Paranoid (Black Sabbath song)


"Paranoid" is a song by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, featured on their second album Paranoid. 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.

About

"Paranoid" was the first Black Sabbath single release, coming six months after their self-titled debut album was released. Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler :
According to extant lyric sheets, "Paranoid" was at one time titled "The Paranoid."
"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.

Legacy

"Paranoid" was ranked No. 34 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. 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. "Paranoid" was ranked the fifth best Black Sabbath song by Rock - Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check.
The original Black Sabbath recording has been used numerous times in various films and television shows including Sid & Nancy, Dazed and Confused, The Stoned Age, Any Given Sunday, Almost Famous, We Are Marshall, The Angry Birds Movie, Suicide Squad, ' and CHiPs, 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.
The song was covered by industrial rock group the Clay People for the various artists compilation album ', 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'!" during a gig.

Personnel

designates unordered lists.

Track listing

  1. "Paranoid" – 2:45
  2. "The Wizard" – 4:20
  1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
  2. "Rat Salad" – 2:30
  1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
  2. "Happy Being Me" – 15:54
  1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
  2. "Evil Woman" – 3:25
  1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
  2. "Tomorrow's Dream" – 3:11
  1. "Paranoid" – 2:45
  2. "Snowblind" – 5:25
Note

Certifications