Did Black Sabbath steal the opening riff for ‘Paranoid’?
Black Sabbath’s opening riff for ‘Paranoid’ is the defining sound of the Birmingham band’s career. When you think of the heavy metal pioneers, the mind instantly wanders to that song and Tony Iommi’s divine start to the track. However, is the creation entirely original?
Remarkably, ‘Paranoid’ almost didn’t come into existence, but once they stumbled upon it, Black Sabbath knew they had struck gold. Despite being a last-minute addition to their second album, it soon became clear to everyone that the record should be named Paranoid. Ozzy Osbourne later described the hit as a “gift”, which epitomises his thoughts on the metal classic.
According to drummer Bill Ward, from start to finish, ‘Paranoid’ only took Sabbath 25 minutes to make. It was created within a haze and fuelled by a moment of inspiration which inexplicably came to Iommi from the stars.
During a radio interview in 2019, Osbourne reflected on the song: “I think it has to be ‘Paranoid’ from Black Sabbath. I still play that song live on stage, I end the show with it… I just call it my anthem. I remember when Roger Bain, the producer [of Paranoid], said, ‘Just jam something out, we need it to finish the album.’ We just jammed, and ‘Paranoid’ came out, and it was a hit single”.
He added: “People would say, ‘That ‘Paranoid’ is great, it’s gonna be huge.’ When you’re in the bubble looking out, it’s a completely different view than from outside the bubble looking in. I mean, I’d become in my own way a Beatle, you know? Every now and then you get a song from nowhere, it’s a gift – that was one of them songs that came out of nowhere, the biggest hit earlier on.”
While Osbourne claims it was a “gift”, others have suggested the opening riff is stolen from ‘Get Down’ by The Half-Life. The latter was recorded in 1969 but stayed unreleased for several years until it eventually went public. Therefore, it’s hard to see how the song would find its way to Iommi for him to steal the opening riff.
Undoubtedly, the similarities between the beginnings of each song are clear for all to hear. However, in all honesty, it’s unlikely Iommi has even heard ‘Get Down’, let alone plagiarised the opening riff. Regarding this topic, Iommi doesn’t have a reputation for stealing the work of others, and he’s earned the right for this to be drawn up as a coincidence.
Ultimately, only a finite amount of riffs can be created, and both bands somehow stumbled upon the same idea in their search for glory. Furthermore, The Half-Life also seemingly don’t believe any foul play took place, hence why no lawsuit has ever been lodged.
