Black Sabbath Almost Didn't Use "Paranoid"

We almost never got to hear the song that is Black Sabbath's most famous--"Paranoid." Bassist Geezer Butler says when the band was creating their second album, they needed more songs, and guitarist Tony Iommi played for them what he called "filler"--which was "Paranoid." They all were hesitant because the band had never done a song so short before, and as Butler remembers "Ozzy and I thought it was too close to 'Communication Breakdown' by Led Zeppelin." Butler says the band ultimately decided it was okay to do a tune that kinda sounds like one from a band you idolize: "It's putting your own stamp on it that counts. And Sabbath certainly did that." Here's more from Butler, and a side by side comparison of :"Paranoid" and "Communication Breakdown": https://ultimateclassicrock.com/black-sabbath-paranoid-song/