| "The Wizard" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover artwork for the Paranoid single, as used in the Netherlands | ||||
| Single byBlack Sabbath | ||||
| from the albumBlack Sabbath | ||||
| Released | 24 March 1970 (France)[1] | |||
| Studio | Regent Sounds (London) | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal,blues rock[2][3] | |||
| Length | 4:24 | |||
| Label | Vertigo | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Rodger Bain | |||
| Black Sabbath singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"The Wizard" is a song by the Englishheavy metal bandBlack Sabbath from their 1970 albumBlack Sabbath. "The Wizard" was selected as their debut single in France, backed by "Evil Woman" which was released as A-side in many other countries. It was also theB-side to the 1970 single "Paranoid", which reached number 4 on theUK singles chart and number 61 on theBillboard Hot 100.[4]
"The Wizard" is about a wizard who uses his magic to encourage people he encounters. In a 2005 interview withMetal Sludge, Black Sabbath bassist and lyricistGeezer Butler said the song's lyrics were influenced by the wizardGandalf fromThe Lord of the Rings.[5]
The song was covered byBullring Brummies, a short-lived project featuring Black Sabbath founding membersGeezer Butler andBill Ward, for the 1994 tribute albumNativity in Black.[7]
Flush with eventual [heavy metal] genre classics like 'The Wizard,' 'N.I.B.,' and the aforementioned title cut, Black Sabbath was initially dismissed by critics
