Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has seen many great acts rise to the top as he emerged in an era not short of widely influential names. Yet, Led Zeppelin was one of the most prominent groups he witnessed take over the world, with whom he had a closer connection than most.
Although their music might be somewhat distinct, no one can doubt that both Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin left an indelible mark on the world of rock. Both took the genre down a much more expansive path than it had been in the cultural explosion of the ‘British Invasion’, with Sabbath credited as the real founders of pulsating heavy metal. Although this crown is undisputedly the Birmingham group’s, Led Zeppelin also had a hand in establishing the blueprint for the genre.
In addition to their earth-shattering compositional choices, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin were also closely connected on personal terms. This came via Tony Iommi and Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who had been friends since the mid-1960s due to them both playing in various bands in the West Midlands scene. They were such good friends that in 1973, Bonham was Iommi’s best man for his wedding to Susan Snowdon. Unfortunately, however, the marriage fell apart after just three years due to the guitarist’s hell-raising personal life.
This close personal connection means that Iommi is better placed than most – apart from the surviving band members – to comment on the inner workings of Led Zeppelin. According to him, and in spite of any personal bias he might have their secret “power” was all down to the late Bonham, who fused the jazz technique of Gene Krupa with natural hard rock thunder.
When speaking at Led Zeppelin’s induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, Iommi said: “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!”
In an interview with Guitarist Magazine in 2020, Iommi revealed that his late friend was fired from several bands in the early years because of his loud playing, indicating just how ahead of his time he was. He recalled: “We knew Planty and Bonham. Bonham was the best man at my first wedding. I used to knock about with him a lot. We used to play the same gigs. We’d be playing at this club and he’d be with another band.”
“‘They fired me.’ ‘What happened?’ ‘I’m too loud.’ And then he’d go with another band and get fired from them because he was too loud. He was constantly in and out of bands,” Iommi continued.
