Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi on stage with Heaven and Hell
Background information
Birth name Francis Anthony Iommi
Born 19 February 1948 (1948-02-19) (age 62)
Birmingham, England
Genres Heavy metal, hard rock, blues-rock
Occupations Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1960 - present
Labels Warner Bros., I.R.S., Rhino
Associated acts Mythology, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Heaven & Hell, Necromandus
Website Official website
Notable instruments
Tony Iommi Signature Model SG

Francis Anthony "Tony" Iommi (born 19 February 1948, in Aston, Birmingham, England) is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and the sole constant band member through multiple personnel changes.

Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in heavy metal music: according to Allmusic, "Iommi is one of only two guitarists (the other being Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page) that can take full credit for pioneering the mammoth riffs of heavy metal."[1] In 2003, Iommi was ranked 86th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"[2] and, in 2004, number one on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time".[3]

Contents

Career

Early history

The son of Italian immigrants, Tony Iommi picked up the guitar as a teenager, after being inspired by the likes of Hank Marvin and The Shadows.[4] He plays guitar left-handed. In an industrial accident at the age of 17 on his last day of work in a sheet metal factory, he lost the tips of the middle and ring finger of his right hand.[5] Iommi considered abandoning music, but his boss (who knew of Iommi's "night job" as a pub band guitar player) encouraged him to reconsider by playing a record by jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, who earned wide acclaim despite limited use of his fretting hand following an injury.

After attempting to learn to play right-handed [6], Iommi strung his guitars with extra-light strings (using banjo strings, which were a lighter gauge than even the lightest guitar-strings of the time) and wore plastic covers over the two damaged fingers. He fashioned the latter himself, by melting plastic liquid-soap bottles into a ball and then using a soldering iron to make holes into this ball, putting his fingers in while the plastic was still soft enough to be shaped. He then trimmed and sanded away the excess plastic to leave himself with two thimbles, which he then covered with leather, to provide better grip on the strings. Subsequent prostheses have been custom-made.

Pre-Black Sabbath

Iommi had played in several blues/rock bands, the earliest of which was The Rockin' Chevrolets between 1964 and 1965. The band had regular bookings and when they were offered work in Germany, Iommi decided to leave his factory job to take up the opportunity. Between 1966 and 1967 Iommi played in a band named The Rest. This was the first time Iommi played with old school friend and future Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward.

From January 1968 till July 1968, Iommi was guitarist in Mythology, with Ward joining a month later in mid-February. In May 1968, police raided the group's practice flat and found cannabis resin, which resulted in a £15 fine and a two-year conditional discharge for Iommi, Ward, Smith and Marshall. Mythology split up after a gig in Silloth on 13 July 1968.

In August 1968, at the same time as the breakup of Mythology, a band called Rare Breed also broke up. Rare Breed vocalist John "Ozzy" Osbourne and rhythm guitarist Terry "Geezer" Butler joined with Iommi and Ward from Mythology and also slide guitarist Jimmy Phillips and saxophonist Alan "Aker" Clarke. The six-piece band, now with Butler as bassist, were named the Polka Tulk Blues Company. After just two gigs (the last of which was at the Banklands Youth Club in Workington), Phillips and Clarke were dismissed from the band, which soon after shortened its name to Polka Tulk.

Earth and Jethro Tull

Iommi, Butler, Ward and Osbourne renamed their band Earth in September 1968. They carried on under this moniker until December 1968 when Iommi briefly departed to play in Jethro Tull. However after only one performance (an appearance on "The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus" in which the band mimed "A Song For Jeffrey", whilst Ian Anderson sang live), Iommi was back with Earth once more.

Tony Iommi on his brief working relationship with Jethro Tull vocalist Ian Anderson:

I learned quite a lot from him, I must say. I learned that you have got to work at it. You have to rehearse. When I came back and I got the band (Earth) back together, I made sure that everybody was up early in the morning and rehearsing. I used to go and pick them up. I was the only one at the time that could drive. I used to have to drive the bloody van and get them up at quarter to nine every morning; which was, believe me, early for us then. I said to them, "This is how we have got to do it because this is how Jethro Tull did it." They had a schedule and they knew that they were going to work from this time till that time. I tried that with our band and we got into doing it. It worked. Instead of just strolling in at any hour, it made it more like we were saying, "Let’s do it!"

