Iron Man ( song ) - wikipedia Iron Man ( song ) This article is about the song by Black Sabbath. For the song by The Tansads, see The Tansads. `` Iron Man '' Single by Black Sabbath from the album Paranoid B - side `` Electric Funeral '' Released October 1971 Format 45 RPM Recorded 1970 Genre Heavy metal Length 3 : 33 ( Single version ) 5 : 56 ( Album version ) Label Warner Bros. ( US / Canada ) Songwriter ( s ) Iommi, Osbourne, Butler, Ward Producer ( s ) Rodger Bain Black Sabbath singles chronology `` Children of the Grave '' ( 1971 ) `` Iron Man '' ( 1971 ) `` Tomorrow 's Dream '' ( 1972 ) `` Iron Man '' is a song by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It is taken from their second studio album, Paranoid, released in 1970. It was later included on their initial greatest hits compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock ' n ' Roll ( 1976 ), as well as all subsequent greatest hits compilations ; The single version was included on the Greatest Hits 1970 -- 1978 album. Contents 1 Writing and recording 2 Awards and accolades 3 Personnel 4 References 5 External links Writing and recording The Iron Man riff Play ( help info ) Upon hearing the main guitar riff for the first time, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne remarked that it sounded `` like a big iron bloke walking about ''. The title became `` Iron Man '', with Geezer Butler writing the lyrics around the title. Ozzy Osbourne sang behind a metal fan to get the sound effect in its first line, ' I am Iron Man ! '. Despite this, the song has no connection to the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The lyrics tell the story of a man who time travels into the future, and sees the apocalypse. In the process of returning to the present, he is turned into steel by a magnetic storm. He is rendered mute, unable verbally to warn people of his vision of impending destruction. His attempts to communicate are ignored and mocked. This causes Iron Man to become furious, and drives his revenge on mankind, causing the apocalypse seen in his vision, alluding to Joseph Stalin ( whose name literally means `` Man of Steel '' ). Awards and accolades The song won spot number 317 in Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song peaked at number 52 on The Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. The song reached number 68 on the Canadian RPM Magazine Top 100. VH1 ranked the song as the greatest heavy metal song of all time. Personnel Ozzy Osbourne -- vocals Tony Iommi -- guitars Geezer Butler -- bass Bill Ward -- drums References Jump up ^ Classic Albums - Paranoid, by Isis Productions / Eagle Rock Entertainment Jump up ^ `` ' Guitar Hero ' : The Video Game That Literally Rocks ''. MTV News. 14 December 2005. Retrieved 28 August 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Story Behind Black Sabbath 's Iron Man ''. 102.9 WMGK. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2018. Jump up ^ `` BLACK SABBATH - FAQ version 2.0 ''. Black Sabbath Online. Jump up ^ Himmer, Robert ( July 1986 ). `` '' On the Origin and Significance of the Name ' Stalin ' `` ''. 45 ( 3 ) : 269 -- 286. Jump up ^ `` The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ''. Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. 9 December 2004. Retrieved 31 August 2009. Jump up ^ Billboard Singles for Black Sabbath at AllMusic Jump up ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.7505.pdf Jump up ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20071118121525/http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/103446/episode_this_list.jhtml External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Paranoid Songs Side one `` War Pigs '' `` Paranoid '' `` Planet Caravan '' `` Iron Man '' Side two `` Electric Funeral '' `` Hand of Doom '' `` Rat Salad '' `` Fairies Wear Boots '' Related articles Classic Albums Black Sabbath Tony Iommi Geezer Butler Bill Ward Ozzy Osbourne Dave Walker Ronnie James Dio Craig Gruber Geoff Nicholls Vinny Appice Ian Gillan Bev Bevan Eric Singer Dave Spitz Glenn Hughes Ray Gillen Bob Daisley Tony Martin Terry Chimes Jo Burt Cozy Powell Neil Murray Bobby Rondinelli Mike Bordin Tommy Clufetos Studio albums Black Sabbath Paranoid Master of Reality Vol. 4 Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Sabotage Technical Ecstasy Never Say Die ! Heaven and Hell Mob Rules Born Again Seventh Star The Eternal Idol Headless Cross Tyr Dehumanizer Cross Purposes Forbidden 13 The End Live albums Live at Last Live Evil Cross Purposes Live Reunion Past Lives Live at Hammersmith Odeon Live... Gathered in Their Masses The End : Live in Birmingham Compilations We Sold Our Soul for Rock ' n ' Roll The Collection The Sabbath Stones Symptom of the Universe : The Original Black Sabbath 1970 -- 1978 Black Box : The Complete Original Black Sabbath ( 1970 -- 1978 ) Greatest Hits 1970 -- 1978 The Dio Years The Rules of Hell Greatest Hits ( 2009 ) Iron Man : The Best of Black Sabbath Unofficial albums The Sabbath Collection The Ozzy Osbourne Years Under Wheels of Confusion The Best of Black Sabbath Club Sonderauflage Singles `` Evil Woman '' `` The Wizard '' `` Paranoid '' `` After Forever '' / `` Fairies Wear Boots '' `` Children of the Grave '' `` Iron Man '' `` Tomorrow 's Dream '' `` Sabbath Bloody Sabbath '' `` Am I Going Insane ( Radio ) '' `` Never Say Die ! '' `` Hard Road '' / `` Symptom of the Universe '' `` Neon Knights '' `` Die Young '' `` The Mob Rules '' `` Trashed '' `` TV Crimes '' `` Psycho Man '' `` The Devil Cried '' `` God Is Dead ? '' `` End of the Beginning '' `` Loner '' Other songs `` Black Sabbath '' `` N.I.B. '' `` War Pigs '' `` Planet Caravan '' `` Hand of Doom '' `` Sweet Leaf '' `` Into the Void '' `` Changes '' `` Supernaut '' `` Children of the Sea '' `` Heaven and Hell '' Videos Never Say Die Black and Blue The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1 The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 2 Cross Purposes Live The Last Supper Inside Black Sabbath - 1970 -- 1992 Black Sabbath 's Paranoid Rock Review Hangin ' with Heaven and Hell Live... Gathered in Their Masses The End of the End Tours Sabotage Tour Technical Ecstasy Tour Never Say Die ! Tour Heaven & Hell Tour Mob Rules Tour Born Again Tour 1983 Ozzfest Tours ( 1997 1999 2005 ) Black Sabbath Reunion Tour The End Tour Related Articles Discography Members List of cover versions of Black Sabbath songs People Don Arden Martin Birch Laurence Cottle Tommy Clufetos David Donato Jeff Fenholt Rob Halford Adam Wakeman Rick Wakeman Brad Wilk Bands Heaven & Hell tour The Devil You Know Mythology Velvett Fogg GZR Deep Purple Rainbow Dio White Tiger Tributes In These Black Days Nativity in Black Book Portal : Heavy metal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iron_Man_(song)&oldid=862428931 '' Categories : 1970 songs 1971 singles Black Sabbath songs Songs written by Ozzy Osbourne Songs written by Tony Iommi Songs written by Geezer Butler Songs written by Bill Ward ( musician ) Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance Warner Bros. Records singles Hidden categories : EngvarB from August 2018 Use dmy dates from August 2018 Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara Français Հայերեն Italiano עברית Magyar Polski Português Русский Simple English Slovenčina Suomi Svenska ไทย 9 more Edit links This page was last edited on 4 October 2018, at 09 : 25 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: who sings the song i am iron man
Answer: Black Sabbath