Guitarist Tony Iommi on This Day in History

 

This day in history: Tony Iommi was born on this day in 1948. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over five decades. Iommi was ranked number 13 in Rolling Stone magazine's 2023 list of greatest guitarists of all time.

On his last day of work in a sheet metal factory, as a teenager, Iommi lost the tips of the middle and ring fingers of his right hand in an accident. This led to him having to create makeshift thimbles and tuning his guitar down making it easier to play while also giving the band a unique sound. He briefly left Black Sabbath (then known as Earth) in 1968 to join Jethro Tull, but did not record any material with the band, and subsequently returned to Black Sabbath in 1969. 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 formed Heaven & Hell, which disbanded shortly after the death of Ronnie James Dio in 2010 (they toured on Black Sabbath songs when Dio was in the band but changed the name for legal reasons).

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

Buy : Halloween and the Strange in Story and History for 99 cents (50 Chapters) and Buy this Kindle book on Amazon on Vampires and Werewolves for only 1.99

Rocker Lita Ford on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: English-born American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Lita Ford was born on this day in 1958. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal solo career that hit its peak in the late 1980s. The 1989 single "Close My Eyes Forever", a duet with Ozzy Osbourne, remains Ford's most successful song, reaching No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Lita Ford is one the top women of Rock and Roll, yet she never really makes the list of the top women of Rock and Roll. VH1 compiled a list of the top 100 women of Rock (http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1999/vh1women.htm). Aretha Franklin was number one on this list. Aretha Franklin is without a doubt a great singer, but she is not Rock and Roll. She is known as the "Queen of Soul" for a reason. 

Joni Mitchell is number 5 on the list, but I don't consider Joni Mitchell's music as Rock. Her style is more of a mixture of folk and jazz.

Billie Holiday is number 6 on the list. Billie Holiday is Jazz and Swing, not Rock and Roll.

Madonna is number 8 on this list. Madonna performs pop, electronica and dance music, not Rock and Roll.

Patsy Cline is number 11. Patsy Cline is a great Country music singer, she is not Rock and Roll. 

I could go on. Perhaps if lists liked this narrowed their considerations for actual women in Rock, there would be room for female rockers like Lita Ford, or Lee Aaron, Lisa Dalbello, Suzi Quatro, Maria Brink, Amy Lee and Wendy O. Williams.

Rock Guitarist Randy Rhoads on This Day in History

 

This day in history: American heavy metal guitarist and founding member of Quiet Riot Randy Rhoads, was killed in an airplane crash on this day in 1982.

Rhoads is best known for his work on Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albums, and especially "Crazy Train" which features one of the most well-known heavy metal guitar riffs. Despite his short career, Rhoads is regarded as a pivotal figure in metal music, credited with pioneering a fast and technical style of guitar soloing that largely defined the metal scene of the 1980s. He helped to popularize various guitar techniques now common in heavy metal music, including two-handed tapping, tremolo bar dive bombs, and intricate scale patterns, drawing comparisons to his contemporary, Eddie Van Halen.

Randy Rhoads is one of many musicians who have died in plane crashes, including Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Richie Valens, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Patsy Cline, Glenn Miller, Jim Reeves, several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Otis Redding, Jim Croce, Ricky Nelson, John Denver, and Aaliyah.

In the last conversation that Ozzy had with Rhoads, Randy admonished Osbourne over his heavy drinking. The last thing Rhoads said to him that night was, "You'll kill yourself, you know, one of these days."

Forty two years later and Ozzy, like Keith Richards, is still alive. 

Get the Randy Rhoads III Rock Iconz Statue Direct from KnuckleBonz