Paranoid

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Written by: Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, William Ward
Produced by: Rodger Bain
Released: Nov. '70 on Warner Bros.
Charts: 8 weeks
Top spot: No. 61

After Sabbath's first U.S. tour, guitarist Tony Iommi hunkered down at Regent Studios in London, trying to write one more song for the group's second album. "I started fiddling about on the guitar and came up with this riff," he said. "When the others came back [from lunch], we recorded it on the spot." "Paranoid," a two-minute blast of protopunk, became Sabbath's biggest single. It is also proof of the short distance between heavy metal and the Ramones.

Appears on: Paranoid (Castle)

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