Tony Iommi

Frank Anthony "Tony" Iommi (born February 19, 1948) is a guitarist from Birmingham, England, who is best known as a member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath.

Related Topics:
February 19 - 1948 - Guitarist - Birmingham - England - Heavy metal - Black Sabbath

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He picked up the guitar as a teenager, after being inspired by the likes of Hank Marvin and The Shadows. In an industrial accident in his youth, he lost the tips of the middle and ring fingers of his right hand - which, being left-handed, he uses to fret the strings of a guitar. At first he thought his days of playing guitar were over. However, his boss, who knew of his "night job" as a struggling pub band guitar player, paid him a visit during his recovery. During the visit, his boss encouraged him to reconsider. He played a Django Reinhardt record which convinced Tony to pick up the guitar again (Reinhardt lost mobility in the third and fourth fingers of his fretting hand in a fire). After trying to learn to play right-handed, he instead strung his guitars with extra-light strings and wore plastic covers over those two fingers (though he started off using leather, which slowed down his fingering significantly). This also had an impact on the Black Sabbath sound -on some songs in order to ease the tension on his fingers, Iommi detuned his guitar from E to C#, making Sabbath one of first bands to detune, now a mainstay of heavy metal music.

Related Topics:
Hank Marvin - The Shadows - Left-handed - Fret - Django Reinhardt - Heavy metal music

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1967, Iommi had played in several blues/rock bands, and founded a new one named Earth with three old schoolmates, bassist Terry "Geezer" Butler, drummer Bill Ward, and the infamous John "Ozzy" Osbourne. In 1968 Iommi briefly left Earth to play in Jethro Tull, however after only one performance Iommi was back with Earth once more. The group later renamed themselves first to Polka Tulk, and then to Black Sabbath.

Related Topics:
1967 - Terry "Geezer" Butler - Bill Ward - John "Ozzy" Osbourne - Jethro Tull - Black Sabbath

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It may be argued that Tony Iommi was a pioneer of heavy metal riffing due to his guitar playing on now famous tracks such as "Paranoid", "War Pigs", "N.I.B.", and "The Wizard". He combined blues-like guitar solos and dark, minor-key riffing with a revolutionary high-gain, heavily distorted tone with his use of a treble-boosting effect-pedal and a Gibson SG guitar.

Related Topics:
Riffing - Paranoid - War Pigs - N.I.B. - The Wizard - Blues - Gibson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By the mid 1970s, incessant drug usage had taken its toll on the band, and Ozzy Osbourne was eventually fired in 1979. With Osbourne gone, the other two members eventually left as well, leaving Iommi the only original member. Iommi rebuilt the band with constant lineup changes, including vocalists like Ronnie James Dio, and Ian Gillan (formerly of Deep Purple). The new Sabbath did manage a few hits, but it was nothing compared to the early years. The original Sabbath members reunited for tours in the late nineties.

Related Topics:
1970s - Ronnie James Dio - Ian Gillan - Deep Purple

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After Ian Gillan left in 1984, Iommi recorded his first solo album, entitled Seventh Star. The album featured Glenn Hughes (formerly of Deep Purple) on vocals, but due to label pressures, it was billed as a release by "Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi". In 2000, he finally released his first proper solo album, titled simply Iommi. Iommi featured several guest vocalists, including Henry Rollins, Serj Tankian, Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan, Phil Anselmo, and Ozzy Osbourne. In late 2004, Tony's second solo album was released, entitled The 1996 DEP Sessions. This album was originally recorded in 1996, but had not got an official release. However, a copy with an unfinished drum track was available as an illegal bootleg called 8th Star. The vocalist on this album was again Glenn Hughes. Tony released his third solo album, Fused on July 12, 2005, also with Glenn Hughes on vocals and Kenny Aronoff on drums.

Related Topics:
1984 - Seventh Star - Glenn Hughes - Iommi - Henry Rollins - Serj Tankian - Dave Grohl - Billy Corgan - Phil Anselmo - Ozzy Osbourne - 2004 - The 1996 DEP Sessions - 1996 - 8th Star - Fused - July 12 - 2005 - Kenny Aronoff

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Iommi has a signature Gibson SG, with a narrow (and 24 fret) fret board the way he likes it.

Related Topics:
Gibson SG - Fret board

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~