10 Legendary Songs That Almost Weren't Released
6. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Across every single Black Sabbath album, fans have gotten used to their epic scope of writing songs. For as much doom and gloom comes from something like War Pigs or Iron Man, the 6-8 minute runtime makes you feel like you're being taken on a journey rather than listening to some poppy single. Even when Sabbath managed to make a crossover onto the charts, it almost took place purely by accident.
After having the bulk of their sophomore album already in the can, Sabbath realized that they needed to have one more song on the record to fill up the first side of the album. Not really being ones for short songs, Paranoid was the result of a jam that came at the end of the session, with Tony Iommi coming up with the now iconic guitar riff on the fly.
Knowing the relentless swagger in the riff, the rest of the band quickly scrambled to their respective instruments, with Ozzy Osbourne eventually delivering the trademark howling delivery that he would become known for later down the line. After initially rejecting the first title War Pigs, Sabbath's label eventually took Paranoid to the top of the charts, displacing Simon and Garfunkel in no time.
It may have only taken a few minutes to get going, but this concentrated piece of metal brilliance was rock's first taste of something truly evil.