“Paranoid” is a song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1970 off the band’s second studio album Paranoid (1970). It is the first single from the album, while the B-side is the song “The Wizard”. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
It was the first Black Sabbath single release, coming six months after their self-titled debut was released. Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler (from Guitar World magazine, March 2004):
A lot of the Paranoid album was written around the time of our first album, Black Sabbath. We recorded the whole thing in about 2 or 3 days, live in the studio. The song “Paranoid” was written as an afterthought. We basically needed a 3 minute filler for the album, and Tony came up with the riff. I quickly did the lyrics, and Ozzy was reading them as he was singing.
Written off by critics as horror trash from ‘unskilled labourers’, Sabbath’s masterpiece album took beaten-down listeners on a rollercoaster out of their struggles.
Finished with my woman ’cause She couldn’t help me with my mind People think I’m insane because I am frowning all the time All day long I think of things But nothing seems to satisfy Think I’ll lose my mind If I don’t find something to pacify Can you help me Occupy my brain? Oh yeah I need someone to show me The things in life that I can’t find I can’t see the things that make True happiness, I must be blind Make a joke and I will sigh And you will laugh and I will cry Happiness I cannot feel And love to me is so unreal And so as you hear these words Telling you now of my state I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but it’s too late Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Michael Butler / Ozzy Osbourne / Tony Iommi / William Ward
Headless Cross is the thirtieth single from Black Sabbath
“Headless Cross”
Look through the people, and on through the mist To the hill of the headless cross Where all witches meet, on a night such as this, And the power of darkness is host They come face to face, eye to eye, soul to soul, With an Angel that fell from the sky Borne on the air, are the screams and the wails Of the masses appointed to die
Listen for the feet as they pound the land to a tune of thunder Watch as the legions ride again to a fate of death or torture, At the headless cross, at the headless cross
From the first evil night, when a black flash of light Cut the crucifix half to the ground There’s been no escape from the power of Satan, On a nation so brave and so proud
Listen for the feet as they pound the land to a tune of thunder Watch as the legions ride again to a fate of death or torture, At the headless cross, at the headless cross
How do you feel, when the locks refuse the key And the master is calling your name, Does the luck of the charm, really keep you from harm Does the talisman protect you from pain
Listen for the feet as they pound the land to a tune of thunder Watch as the legions ride again to a fate of death or torture, At the headless cross, at the headless cross
From the first evil night, when a black flash of light Cut the crucifix half to the ground There’s no escaping from the power of Satan For a people so brave and so proud
Listen for the feet as they pound the land to a tune of thunder Watch as the legions ride again to a fate of death or torture, At the headless cross, at the headless cross At the headless cross, at the headless cross
Where will you run to, at the headless cross Look, to the headless cross
Writer(s): Cozy Powell, Anthony Hareford, Anthony Lommi
Say what you want about Ozzy Osbourne, but he did perform and sing some truly classic Rock songs.
He was still a teenager when he joined Black Sabbath and was only 22 when they recorded ‘Paranoid’.
As the title suggests, this song is about a man who is paranoid. The driving guitar and bass create a nervous energy to go along with Ozzy Osbourne’s desperate vocal. Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, who wrote the lyric, explained the song’s meaning to Mojo magazine June 2013: “Basically, it’s just about depression, because I didn’t really know the difference between depression and paranoia. It’s a drug thing; when you’re smoking a joint you get totally paranoid about people, you can’t relate to people. There’s that crossover between the paranoia you get when you’re smoking dope and the depression afterwards.”
Although this was the first Black Sabbath-penned single, the band’s debut single was actually a cover of Crow’s “Evil Woman Don’t Play Your Games With Me” a few months before the “Paranoid” release. “Paranoid” was much more successful. It was released six months after their self-titled first album and had a huge impact in their native UK, going to #4 and becoming one of their signature songs.
