Tony Iommi – Age 73

Ask any heavy metal guitarist anywhere who is the creator of the heavy metal guitar riff, and they will say, Tony Iommi. The amazing thing is that he almost didn’t become a guitarist after losing the tips of his right ring and middle finger in a freak accident at the age of 17.

But he persevered and came up with some of the most iconic riffs of early heavy metal, including “Iron Man,” “Paranoid,” “Into The Void,” and “Locomotive Breath.” He also started another band called Heaven and Hell with the late Ronny James Dio. In 2021 he and Black Sabbath re-released the albums “Heaven & Hell” and “Mob Rules.