The amount of incredible British guitarists who started their careers in the 60s is surreal. They were fundamental to the evolution of Rock and Roll and even for the birth of new music genres. Heavy Metal for example wouldn’t have been the same with Black Sabbath, the band that created the genre and their guitarist Tony Iommi was crucial for their sound, which was something no one had ever heard before at that time.
Known as the “Riffsmaster” for his incredible ability of creating fantastic guitar riffs that inspired countless generations, Iommi talked many times about other British guitar players, including the late Jeff Beck.
Tony Iommi’s opinion on Jeff Beck
Is really hard to find someone who didn’t like Jeff Beck or thought he was not a good guitar player, so as expected, Tony Iommi really admired Jeff. He had the chance to meet him in the early days because they used to have the same manager. Like many other famous rockstars, Iommi also believed no one could play like Jeff, as he said in an interview with Guitar World in 2024
“Oh yeah, Jeff was great. I met Jeff early on because we had the same manager. He was so different and unique. A truly great player who was just doing his own thing that was 100 percent him. It’s true what they said; nobody could play quite like Jeff,” Tony Iommi said.
Jeff was four years older than Iommi but both of them started their musical career in the same year, 1964. However, Beck achieved fame first, since he was a member of The Yardbirds for a while. Then started a successful solo career, releasing praised albums like “Truth” (1968) and “Beck-Ola” (1969).
Iommi was a member of Jethro Tull for about two weeks in 1968, even appearing with the band in the Rolling Stones Rock & Roll circus with Ian Anderson. But he decided to return to Sabbath and they finally had the chance to release their groundbreaking self-titled debut album in 1970.
Tony Iommi said Jeff Beck was brilliant
Jeff Beck’s death on January 10, 2023 at the age of 78 surprised everyone since he had just finished a tour and released a new album with Johnny Depp. He died from a bacterial meningitis infection at a hospital near Riverhall.
As soon as the news was shared by his family many famous artists paid tribute to him, including Tony.
“I was totally shocked to hear the very sad news of Jeff Beck’s passing. Jeff was such a nice person and an outstanding iconic, genius guitar player – there will never be another Jeff Beck. His playing was very special and distinctively brilliant!!! He will surely be missed. R.I.P Jeff,” Tony Iommi said.
Iommi was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 as a member of Black Sabbath. Jeff was inducted three years later, in 2009, as a solo act.
Although they didn’t play on the same song, Jeff and Tony were part of Ozzy Osbourne’s 2022 studio album “Patient Number 9”. That record also had Zakk Wylde, Eric Clapton, Mike McCready and Duff McKagan.