Biography
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Born
19 February 1948 (age 76)
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Born In
Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi (born 19 February 1948, Heathfield Road Hospital, Handsworth, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom) is an English guitarist and songwriter, active since 1964, but best known as a founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, its main composer and sole continual member through multiple personnel changes. Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in 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".
In 2004, Iommi was ranked number one on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time", and in 2011, ranked 25th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". On 13 October (Europe) and 1 November (United States) 2011 Iommi's autobiography was published, entitled Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. On 9 January 2012, it was announced that Iommi had been diagnosed with early stage lymphoma.
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