Skull Island and CHiPs,[18] and Bad Cat. The song was used in the video games Rock n' Roll Racing, Guitar Hero 3, Madden NFL 10, WWE 2K17, and Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2.[19]

The song was covered by industrial rock group the Clay People for the various artists compilation album Shut Up Kitty, released in 1993.

Soft Cell was performing their cover of "Paranoid" on early live shows, before releasing their debut album; demo recording of the cover was released on compilation album The Bedsit Tapes in 2005.

A live version by Doctor and the Medics was included on the 12" of their single Burn, in 1986.

In Finland, "Paranoid" has the same status as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" in the United States as a song the audience finds humorous to request during a concert. So regardless of a band or the style of music in question, somebody may shout "Soittakaa 'Paranoid'!" ("Play 'Paranoid'!") during a gig.[20][21]

Personnel

Accolades
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
NME United Kingdom "All Time Top 100 Singles"[22] 1976 41
Spin United States "100 Greatest Singles of All Time"[23] 1989 81
Radio Veronica Netherlands "Super All-Time List"[24] 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"[25]
 1994 *
Guitarist United Kingdom "Top 100 Guitar Solos of All-Time"[26] 1998 84
Rolling Stone United States "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[27] 2004 250
Q United Kingdom "1010 Songs You Must Own!"[28] 2004 *
Q United Kingdom "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!"[29] 2005 11
Q United Kingdom "100 Greatest Songs of All Time"[30] 2006 100
VH1 United States "40 Greatest Metal Songs"[31] 2006 1
VH1 United States "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs"[32] 2008 4

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing
  • 7" single (Vertigo 6059 010)[33]
  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

Note

Charts
Chart (1970) Peak
position
Australian Go-Set National Top 60[34] 18
Austrian Singles Chart[35] 3
Canadian Singles Chart[36] 54
Danish Singles Chart 1
French Singles Chart[37] 7
German Singles Chart[38] 1
Irish Singles Chart[39] 12
Italian Singles Chart[40] 9
Netherlands Singles Chart[35] 2
Norwegian Singles Chart[35] 6
South African Springbok Radio Top 20[41] 3
Swiss Singles Chart[35] 2
UK Singles Chart[35] 4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[42] 61
US Cashbox Top 100[43] 79

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[44] Platinum 50,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[45] Gold 400,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Strong, M. C. (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd. p. 65. ISBN 0-86241-385-0.
  2. Chris Nickson (3 August 2002). Ozzy Knows Best: The Amazing Story of Ozzy Osbourne, from Heavy Metal Madness to Father of the Year on MTV's "The Osbournes". St. Martin's Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4299-5452-5.
  3. Wilkening, Matthew (17 August 2011). "10 Best Black Sabbath Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  4. "Paranoid". Rolling Stone. 9 December 2004. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  5. "Black Sabbath Paranoid Lyrics". Lyrics007.com. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  6. "Stolz, Nolan. 2019. "A Rumination on Black Sabbath's Birmingham and the Value of Music Tourism." Riffs Journal (September): 18".
  7. "Paranoid — Black Sabbath —". Last.fm. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  8. De Atley, Richard (21 January 1986). "Heavy Metal Singer Denies His Song Caused Suicide". AP News. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  9. "VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs", 1–4 May 2006, VH1 Channel, reported by VH1.com; last accessed 10 September 2006
  10. "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. 9 December 2004. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  11. Rehe, Christoph (2013). Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check: alle Alben, alle Songs. Ein eclipsed-Buch (in German). Sysyphus Sysyphus Verlags GmbH. ISBN 978-3868526462.
  12. "Sid & Nancy soundtrack". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  13. "Dazed and Confused soundtrack". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  14. "The Stoned Age soundtrack". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  15. "Any Given Sunday soundtrack". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  16. "Almost Famous soundtrack". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  17. "We are Marshall soundtrack". IMDb.com. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  18. "CHiPs soundtrack | Complete List of Songs". Soundtrackmania.net. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  19. IGN Staff (17 August 2001). "Dave Mirra Soundtrack Revealed". IGN. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  20. Timo Rautio: Rokatessa roiskuu osa 3 (2004)
  21. Walter De Camp: "Sisäpiiri: Walter De Campin tutkimuksia – Extreme-seksin maantiede" An article appeared in paper City-lehti, 2006, issue 20, page 26 URL: http://www.city.fi/artikkeli/Sis%E4piiri/2124/%5B%5D
  22. "NME Lists". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  23. "Spin: 100 Greatest Singles Of All Time (1989)". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  24. "Super All-Time List – From 1989". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  25. "500 Songs That Shaped Rock". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  26. "Guitar Lists". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  27. "The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  28. "1010 Songs You Must Own!". rocklists.net. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  29. "Q Lists". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  30. "Q Lists". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  31. "40 Greatest Metal Songs (VH1 made a decent effort)". listology.com. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  32. "VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs". stereogum.com. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  33. "Paranoid Vinyl 7" Discography". sabbath.se. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  34. "27 February 1971 Singles". poparchives.com.au. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  35. "Black Sabbath – Paranoid (song)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  36. "Black Sabbath – Paranoid (song)" (PDF). Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  37. Top France - 26/12/1970
  38. "BLACK SABBATH: Paranoid (Single)". musicline.de. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  39. "Paranoid". irishcharts.ie.com. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  40. "Indice per Interprete: B". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  41. "SA Charts 1969 – 1989". rock.co.za. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  42. https://www.billboard.com/music/black-sabbath/chart-history
  43. "Cashbox Top 100: December 26, 1970". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  44. "Italian single certifications – Black Sabbath – Paranoid" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 September 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Paranoid" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  45. "British single certifications – Black Sabbath – Paranoid". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 August 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Paranoid in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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