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath: Iommi (left) with Ozzy Osbourne in 1973

In August 1969, following the confusion with another group named Earth (who had minor success in England), the group renamed themselves Black Sabbath. His aforementioned factory accident affected the Black Sabbath sound later on, as Iommi detuned his guitar from E to C# (3 half-steps down), in order to ease the tension on his fingers. As a result, Sabbath were among the first bands to detune and resulted in the technique being a mainstay of heavy metal music. The first two Black Sabbath albums are actually in E tuning, however, as Iommi didn't start tuning down to C# until 1971's Master of Reality. Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler also tuned his instrument down to match Iommi's. Iommi combined blues-like guitar solos and dark, minor-key riffing with a revolutionary high-gain, heavily distorted tone with his use of a modified treble-boosting effect-pedal and a Gibson SG, as well as plugging his guitar into his amp's bass input.

Rob Halford, vocalist for Judas Priest, when filling in for Ozzy Osbourne during an August 2004 concert in Philadelphia, introduced Tony Iommi to the audience as "The man who invented the heavy metal riff".

By the mid 1970s, incessant drug usage, managerial problems and constant touring had taken its toll on the band, and Ozzy Osbourne was fired in 1979 by Iommi. Osbourne was replaced with Ronnie James Dio, the vocalist for Rainbow (a band formed by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore). With Dio, Black Sabbath produced Heaven and Hell, prior to replacing Bill Ward with Vinny Appice. With Iommi and Geezer Butler the only original members, this line-up produced Mob Rules. During the '80s and '90s Iommi rebuilt the band with many lineup changes with vocalists including Ian Gillan (formerly of Deep Purple), Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin and Ray Gillen. After Ian Gillan departed the band 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 1992, Iommi appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, playing four songs with the remaining members of Queen and other guest artists. Also, in the following year Iommi teamed up with fellow Black Country band Diamond Head and co-wrote the song Starcrossed (Lovers in the Night) for their 1993 Death and Progress album. At Ozzy's 'farewell' concert at Costa Mesa in 1992, Ronnie James Dio refused to perform and abruptly left the band. As a result, Rob Halford (vocalist for Judas Priest) was recruited to perform as the vocalist for two gigs (Halford also sang at one of the dates on the 2004 Ozzfest tour, when Ozzy couldn't perform due to bronchitis). The show concluded with Ozzy bringing out the other members of the original Black Sabbath line-up (following the end of Osbourne's solo set) for a 4-song reunion.

Black Sabbath went on to record two further albums with another of their previous vocalists Tony Martin before the original line-up reunited as a touring band in 1997 (although Bill Ward was not present for the first two reunion tours, the second being due to a heart attack. Ward was replaced by Vinny Appice.)

Solo career

In 2000, Iommi finally released his first legitimate solo album, titled Iommi. The album featured several guest vocalists that included Ian Astbury, Henry Rollins, Serj Tankian, Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan, Phil Anselmo, Peter Steele and Ozzy Osbourne. Also in the vocal mix was Skin (of the band Skunk Anansie). In late 2004, Iommi's second solo album was released, entitled The 1996 DEP Sessions. This album was originally recorded in 1996, but was never officially released. However, a copy with a drum track by Dave Holland was available as a bootleg called Eighth Star. Glenn Hughes performed vocals on the album, and he furthered his collaboration with Hughes with the release of his third solo album, Fused. Released on 12 July 2005, John Mellencamp drummer Kenny Aronoff completed the trio on the album.

Iommi has signed with Mike Fleiss' movie production company Next Films to score a series of horror films entitled Black Sabbath.[7]

Heaven & Hell

Star on Birmingham Walk of Stars

In October 2006 it was reported that Iommi would tour with Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ronnie James Dio again, but under the moniker Heaven & Hell. Later it was announced that Ward had decided not to participate and Vinny Appice was hired as his replacement.[8] Rhino Records released "The Dio Years" (under the 'Black Sabbath' moniker) album on 3 April 2007. The album showcased older tracks with Dio and also included three brand new songs recorded with Dio and Vinny Appice.

