Quote Of The Day By Black Sabbath Guitarist Tony Iommi: 'I Have To Live What Life I've Got Because ...'

Heavy metal was practically invented at Tony Iommi's fingertips (or lack thereof). The Black Sabbath guitarist laid down now-classic riffs in albums like "Paranoid," "Master of Reality," and "Vol. 4." Even 50+ years after the first Black Sabbath album, Iommi's work continues to inspire, cementing him as one of rock's true icons. Yet, when Iommi faced some life-threatening news, he focused on what really mattered to him.

Iommi probably never thought he would grow up to be such a living legend. Born on February 19, 1948, in the working-class city of Birmingham, England, Iommi began playing guitar as a teenager. He eventually formed a band called Earth with friends Bill Ward, Terry "Geezer" Butler, and John "Ozzy" Osbourne. Renaming themselves after a 1963 Mario Bava horror movie, Black Sabbath ushered in a new sound. With songs about witchcraft, war, Lucifer, and mental distress, Black Sabbath (especially Tony Iommi, the band's principal songwriter) helped establish heavy metal in the 1970s.

Even as the band entered a tumultuous time in the 1980s — after firing Ozzy, Bill Ward quitting, and the band cycling through a bevy of lead singers — Iommi's legacy was never in doubt. He was always considered a forefather of heavy metal, up until Black Sabbath's final concert in 2025. All through this time, the ups and downs, Iommi hasn't lost himself. And that is why he's our quote of the day.

In January 2012, Tony Iommi announced he had been diagnosed with lymphoma. The news came shortly after Iommi had reunited the original Sabbath lineup. At the time, the musician said he remained "upbeat and determined to make a full and successful recovery" (via Billboard) and that plans to record the band's final album (2013's "13") would continue on. But he would later say how this health scare rattled his normally unflappable persona.

"I was knocked for six when the doctors told me that it was, that it was stage III cancer," Iommi told The Irish Times in 2016. "It really did change my life as far as what I have to do now. I have to live what life I've got because I have been on the road nearly 50 years. I need to be at home more, and I need to pay more attention to my friends and family."

Iommi said being diagnosed was such a low moment. "You automatically wind yourself up saying, 'that's it then,' but that is not always the case," he added. When comparing it to the teenage factory accident that sliced off his fingertips, nearly preventing him from playing guitar ever again, he still felt the urge to rise to the challenge. "But with cancer, you just don't know," he said. "You don't know how long you are going to be here and how bad it is going to get. It is sort of a different thing."

Tony Iommi was only 63 when he learned he had cancer. At that age, yes — there was more road in his rearview mirror than ahead of him. But Iommi probably thought he had longer in his journey. With lymphoma threatening a premature end, he took stock of his life. He realized that he valued his family — his current wife, Maria Sjöholm, and daughter Toni Marie (who he had with his second wife, Melinda Diaz) — and his friends, all of whom helped him through this hard time.

"Having my wife, Maria — who was so great, put up with so much and never complained — and friends around me was actually the best thing for me," Iommi told Guitar World in 2013. "Of course, when I told Ozzy I have lymphoma, he said, 'Didn't so and so die of that?' [laughs] Thanks! I had to laugh. Typical him. But it was great he was there. You've got to be positive about it, and I try as much as I can."

Tony Iommi revealed in 2016 that he was in remission. But, due to the nature of his cancer, there's always a chance that it could come back. "I look at life differently now. I could be here another 10 years or just one year — I don't know," he told Eddie Trunk in 2015. "Sometimes I wonder if I should try to live a more peaceful life. Then I think, 'I don't want to let the illness take over.' After all, I enjoy where I'm at now."

• "The only thing I really regret, to be honest, is that Bill Ward didn't play on the [last] album. It wasn't really a Black Sabbath album."
• "It's lovely to have a legacy ... I mean, obviously, we didn't start out thinking that we would do all this. We did it because we believed in it and we loved it."
• "I think it was a good thing to finish off when we did the Back to the Beginning ... It was great for a final thing with Sabbath to take it together as the original band and finish it off as it should."
• "They said, 'Oh, you know you're playing heavy metal.' 'Heavy Metal. What's that?' 'That's what you're playing.' And I went, 'No, we're heavy rock.' And I wouldn't accept the heavy metal thing for years."
• "I think [Ozzy would] be happy that everybody remembers him and everybody loves him and everybody's come out like they have."
• "I just can't imagine myself stopping unless I had to. It's a necessity for me to have to play. It's like eating; I have to do it."