# In 1970, Tony Iommi recorded a Black Sabbath solo he thought sounded “horrible”. Now, the song has over 1,700,000,000 streames

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1970-tony-iommi-recorded-a-black-sabbath-solo-he-thought-sounded-horrible-now-the-song-has-over-1700000000-streames/
- Published: 2026-11-02T10:13:20+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-02T11:25:52+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1970-tony-iommi-recorded-a-black-sabbath-solo-he-thought-sounded-horrible/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- “Paranoid” has more than 1.76 billion Spotify streams.
- Tony Iommi regretted the rushed session and its sound effect.
- The song remains Black Sabbath’s most-played track on Spotify.

## Summary

Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” has passed 1.76 billion Spotify streams, making it the band’s most-played track on the platform and a gateway to heavy music for generations of listeners. The song’s enduring popularity contrasts with guitarist Tony Iommi’s reservations about how it was recorded.

Iommi has said the session was rushed and that he disliked the ring modulation effect used on the track, though he stood by the riff. The article also recalls his criticism of later albums, including *Technical Ecstasy* and *Born Again*, while noting that “Paranoid” was released in 1970 and reached one billion streams by March 2024.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.