The band started an American tour in April 2007 with Megadeth and Down as opening acts. The tour finished in November in England with the prospect of an album to follow in 2008. During this period the band's show at the New York Radio City Music Hall was released as both a DVD and CD with a vinyl release expected in the UK in 2008. During the summer of 2008, the band embarked on the Metal Masters Tour along with Judas Priest, Motörhead and Testament.[9] The band's first and only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009.[10]

In November 2008, Iommi had a star revealed on the Birmingham Walk of Stars.

On the morning of May 16, 2010, frontman Ronnie James Dio passed away. Iommi posted the following statement regarding Dio's death on his official website http://www.iommi.com

"Yesterday 16 May my dear, dear friend Ronnie James Dio passed away at 7.45am LA time. I’ve been in total shock I just can’t believe he’s gone. Ronnie was one of the nicest people you could ever meet, we had some fantastic times together. Ronnie loved what he did, making music and performing on stage. He loved his fans so much. He was a kind man and would put himself out to help others. I can honestly say it’s truly been an honor to play at his side for all these years, his music will live on forever. Our thoughts are with Wendy Dio who stood by Ronnie until the end, he loved her very much. The man with the magic voice is a star amongst stars, a true professional. I’ll miss you so much my dear friend. RIP - Tony"

On June 14th 2010, Tony announced that Heaven & Hell will perform a one off tribute to Ronnie James Dio at the High Voltage Festival, London on 24th July 2010. This was the bands last performance under the name Heaven and Hell.

Equipment

Guitars

"It was the same with 24-fret necks. I put money into a company because I couldn't get guitars built the way I wanted them. I had to prove it to the manufacturers. So I put money into John Birch guitars, and he built my guitars. I had to prove it worked. All of this was done by experimenting and trial and error. I paid for that myself in the early days to show it could be done. And I paid for all these companies to get the benefits nowadays. Back then they all said it couldn't be done. I also used locking nuts years and years ago without a tremolo, before locking nuts were the norm."

Tony Iommi[11]

Built in Birmingham by luthier John Diggins sometime between 1975 and 1978, the guitar was first used for overdubs on the 'Heaven and Hell' album and later became one of Iommi's main guitars. The guitar is equipped with a 24 fret neck with custom cross inlays, five control knobs (however, only three are functional) and a highly distressed finish.

A 1965 Gibson SG Special in red finish fitted with a Gibson P-90 pickup in the bridge position and a custom-wound John Birch P-90 style single coil in the neck position. The guitar became Iommi's main instrument after his white Stratocaster's neck pickup failed during the recording of Black Sabbath's self-titled album.

The guitar was built by the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville after Iommi's specifications and finished in 1997. The guitar is one of two made as prototypes for the Gibson Custom Shop Limited Edition Iommi Special SG. The guitar features a neck with 24 frets and four control knobs, of which only two are active (much like his old Jaydee Custom guitar).

On August 11, 2010, Tony announced on his website that this guitar was stolen from the RJD tribute show that Heaven & Hell performed at High Voltage on July 24, 2010. He is asking that anyone with information or leads let them know. He is offering a reward for its safe return. [15]

A stock Epiphone SG signature model in black finish fitted with P-94 pickups which is a version of the Gibson P-90 pickup designed to fit into existing humbucker housings.

A regular left-handed version of the SG fitted with two extra frets to give Iommi the full two octaves which he prefers. The guitar is equipped with his signature pickup. He has another model fitted with a Iommi was the first guitarist to have a signature pickup designed and built by Gibson. He also has another model fitted with a Floyd Rose floating tremolo. [17]

"I also came up with a guitar with interchangeable pickups you could slot in from the back. It was a John Birch guitar. We only sold one, and Roy Orbison bought it. I came up with that years ago and the first one was made for me to use in the studio. At the time I had a lot of problems tuning guitars because of the neck and the light strings on the Gibson. I decided to come up with a guitar that I could use in the studio with different sounds so that I didn't have to keep changing guitars. You could slot a pickup in it and get a Fender sound, then slot a different pickup in it and get a Gibson sound. That was the idea. I did use it for a while, but they were too expensive to mass-produce."

