Paranoid (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ""Paranoid"" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Song by Black Sabbath | ||
| from the album 'Paranoid' | ||
| Released | 1970 | |
| Genre | Heavy Metal | |
| Length | 2:50 | |
| Label | Vertigo (UK) Warner Bros. Records (US) | |
| Producer(s) | Rodger Brian | |
| 'Paranoid' track listing | ||
| "War Pigs/Luke's Wall" (1) |
""Paranoid"" (2) |
"Planet Caravan" (3) |
"Paranoid" is a song by Black Sabbath that appears on the band's breakthrough album Paranoid. Supposedly, the members of Black Sabbath put together this song in 15 minutes based on a riff by Tony Iommi. This song was only meant to be a "filler", but became one of Black Sabbath's most successful songs. The record company changed the album's name from War Pigs, as it was originally intended, to Paranoid out of fear of a backlash from supporters of the Vietnam War.
Paranoid is uncharacteristically fast and simple for a Black Sabbath song, and is one of the most-covered songs of all time. Unlike most of the band's songs, "Paranoid" was short enough (just under 3 minutes) to be released as a single, as well as to receive airplay on mainstream radio. The single was released in the UK in July 1970 and it reached the number 4.
Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne had continued to play this song as a solo artist and did a version live with Randy Rhoads, which was released on the live album Tribute.
"Paranoid" was ranked #34 on VH1's Top 40 Metal Songs [1]. In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 11 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Rolling Stone ranked it #250 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Paranoid was ranked #1 in Martin Popoff book "The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time". Popoff put together this book by requesting thousands of metal fans, musicians, and journalists to send in their favourite heavy metal songs. Almost 18,000 individual votes were tallied and entered into a database from which the final rankings were derived. [2].
[edit] Trivia
"Paranoid" is heard in the movies Dogtown and Z-Boys, We Are Marshall, Almost Famous, Sid and Nancy, and Dazed and Confused. The song was also included in the soundtrack for Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2.
It was also used in the the game Rock_N'_Roll_Racing as background music during races.
"Paranoid" is heard playing in the Supernatural episode "Phantom Traveler" as Sam Winchester and Dean Winchester are coming out of a men's suit store, and continues as they impersonate Homeland Security agents.
Juho Juntunen, editor of Finnish rock magazine Soundi, used to humorously shout "Soittakaa Paranoid!" ("Play Paranoid!") from the audience in various gigs. This manner spread widely and now it is common that someone shouts "Soittakaa Paranoid!" in any gig in Finland, even if they do not know where the joke originated, or have never heard the song. It is similar to requests for "Free Bird".
[edit] Cover versions
- The Dickies (1979)
- Megadeth have covered Paranoid for the tribute album Nativity in Black. The song also appeared on Megadeth's Hidden Treasures album, in which cover versions and tracks from movie soundtracks were included.
- Pantera
- Type O Negative covered the song for the re-release of their faux live album The Origin of the Feces.
- Mötley Crüe
- Sopor Aeternus
- Silverchair
- 3rd Strike
- Quo Vadis
- Atomic Nytrix
- Cindy und Bert
- Ruder Than You covered the song in a ska version for their 'Horny For Ska' album.
