Who developed heavy metal is a topic we could debate for a long time. However, it’s indisputable that Black Sabbath had a major influence on the genre. In 1968, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler formed the renowned quartet.
After their debut album of the same name was released four months earlier, the boys from Birmingham, England returned to the studio to make a follow-up album. “Paranoid,” which was initially composed as an afterthought, ended up serving as the band’s hallmark song and title tune. And it was first heard by the globe on August 7, 1970, 54 years ago today.
There Were Not Enough Songs for the Album by Black Sabbath
Although Paranoid was recorded in a matter of days, the album’s lead song was hardly included at all.
The bassist for Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, told Guitar World in March 2004 that the band just needed a three-minute filler for the record, and Tony came up with the riff. “Ozzy was reading the lyrics while he was singing, and I quickly completed them.”
In 2016, former drummer Bill Ward noted, “Tony had the riffs, and it was approximately 1:30 in the afternoon. We had “Paranoid” sounding precisely like it does on the record by 2:00.
Thought of Ozzy The song has an excessively Led Zeppelin-like sound.
Another British quintet was gaining popularity at the same time that Black Sabbath was making their mark on heavy metal history. With Led Zeppelin II, their seminal sophomore album, at No. 1 in the United States by August 1970.
In 2016, Geezer Butler told Guitar World, “We always loved Zeppelin in those days, sitting round on the floor smoking dope and listening to that first album.”
Ozzy objected to “Paranoid,” thinking that listeners would just hear a cheap imitation of Led Zeppelin.
In fact, it caused us to get into a heated dispute. Who do you think was in error? stated Butler. “It really says it all, given how big of a hit it became for us and how well-known it is now.”
Black Sabbath had originally planned to call the album War Pigs, after the first song. Their label, however, convinced the band to alter it out of concern about criticism from proponents of the Vietnam War. Thus, on September 18, 1970, the album Paranoid was born.
