Somebody clear this up for me. I know his name is Tony (Frank Anthony Iommi). But I also hear him frequently called Tommy. Why is this? Maybe this is something I should know the answer to. I googled it to try and find an answer but in the few places where I seen it discussed the person asking got the usual smartass answers and never really got an explanation of why he is commonly called Tommy. I have seen him called Tommy (as well as Tony) in several magazines including Rolling Stone and Guitar World. I'm sure I've seen it other places too.

I thought maybe it was just a common fuck up. But I would think that writers in magazines and shit would actually get their facts right.

ross_rifle113 wrote:

Weird, maybe people just call him Tommy as like, an amalgamation of Tony and Iommi? I've personally never heard him called that, I don't think. Either way, Tony Iommi is GOD.

I'm trying to think of where the hell I have seen it. I know I have seen it in a couple of magazines and some places on the internet (not that its very reliable). In Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list (which is a crock of shit with Eddie at #70, no Slash, and no Prince), it actually says Tommy, but then there is a photo of him right next to it that says Tony in the caption. I suppose it could be a typo or a fuck up or whatever. But I've actually seen it enough times to wonder how people could fuck it up that much by accident.

Google Tommy Iommi and see how many links you actually get. I was surprised to see how many people think its his name.

ross_rifle113 wrote:

Wait...Slash wasn't on that list??? Like, I was super pissed at it because of where Eddie was, I didn't even notice no Slash!!! Holy shit! Fuck Rolling Stone.

I'll double check because I might be wrong. But I was thinking he wasn't. I'll go look.

EDIT: I was right. No Slash. Bullshit list.

Here is the list in order 1-100

Jimi Hendrix
Duane Allman
B.B. King
Eric Clapton
Robert Johnson
Chuck Berry
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Ry Cooder
Jimmy Page
Keith Richards
Kirk Hammett
Kurt Cobain
Jerry Garcia
Jeff Beck
Carlos Santana
Johnny Ramone
Jack White
John Frusciante
Richard Thompson
James Burton
George Harrison
Mike Bloomfield
Warren Haynes
The Edge
Freddy King
Tom Morello
Mark Knopfler
Stephen Stills
Ron Asheton
Buddy Guy
Dick Dale
John Cipollina
Thurston Moore
Lee Ranaldo
John Fahey
Steve Cropper
Bo Diddley
Peter Green
Brian May
John Fogerty
Clarence White
Robert Fripp
Eddie Hazel
Scotty Moore
Frank Zappa
Les Paul
T-Bone Walker
Joe Perry
John McLaughlin
Pete Townshend
Paul Kossoff
Lou Reed
Mickey Baker
Jorma Kaukonen
Ritchie Blackmore
Tom Veriaine
Roy Buchanan
Dickey Betts
Ed O'Brien
Jonny Greenwood
Ike Turner
Zoot Horn Rollo
Danny Gatton
Mick Ronson
Hubert Sumlin
Vernon Reid
Link Wray
Jerry Miller
Steve Howe
Eddie Van Halen
Lightnin' Hopkins
Joni Mitchell
Trey Anastasio
Johnny Winter
Adam Jones
Ali Farka Toure
Henry Vestine
Robbie Robertson
Cliff Gallup
Robert Quine
Derek Trucks
David Gilmour
Neil Young
Eddie Cochran
Randy Rhoads
Tony Iommi
Joan Jett
Dave Davies
D. Boon
Glen Buxton
Robby Krieger
Wayne Kramer
Fred Smith
Burt Jansch
Kevin Shields
Angus Young
Robert Randolph
Leigh Stephens
Greg Ginn
Kim Thayil

JRA wrote:

I have never, ever, ever heard Tony Iommi called Tommy. Rolling Stone called him that once? You answered your own question.

But I have seen it more than once in more than one place. I didn't answer my own question because I don't know why, whether it was a fuck up or if it had some other reason behind it.

GPFontaine wrote:

I was always under the assumption that everyone thought Kurt Cobain was an average guitarist. How does he rank so high and Slash isn't even on the list?

Like I said. Bullshit list. I like Joni Mitchell just fine. But does anyone really think she is only one guitarist away from being as great as Eddie Van Halen?

GPFontaine wrote:

I was always under the assumption that everyone thought Kurt Cobain was an average guitarist. How does he rank so high and Slash isn't even on the list?

Here is what it says about Cobain he is #12? on the list.

Quote:

"Grunge" was always a lousy, limited way to describe the music Kurt Cobain made with Nirvana and, in particular, his discipline and ambition as a guitarist. His cannonballs of fuzz and feedback bonfires on 1991's Nevermind announced the death of 1980s stadium guitar rock. Cobain also reconciled his multiple obsessions — the Beatles, hardcore punk, the fatalist folk blues of Lead Belly — into a truly alternative rock that bloomed in the eccentric, gripping hooks and chord changes of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Come as You Are." Recorded six months before Cobain's suicide in 1994, MTV Unplugged in New York reveals, in exquisite acoustic terms, the craft and love of melody that illuminated his anguish.

enshinkarateman wrote:

But greatness isn't defined by being able to play really fast or really technically.

Exactly. This is why Buckethead doesn't make the cut.

JRA wrote:

enshinkarateman wrote: JRA wrote: I don't think Angus Young is that great of a guitarist. He has great energy but that's about it. See, I don't consider him to be technically proficient. But greatness isn't defined by being able to play really fast or really technically. Angus' instantly-identifiable tone and riffing style embodies the spirit of blues-rock guitar. His consistency and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude is certainly respectable. He might not win any shredder contests, but he's definitely up there in terms of the greatest. Certainly more deserving than Kurt Cobain. I'd just like to say I don't want to sound like I'm attacking you, I'm just laying out my two cents. Your tone didn't sound like you were attacking at all. Yea, Angus is one of the greatest, but when people start saying shit like "Him and Malcolm are the greatest guitar team ever" that's when I begin to have big problems.

Duane Allman and Dickey Betts. I'm not saying they are the best ever either. I'm just saying. There are people just as good as Angus and Malcolm. Not that I don't like Angus and Macolm.

I changed the thread title.

Also, I noticed possibly the biggest miscarriage of justice on the whole list. No Chet Atkins. This list keeps getting worse. This is the deal breaker.