It is the first single from their second album with the same title, while the B-side is the song “The Wizard”. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The group never charted again in the UK Top 10, but that wasn’t a problem since album and ticket sales more than made up for it. Many UK rock bands, including Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, put little emphasis on singles.
If Elvis is the King of Rock and Roll, and if Michael Jackson is the King of Pop, then surely Ronnie James Dio must be the King of Heavy Metal. Not only was he the front man in bands like Rainbow, Black Sabbath,Dio and Heaven & Hell, he is also the one who popularized the sign of the horns in heavy metal.
He claimed his Italian grandmother used it to ward off the evil eye (which is known in Italy as malocchio). Dio began using the sign soon after joining the metal band Black Sabbath in 1979. The previous singer in the band, Ozzy Osbourne, was rather well known for using the “peace” sign at concerts, in an attempt to connect with the fans, Ronnie James Dio wanted to similarly use a hand gesture. However, not wanting to copy Osbourne, he chose to use the sign his grandmother always made. The horns became famous in metal concerts very soon after Black Sabbath’s first tour with Dio. The sign would later be appropriated by heavy metal fans.
Ronald James “Dio” Padavona was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Italian-American parents from Cortland, New York. His family moved to Portsmouth from Cortland as part of his father’s service in the U.S. Army during World War II, and they resided there for only a short time before returning to Cortland. Ronnie James listened to a great deal of opera while growing up, and was influenced vocally by American tenor Mario Lanza. His first formal musical training began at age 5, learning to play the trumpet. He participated in his high school’s band program.
It was also during high school that he formed his first rock-n-roll band, The Vegas Kings, which would later be named Ronnie and the Rumblers and then Ronnie and the Red Caps.
Dio’s musical career began in 1957, when several Cortland, New York musicians formed the band, The Vegas Kings. The group’s lineup consisted of Dio on bass guitar, Billy DeWolfe on lead vocals, Nick Pantas on guitar, Tom Rogers on drums, and Jack Musci on saxophone. The band changed its name to Ronnie and the Rumblers. In 1958, the band again changed their name to Ronnie and the Redcaps. Musci left the band in 1960, and a new guitarist, Dick Botoff, joined the lineup. The Redcaps released two singles: The first single was “Conquest”/”Lover” with the A-side being an instrumental reminiscent of The Ventures and the B-side featuring DeWolfe on lead vocals. The second single was “An Angel Is Missing”/”What’d I Say” featuring Dio on lead vocals for both tracks.
Explanations vary for how Padavona adopted the stage name “Dio”. One story is that Dio was a reference to mafia member Johnny Dio.
Another has it that Padavona’s grandmother said he had a gift from God and should be called “Dio” (“God” in Italian), although this was debunked by Padavona’s widow, Wendy, in a February 2017 interview. Padavona first used the name on a recording in 1960, when he added it to the band’s second release on Seneca. Soon after that the band modified their name to “Ronnie Dio and the Prophets”. The Prophets lineup lasted for several years, touring throughout the New York region and playing college fraternity parties.
In the history of metal, there are good singers and then there are legends – vocalists who are identifiable with the first note of song. Dio’s operatic vibrato was unmistakable and extremely versatile. His was a voice that could sooth like a soul crooner one minute and roar like vengeful tyrant the next. Even when he was embellishing tunes with melodic interjections like ‘alright,’ ‘yeah’ or ‘ooooohh-oooohhhh,’ he loomed high above most vocalists of his era – even though he stood at just about five-feet-four-inches tall.
In 1974, Dio sang on the Roger Glover conducted and produced concept album The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast. Along with other guest-singers, the album featured Deep Purple alumni Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale. Dio provided vocals for the songs “Homeward”, “Sitting in a Dream”, and the single Love Is All
But of course we all will remember him for his Heavy Metal work and especially that from the band named after him’Dio’. I think it is safe to say that there is no such thing as a bad Dio song.
Unfortunately he died on May 16,2010 from stomach cancer.
History of Sorts 
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