Tony Iommi[11]

A Gibson SG Custom much liked the one he used in the Black Sabbath performance for Beat-Club in 1971 (Which are the music videos for Paranoid and Iron Man), except with two Tony Iommi signature Gibson pickups instead of the 3 stock pickups, and a Floyd Rose floating tremolo instead of the Maestro tremolo. It is used for performing The Mob Rules with Heaven & Hell[18]

Iommi played a Fender Stratocaster that was spraypainted white by Iommi and his father during the early days with Black Sabbath. However, the pickup malfunctioned during the recording of their first album so Iommi quickly turned to his backup Gibson SG to finish the record. Currently Iommi owns two Stratocasters, one of which has been modified with his signature pickup in the bridge position.

A rare left-handed version of the jazz guitarist Barney Kessel artist model, built sometime in the first half of the 1960s.

Originally a regular right-handed version in red finish that was converted by Epiphone to a left-handed version to fit Iommi.

Effects

Amplifiers

Controversy

In 2009, Iommi was sued by bandmate Ozzy Osbourne over ownership of the "Black Sabbath" name.[28]

In a statement on his official website Osbourne has said:

"It is with great regret that I had to resort to legal action against my long term partner, Tony Iommi, but after three years of trying to resolve this issue amicably, I feel I have no other recourse. As of the mid-1990's, after constant and numerous changes in band members, the brand of 'Black Sabbath' was literally in the toilet and Tony Iommi (touring under the name Black Sabbath) was reduced to performing in clubs. Since 1997 when Geezer, Bill and myself rejoined the band, Black Sabbath has returned to its former glory as we headlined sold-out arenas and amphitheatres playing to upwards of 50,000 people at each show around the world. We worked collectively to restore credibility and bring dignity back to the name 'Black Sabbath' which lead [sic] to the band being inducted into the UK and US Rock & Roll Hall of Fames in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Throughout the last 12 years, it was my management representatives who oversaw the marketing and quality control of the 'Black Sabbath' brand through OZZFEST, touring, merchandising and album reissues. The name 'Black Sabbath' now has a worldwide prestige and merchandising value that it would not have had by continuing on the road it was on prior to the 1997 reunion tour. Tony, I am so sorry it's had to get to this point by me having to take this action against you. I don't have the right to speak for Geezer and Bill, but I feel that morally and ethically the trademark should be owned by the four of us equally. I hope that by me taking this first step that it will ultimately end up that way. We've all worked too hard and long in our careers to allow you to sell merchandise that features all our faces, old Black Sabbath album covers and band logos, and then you tell us that you own the copyright. We're all in our 60's now. The Black Sabbath legacy should live on long after we have all gone. Please do the right thing."[29]

A Manhattan federal judge ruled in February 2010 that Osbourne could proceed with the suit, but urged both sides to consider resuming mediation.[30]

In June 2010, the legal battle between Osbourne and Iommi over the trademarking of the Black Sabbath name ended, but what the terms of the settlement are has not been disclosed.[31]

Personal life

Tony Iommi has been married at least three times. He is currently married to Drain STH vocalist Maria Sjoholm. He has a daughter, Toni-Marie, who is the vocalist for LunarMile.

According to Chris Welch's self-titled band biography, during the 1970s, Iommi was married to a woman named Susan, who was related to Royal photographer Lord Snowdon. When this marriage ended is unclear, though Iommi said in a 1991 Guitar World interview that the recording and mixing of Black Sabbath's 1976 album Technical Ecstasy caused the end of his marriage.

During the mid-1980s, Iommi was romantically involved with, and briefly engaged to, Lita Ford. He co-produced her album The Bride Wore Black, which to date remains unreleased. Ford said in a 1989 Kerrang! interview, "there's a certain amount of bad blood between Tony Iommi and I."

According to the liner notes on the Black Sabbath albums Dehumanizer and Cross Purposes, he was married to a woman named "Val." The same liner notes mention a son named "Jay." Iommi confirmed in the same Guitar World interview referenced above (a co-interview with Metallica's James Hetfield) that he has a son. He told Hetfield regarding the band's so-called "Black Album," that "my son gave me a copy of your latest album..." When this marriage ended is unclear, though Iommi is thought to have been incarcerated in the Modesto, California, Jail for non-payment of child support (again referenced in Cross Purposes' liner notes).

Discography

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

See also


References

  1. Greg Prato. "Tony Iommi biography at AllMusicGuide". http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:anfqxq85ldke~T1. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
  2. "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Rolling Stone. Jann S. Wenner. 18 September 2003. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937559/the_100_greatest_guitarists_of_all_time/print. Retrieved 2009-08-27. 
  3. Olsen, Eric (2004-02-01). "Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time"". blogcritics. http://blogcritics.org/music/article/guitar-worlds-100-greatest-metal-guitarists/. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
  4. Gill, Chris (December 2008). "The Eternal Idol". Guitar World. 
  5. Black, Johnny (14 March 2009). "Black celebration: the holy grail of Black Sabbath". Music Week. UBM Information Ltd.. http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=2&storycode=1037239. Retrieved 27 August 2009. 
  6. Tony Iommi Interview Outtakes, Guitar World
  7. Andreeva, Nellie (22 July 2009). "Mike Fleiss' Next step is filmmaking". Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Company). http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i37e0c2e8dc52a10778b6f8adcddb836e. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  8. Bill Ward not participating in Heaven & Hell
  9. Judas Priest Head Up The Metal Masters Tour With Heaven & Hell, Motorhead and Testament - antiMUSIC News
  10. Cohen, Jonathan (2009-02-10). "Heaven & Hell Feeling Devilish On New Album". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003940100. Retrieved 2009-03-19. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 http://www.vintageguitar.com/features/artists/details.asp?AID=2117
  12. "Jaydee Custom S.G. (a.k.a. No. 1, The Old Boy)". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/jaydee_custom_sg_aka_no1.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
  13. "Red Gibson SG (Monkey)". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/gibson_red_sg_aka_monkey.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
  14. "Red Gibson Custom Shop S.G.". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/gibson_red_custom_shop_sg.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
  15. "Custom Guitar Stolen". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/index.php?story=76. Retrieved 11 August 2010. 
  16. "Epiphone P94 Iommi model". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/epiphone_p94_iommi_model.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
  17. Clement, Mike. "The Story of the Gibson Tony Iommi Signature Pick-up". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/gibson_tony_iommi_signature_pickup.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
  18. http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/other-gibsons/54930-tony-iommi-has-sg-w-floyd.html
  19. "Tony's First Left-handed Guitar". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/fender_stratocasters.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
  20. "Gibson Barney Kessel". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/gibson_barney_kessel.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
  21. "Epiphone Riviera 12 string". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/epiphone_riviera_12_string.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
  22. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/labella_guitar_and_bass_strings.htm
  23. "Shure: Wireless systems and microphones". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/shure.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
  24. "Tony Iommi Live Guitar Rig". Iommi.com. http://www.iommi.com/equipment/the_tony_iommi_live_guitar_rig.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-07. 
  25. "Tony Iommi Flies Solo". Gibson.com. http://www.gibson.com/whatsnew/pressrelease/2001/feb28a.html. Retrieved 2008-02-07. 
  26. 26.0 26.1 Clement, Mike. "The Tony Iommi/Laney collaboration". http://www.iommi.com/equipment/the_tony_iommi_laney_collaboration.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-13. 
  27. "Iommi.com equipment". http://www.iommi.com/equipment.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-13. 
  28. "Ozzy Osbourne sues over Black Sabbath name Accuses bandmate Tony Iommi of costing him merchandise royalties". MSNBC (AP). 2009-05-30. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31008866/. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
  29. "Ozzy speaks about Black Sabbath trademark issue". 2009-05-29. http://www.ozzy.com/news/ozzy-speaks-about-black-sabbath-trademark-issue. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
  30. Golding, Bruce (26 February 2010). "High note of Ozzy". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/high_note_for_ozzy_0xzboz1hYIliDeL1r8X7pN. Retrieved 28 February 2010. 
  31. "Ozzy And Iommi Settle Sabbath Legal Battle". Classic Rock. 5 June 2010. http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/news/ozzy-and-iommi-settle-sabbath-legal-battle/. Retrieved 6 June 2010. 

External links