Tony Iommi’s opinion on Jimmy Page

Black Sabbath had Tony Iommi and Led Zeppelin had Jimmy Page, they are two of the most important guitarists of all time and changed the course of Rock and Roll music in the late 60s and early 70s. Also formed by John Bonham, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, Zeppelin was crucial for the evolution of Hard Rock and also an inspiration for bands like Sabbath, showing them you could play heavy music and also be successful.

Curiously, some of the musicians of both bands knew each other before fame and their friendship continued over the years. But what is Tony Iommi’s opinion on Jimmy Page as a guitarist?

Tony Iommi’s opinion on Jimmy Page

Although both bands were formed in 1968, Led Zeppelin had the chance to release their debut album earlier, in 1969. Sabbath would only release their groundbreaking debut record in 1970. Iommi always respected and praised Zeppelin’s work. In an interview for the guitar workshop “Careful With That Axe” in 1991, Iommi listed 5 guitarists that in his opinion are very good. One of them of course was Page.

He told Metal Hammer in 2019, that Zeppelin always had great guitar riffs. “There’s so many great riffs out there from the past, and up to date stuff. But you’ve got to have Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke On The Water’ (As the greatest of all time, apart from Sabbath). And of course there are a lot of Zeppelin songs. Jimmy Page has some great riffs.”

The Led Zeppelin guitar riff Tony Iommi would like to have written

In 2019 Iommi answered a lot of fan questions on his Twitter page and one of them asked which was the guitar riff he wished he had written. His answer was “Kashmir”, classic Zeppelin song from their 1975 album “Physical Graffiti”.

The curious thing is that the members of Led Zeppelin used to visit Black Sabbath when they were in the studio. The late legendary drummer John Bonham was a good friend of Tony Iommi and even served as the best man at his wedding.

As Iommi recalled many times, Bonham’s favorite Black Sabbath song was “Supernaut” and he always asked them to play that track when they were together. However, according to Sabbath’s guitarist, Bonham didn’t always play it right. Also, in the early days, Sabbath’s drummer Bill Ward wouldn’t let Bonham play on his drum kit. Because Bonham had a heavy hand and could damage it, and Ward didn’t have enough money to buy a new one.

In the 70s, Led Zeppelin created their own record label, Swan Song. They attempted to sign Black Sabbath to the label, but the deal ultimately fell through.

For Iommi, John Bonham was the main power behind Led Zeppelin

Although Iommi has deep respect for Jimmy Page, who was Zeppelin’s producer and guitarist, he believes that John Bonham was the main power behind the band’s sound.

That’s what he said in an interview for the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006. (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). “In some bands, guitars are the thing. But in Led Zeppelin, the drums were the main power behind the band. (Their sound) was a sort of a mixture of all sorts of stuff in there, even Reggae. Let’s put it this way: Can you imagine music without Led Zeppelin? Because I can’t!” Tony Iommi said.

Tony knew Bonham since they were teenagers playing in bands. He recalled once that the drummer used to get fired from bands all the time because he played too loud.