Tony Iommi Names His Favourite Five Guitar Players

[@generaljj71]

Tony Iommi's first and favorite guitarist was Hank Marvin of the shadows

[@garethparr9482]

Correct!

[@awickedtribe]

Reading the comments, I thought I would point out this is about Iommis' FAVORITE guitarists not influences. Two entirely different subjects. Just because EVH came much later doesn't mean Tony can't rank him as a favorite guitarist.

[@kevinhewitson3536]

I always remember Iommi voting for Alvin Lee (1st) and Blackmore (2nd) in an early 70's musicians poll (Melody Maker I think)

[@msaintpc]

I know him, been knowing him since 1968 and have drank and got high with him. I know exactly who influenced him the most. I'm 78 and was there.

[@sashasavisha146]

I expected to see Django Reinhardt. Van Halen toured with Sabbath on the last studio album before Ozzy left, and Iommi was impressed with Eddie. I can hear a similarity to Clapton in Tony’s solos. Lots of blues. Holly, Berry and Hendrix were great players. I’m sure he was impressed with the Beatles too. Good list.

[@hollywoodjoe123]

EXACTLY - - the great gypsy guitarist - DJANGO REINHARDT was said by TONY IOMMI to be his really first ever inspiration on the guitar - due to the fact that DJANGO REINHARDT and Tony both shared a hand injury - !

[@redbarchetta8782]

No one, and I mean NO ONE, sounds like Tony. What a great guitarists.

[@chriskroll4166]

I was hanging out with Tony many many years ago and I got him into a heavy guitar conversation. He told me he just loved the guy from The troggs. His name is Chris Britton. In fact the same producer that The troggs had went on to work for Black Sabbath and help give Sabbath their big wall of sound. I believe his name was Bain . 😁

[@Ukraine_Rocks-OK]

Love Tony's guitar in the Gypsy

[@libroslectores5611]

THANKS TONY I.....you showed the way

[@AmericanShia786]

I certainly agree with the comment that the guitarist who most influenced Tony Iommi was Django Reinhardt, the Jazz guitarist who played very fast despite not being able to use two of his fingers. Jazz is my first love, so the omission of Django Reinhardt in the video is very disappointing. As for Van Halen being a major influence, that is quite likely. However, Van Halen's influence would have come after Iommi made his mark. I'm a Tenor Sax player who got exposed to Heavy Metal by good friends. I came to like Ritchie Blackmore on my own, but Tony Iommi and Jeff Beck were two guitar players introduced to me by friends. I appreciated Jeff Beck for his Jazz / Rock playing. Ritchie Blackmore was much more exciting for me than Jimmy Page. Iommi's playing was fun to listen to. It was hard for me to admit that I was a Black Sabbath fan as a teenager, but I really got into their first 4 albums, and even liked what followed, including Never Say Die, which wasn't Heavy Metal, but was still a good album. I did like the two albums with Ronnie James Dio, whom I had liked with Blackmore's Rainbow. The album with Ian Gillan surprisingly didn't appeal to me. Then life happened and I didn't pay attention to new Rock very much. But, I can say that, for me, Tony Iommi is Black.Sabbath. I can imagine others replacing the other three original members. However, no Iommi would be the end of Black Sabbath. Lastly, until age 60, I though the first lines of Electric Funeral were "Three Specks in the sky warn you your gonna die ..." only to learn on the Internet that the first word was "reflex". That was a quite amusing piece of information.

[@vicprovost2561]

You are Spot On, Tony Iommi is Black Sabbath. If you have not, try some Tony Martin Black Sabbath, do Headless Cross and be surprised.

[@ericbgordon1575]

It definitely is worth knowing these influences on Tony Iomi as a guitar player, not to mention his decision to give up playing the drums and choose the guitar for being a much simpler instrument to play and transport. I made the same decision when I was only a drummer for a year (1994) and wanted to become a front liner. I was originally going to play bass, but the guitar bug bit me. I had a lot of the same influences as Iomi had when I began learning.

[@msaintpc]

Mr. Iommi put the 'H' in heavy, and contrary to this video it was actually Blue Cheer's rendition of 'Summertime Blues' and 'Screaming Jay Hawkins "Put A Spell On You", that blew his mind. Blew mine too.

[@ACDZ123]

Tony was well established before EVH ffs

[@michael_caz_nyc]

So many phenomenal guitar players (in many genre's). In no particular order for me: Tommy Emmanuel, Guthrie Govan, Steve Howe, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Alex Lifeson, David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, Andy Summers, Robin Trower, Allan Holdsworth, Al Di Meola, Steve Stevens, Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Nile Rodgers & Tony Iommi . . . (however) There is No Best / There is No Greatest = it's who moves and inspires you.

[@honus20]

A bunch of my all time faves in that group. And a whole bunch more.

[@Oldfatbastard57]

Please throw in Glen Campbell Roy Clark and Jerry Reed

[@ronaldmorgan7632]

Shout out to Steve Howe.

[@rblauson]

Peter Greene

[@michael_caz_nyc]

@@ronaldmorgan7632 Howe was voted "Best Overall Guitarist" in Guitar Player magazine five years in a row (1977-1981) and in 1981 was the first rock guitar player inducted into the Guitar Player Hall of Fame.

[@davesaenz3732]

I had listened to many guitarists but when i heard Tony Iommi i had to pick up a guitar and play. Later Randy Rhoads and Van Halen solidified i was in the right direction. Amazing stuff! The best of Black Sabbath sounds nothing like any of these 4 duded exept Van Halen later on later albums.

[@richardrincon3090]

I'm very happy and proud to say.I'm a left-handed guitar player.Just like Tony iommi and Jimi Hendrix.And yes I do have a broken finger on my right hand that I could barely use

[@vicprovost2561]

No 2 guitar players gave me as much pleasure, though Page and Gilmour are in the conversation...

[@miraposajehano4309]

This is bullshit....the most important influence in Iommi's career is Django Reinhardt as he has repeated numerous time throughout his career. When Iommi lost the tip of his right hand index in a manufacture accident, it was Reinhardt music that convinced him that he could still be a guitar player.

[@AlbertoJorgeSoares]

He lost the tips of his right middle and ring fingers, not the index.

[@shipsahoy1793]

@@AlbertoJorgeSoares he probably said digits lol

[@AlbertoJorgeSoares]

@@shipsahoy1793 lol

[@per-hakansvahn8044]

And certainly not Van Halen who was a generation behind Iommi.

[@mmestari]

Yes in a way. But not in sense that you can hear it from his music.

[@mimetics]

Wes Montgomery -- Tony's jazz live solo's!

[@Southbound63]

I was lucky enough to see Van Halen on their first British gigs supporting Sabbath. What a gig two rows from the front.

[@bobfrankish8883]

Me too. I remember it well. Those were the days.

[@Southbound63]

@@bobfrankish8883 they sure were, the bands they now call classic rock. Great times but it has left my hearing impaired but it was worth it.😀😀😀👍👍

[@bobfrankish8883]

@@Southbound63 Yes, same here. There's a down side to everything I'm afraid.

[@warren4110]

If this was from the man himself, I’d believe it. As it is, I think it’s rubbish! I know that both Hank Marvin and Joe Pass were very influential to him.

[@MagusRealm]

Tony has mentioned joe pass many times in interviews.

[@shipsahoy1793]

I seem to remember he really liked jazz and heavy blues guitar.. if he was ever enamored with Buddy Holly or Chuck Berry, I'd have to say he was a little kid at the time. This video appears pat & contrived.🫨

[@RobertWeingher]

I don't know what is your source of information, i saw a lot of interviews with Tony Iommi about his influences, in all of them he mentioned Hank Marvin and the Shadows and of course Django Reinhardt, in one case he was asked to name the 5 best guitar players of all times and Tony mentioned Jimi Hendrix among the five and i asked myself what the heck? i can understand the influence of Eric Clapton from a logical point of view, he was more of a rocker in the sixties, i can also understand the influence of Eddie Van Halen, also David Gilmour said that Eddie Van Halen was a big influence on him, though they all play different styles and have different tone and sound, i believe that Tony Iommi mentioned Jimi Hendrix just as lip service, so people would not attack him with the question how he was not influenced by Jimi Hendrix? believe me that there are a lot of guitar players who are not influenced by Jimi Hendrix and some of them also believe that he was a boring guitar player.

[@reffasabdellali6080]

Chuck Berry Jimmy Page Jimi Hendrix Jeff Beck .

[@RyanAFRyan-og5lf]

All the Guitar Magazines and interviews I read in the 80's and 90's Tony had Hendrix primarily as his favorite and most influential guitarist......

[@davesaenz3732]

I honestly think Hendrix is the most OVERRATED GUITAR PLAYER IN HISTORY!! Has 6 okay songs. The rest is just crappy noise. Ozzy was known for ditching those guitar players that brought that stuff for rehearsal. Thank God he sent them home. 🙏

[@RyanAFRyan-og5lf]

@@davesaenz3732 Your right Beavis ! Hendrix is overrated with like only six okay songs and only one song about Fire.......yeah......yeah.....and stuff..........

[@PotrzebieConolly]

Well, supposedly this video was based on an interview Tony did in 2020, so if Django, Hank Marvin, and Joe Pass weren't mentioned in the interview I wouldn't expect them to be in this video. I doubt he said anything that would suggest his journey to stardom was inspired by Eddie Van Halen , since he already had a decade of successful albums before the first Van Halen album. Tony may well have complimented Eddie in 2020. I haven't read the interview, so this video may be completely off-base. Some direct quotes would have made a difference, but I'm giving it a thumbs down.

[@JOSEPHMARLOW-h6l]

You have missed out the greatest of them all.RORY GALLAGHER!

[@vicprovost2561]

Also Michael Schenker. 🎸

[@gerarddion4859]

Well done. but you forgot to include two other guitarists that Tony himself mentions as big on his playing - the jazz great Joe Pass and proto metal great Leslie West.

[@HansFeist]

Where is Jimmy Page😊😊😊.

[@GregoryAlcorn-o3g]

Come on man Jimmy Page is nowhere in the mix because he was a shity guitarist man

[@garyowen4602]

Jimmy page solo on no quarter live will never be beaten

[@timetraveller3063]

Agree..it's fecking beautiful and sublime

[@SEKreiver]

Also, almost all of 'Zep I' had to have been a big influence on the Sab sound.

[@davidmecucci7348]

I've said that for years THE BEST.

[@GregoryAlcorn-o3g]

God I wish you people would get led Zeppelin's dick out of your mouth man you can't make a statement about any guitars without bringing Jimmy Page's sloppy no good ass into the equation he is nowhere near the level Tony iommi or these other guitarists

[@rchoquette2975]

Heart like a Wheel..... say no more say no more.... even Eric Idle agrees

[@royphillips7435]

Gallup , Moore , Janes are probably the real heavyweights of pure rock guitar players , without these 3 there would probably be no guitar groups from the 60s onwards albeit watered down versions !

[@326vince]

Had a Strat as a kid. Lucky young man

[@donbladsoe]

GATTON, BREAU, DJANGO, WEST, SCOTTY ANDERSON.

[@donbladsoe]

Correction Wes M

[@allanmakela3011]

Iommi hits the right notes,a very melodic player,dramatic,but not a shredder deluxe

[@rchoquette2975]

Listen to Heart like a Wheel, from the 7th star Lp..... and thats just a blues number...

[@rchoquette2975]

@@jimDaifotis-m2x my point was Iommi was a Shredder Way b4 most of the above mentioned were you just need to listen to the right albums to see that, not trying to downplay others but Who else does Double Trills for example... just one of the things that separates him from the pack

[@326vince]

As long as Hendrixis on the list I’m in!

[@aschule5684]

Not sure if this video is about Tony's "influences" or just favorite guitar players but EVH wasn't someone Tony was even aware of until VH opened for BS on the Never Say Die tour at the very end of BS's time with Ozzy right before he was fired. I'm certain Tony was definitely impressed once he was aware who he was but Eddie was far too young to have been an influence on him to play obviously.

[@lastmanstanding9389]

Pete Townsend influenced them all, especially Jimi Hendrix.

[@aschule5684]

Pete never gets the credit he's more than earned he's very powerful and a song writing genius! Love Pete

[@reynoldsparrow834]

I like Pete Townsend but he is nowhere close to what Jimi Hendrix was and he would probably tell you that

[@aschule5684]

@@reynoldsparrow834 no your right, no one was like Hendrix and they'd ALL tell you that. It wasn't about comparing Townsend to Hendrix, it was about acknowledging ANOTHER genius that's been around since the 60's and had a very powerful impact on music and is still. The Who was a very successful band with many hits and Townsend pretty much wrote it all. He's not a technical genius on guitar but he's very powerful an unique and a great song writer and singer I believe has more than earned his place on the mountain of greats.

[@maxwellfan55]

Mick Box. Doing similar, but miles apart.

[@funkster007]

Tony admired Eddie's playing and they formed a friendship, but Eddie wasn't really an influence on his own playing. Also Django Reinhardt and Hank Marvin were two of Tony's biggest influences.

[@davesaenz3732]

I can see some of VH and Randy Rhoads influence on Tony in late 80's early 90's. Take "Disturbing the Priest" and "The shining". His guitar solos got better after 1980. Less bluesy and better structured. In 1987 Eternal Idol and after his guitar solos were a lot better.

[@samuelherman4859]

Eddie Vann Halen is one of the great guitarist but no amd influence on Tony Iommi

[@andreweaves7975]

1. jimi 2. jimmy 3. srv 4.evh 5. prince

[@rblauson]

Peter Greene

[@KeithRiches-oe8og]

Hands of God, it can only be Jeff Beck………..

[@tonyo5114]

Rory Gallagher would blow all these guitarist off the stage wake up man

[@vicprovost2561]

Michael Schenker. 🎸

[@penelopeoates511]

Nick Heyward from Haircut 100 wipes the floor with them all

[@vicprovost2561]

@@penelopeoates511 LOL! You must have never saw Michael Schenker, Tony Iommi, Pete Townsend, Jimmy Page Eddie Van Halen, John McGlaughlin Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck or Ritchie Blackmore live. I did in their prime, and you can have your opinion but it is dead wrong, sorry for you if you were not there when legends showed how it is done.

[@tonyo5114]

@@vicprovost2561 I have met some of them have you open your mind listen to rory

[@dannyzuehlsdorf3697]

buddy holly? NO. Lucifer? YES

[@aschule5684]

@@dannyzuehlsdorf3697 if Lucifer is meant as a reference to the devil Lucifer and the devil are 2 seperate entities. Lucifer often gets associated with the devil however they are not the same

[@evanherb5900]

Really would have been more compelling coming from Tony himself instead of this dumb AI voice.

[@alanthorne3921]

Where was Django and Hank?

[@joshpelton8068]

Whoever mad this video knew very little about Iommi . Why do this without doing research?

[@Chris-wj8fz]

Wise very wise..so I went to.the Louvre and saw Mona Lisa...it's crap...beauty in eyes and ears of beholder..for me a boomer of 72 it is always Peter Green

[@itnow]

I know these 5 guys but don't know Tony...

[@trevorgwelch7412]

Robin Trower Yngwie Malmsteen Tonino Baliardo

[@joechapman3686]

What, no Django Reinhardt! Bad form.

[@CCCowboy]

⚡😎⚡

[@planetalebron2576]

Sepultura farewell concert, Palladium, New York City kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5C2iKOMrbB4frMsi=qxRmW6FmmgHkBvd2

[@FelixLee-v7b]

Bullsht !! where this is getting his info from ! !!

[@gunnarkarlsson195]

van halen was a toddler when iommi was in his peak.

[@sswulffable]

And your point ?

[@chriscoughlin9289]

WTF? Eddie was 14,15 when Sabbath broke. Perhaps a year or two younger during Iommi's brief Tenure with Tull. What nonsense

[@SGED392]

@@chriscoughlin9289right Eddie was likley in the beginnings of the Holdsworth meets Blackmore style of his

[@ronnash2924]

@@chriscoughlin9289 Van Halen opened for Black Sabboth in 1978 on Black Sabboths 10th anniversary tour. I saw the show at Madison Square Garden in NYC . Interesting fact :: Van Halen was the only opening act that I have seen that did an encore, they played the whole 1st album and DLR said they didn't have any other songs so they did Mississippi Queen as the encore

[@roboi2241]

What, Iommi was at his peak in the 1950s when Eddie Van Halen was a toddler? Please enlighten us as to what a peak 9 year old Iommi's catalogue was in the 50s rock n roll era when little Eddie was toddling around seeing as he's only 7 years older than Van Halen. It hasn't come to light after all these years

[@janemcewan2194]

No one can touch Django. Ever.

[@chriscoughlin9289]

@roboi2241 What would be the point in trying? Who’s stupid enough to want to build a career on the claim of being ‘The Next Charlie Parker’ or ‘The Next Art Tatum’? You - or your management team - would have to be brain dead.

[@Psychedelian]

The Van Halen stuff is bullshit because Black Sabbath was pretty much done by the time Van Halen came on the scene, I can see the others being influences and Hank Marvin but Van Halen, no. He influenced the 80's fret wankers like Malmsteen , Via and Satriani.

[@TimSpangler-rd6vs]

Jesus is God

[@dcjway]

Luv AI

[@mic982]

At the risk of incuring the wrath of a lot of fine people I have to express my opinion of Jimi Hendrix's style of playing the electric guitar. While he was a fine guitarist and musical genius his "stunts" of playing the guitar upside down, behind the back and esp with his teeth (!) shows (to me) a disrespect, an almost disdain for the electric guitar as an instrument of music. The fact that it comes up in this video about how it may have influenced Tony's playing was disappointing. Hendrix may have been great in some regards, but he was also a victim of his own flamboyance. Had he lived longer (a real regret) I would imagine he would have eventually left that type of stunt-playing far behind him and continued to grow his style to the limits of the instrument. Picking notes with his teeth were not done to coax the beauty out of the instrument so much as it was to shock and stimulate the audience as he attempted to reach further and further into the bizarre. This is not to say I disliked Hendrix nor discount Iommi's admiration for him but only to wonder at why he would think this was something he needed to allow as an influence to his own style. Those bits of bizarre playing techniques by Hendrix (and others) were not done for musical interpretation but for a certain showmanship on stage, the places they always occurred. I doubt they happened in the studio - why for would they?

[@mk-dr4pv]

Hendrix immersed himself in music and played uninhibited.

[@HBO1984.]

Where's Jimmy Page?! 😡

[@GregoryAlcorn-o3g]

Jimmy Page sucks man he might be good in the studio but the man cannot pick up a guitar and just free-hand it you people need to get this through your skulls Man Jimmy Page is the most overly rated guitars in the history of rock and roll man as a matter of fact the whole f****** band is

[@AlexanderArsov]

Classic clickbait. Thumbs down!

[@Michel-r6m]

As of recently saw Brian May talk about going to a gig Van Halen opening for Black Sabbath in Munich (?). Tony and Brian seem to get along pretty well 👍

[@AlbertoJorgeSoares]

Yes...and May said they had given a hard time to Sabbath...lol.

[@aschule5684]

Tony and Brian are very good friends

[@gj8683]

AI-generated text. Zzzzzzz

[@guesser7]

Van Halen copied Steve Hackett.

[@zemlidrakona2915]

What? LOL!

[@chriscoughlin9289]

Yep - Steve's tapping is on display throughout his fretwork on Genesis Live - as it was during the performance that I caught of the 1975 tour of 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway'

[@zemlidrakona2915]

@@chriscoughlin9289 Van Halen sounds nothing like Steve Hackett, regardless of whether Hackett tapped or not. In fact a lot of people tapped before both Van Halen and Hackett. But Van Halen's style was widely copied.

[@chriscoughlin9289]

@@zemlidrakona2915 And Iommi sounds nothing like Greeny - another player that Iommi - and virtually everybody else on the British Blues revival scene - cites as a profound influence. Just ask the guys in Priest - who have covered 'Green Manalishi' for decades. What's your point?

[@chriscoughlin9289]

@@zemlidrakona2915 If there are 'a lot' then it should be no problem to cite them and their popularity. Popularity on a scale of, say, Genesis circa 1974-75 - whose 'Lamb' tour sold out in minutes. Quit with the idiocy - I never contended that the guy INVENTED the technique - as countless critics assert without a backward glance when talking about Eddie and his legacy.

[@rchoquette2975]

You might have most of this correct...But... as good as Van Halen was Lord Iommi was going long before little Eddie Munster ever picked up a Guitar, and saying He Influenced Iommi is Blasphemy.... if it was not for Tony, Eddie Van Halen would have been playing Lincoln Logs..... and No I am not Down playing EVH... just saying Iommi was out Way b4 him and even though the Title says favorite guitarists... these Dipshits are tryiing to make it sound like He was Influenced by Eddie..... Get your Commentary straight.....

[@skeletonmakesgood]

This channel is AI generated garbage, and so is this video. If Tony saw it he would be laughing.

[@kevinplante1667]

Load of crap, tony iommi has said in his own words that he loved the shadows and was inspired to continue playing guitar after his unbelievably unfortunate hand injury by django, never heard this other nonsense

[@GregoryAlcorn-o3g]

About 40 years ago when I was a younger dude a teenager that is I was looking through a Hit parade or magazine which was a rock and roll magazine for you people who don't know back in the 80s and I distinctly remember seeing Tony iommi with a face of absolute rage and on the cover it says Tony iommi is ira because Eddie Van Halen rips off guitar licks so I know this is b*******and that's what Eddie Van Halen had a bad habit of doing is ripping off other guitarist materials

[@EVH-s5h]

LOL , stop it . Everybody knows the exact opposite is true .