April 10, 2018

"Living Legend"

Today I want to pay tribute to one of my idols, Mr. Tony Iommi. Like Jimmy Page and Chet Atkins, Tony has been (and still continues to be) one of my all time favorites.

Tony Iommi turned 70 years old this year. He had battled cancer, and beat it. I saw Black Sabbath in Phoenix in August of 2013, and they were playing all their greatest stuff, and plenty of songs from their new record, "13."
Toni was producing the same sounds (and new ones) that made Black Sabbath famous, and with two of his original band-mates (Ozzy and Geezer Butler) giving the crowd his very best.
Toni Iommi is a unique guitarist. He lost his middle and ring fingers of his right hand when he was a teenager, and the rest is history. The "Great Lefty" was born, and the sounds and riffs that would be the basis for Black Sabbath were engraved in history for all time. Toni is the undisputed Godfather of Heavy Metal guitar, and master of the tuned down Gibson SG, and a line of custom guitars.
If you sit and listen to "13," you'll hear the absolute perfection of a band that goes back 40 years, and to this day will rock a crowded event center with the very best.
Cheers to you Tony...you are forever regarded as one of the greatest musicians of all time.

-Jim Culp, 2018