Tony Iommi

Who is Tony Iommi?

Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. Best known as lead guitarist and founding member of the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, he has been the band's sole continual member and primary composer.

While working in a factory as a teenager, Iommi lost the tips of two of his fingers in an accident, an event which crucially affected his playing style. Iommi briefly left Black Sabbath in 1968 to join Jethro Tull, after which he returned to Black Sabbath. In 2000, he released his first solo album Iommi, followed by 2005's Fused, which featured his former bandmate Glenn Hughes. After releasing Fused, he joined Heaven & Hell, which disbanded after Ronnie James Dio's death in 2010.

Iommi is widely considered as the god-father of heavy metal and one of the greatest and most influential rock guitarists of all time. A prolific riff-maker, he was ranked number 25 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

In 2011, he published his autobiography, entitled Iron Man: My Journey through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath.