Remembering the Late , Great Randy Rhoads.

There are times when something so big happens that you remember where you were and what you were doing when the news broke , for me the death of Randy Rhoads is one such occasion , Randy died in a tragic plane accident while on tour with the Ozzy Osbourn band in Florida aged 25 , 32 years ago .

During the second flight, attempts were made to apparently 'buzz' the tour bus, where the other band members were sleeping. Aycock succeeded in making two close passes, but botched the third attempt. At approximately 10 AM, after being in the air for approximately five minutes, one of the plane's wings clipped the top of the tour bus, breaking the wing into two parts and sending the plane spiraling out of control. Rhoads and Youngblood were thrown through the plane's windshield by the initial impact
en.wikipedia.org...

I was a teenage drummer with a love for everything Sabbath and Ozzy and a ticket to see the Speak Of The Devil tour at the NEC Birmingham later that year , to the best of my knowledge it was the first time that the death of someone I didn't know had a profound effect on me.
Randy Rhoads was a musical genius who made the sweetest sounds emanate from wood and string , he is in my opinion the main reason Ozzy went on to become the phenomena we've seen over the decades since his loss , without him I don't think Blizzard of Ozz would have been the landmark album it was and Ozzy wouldn't have had the confidence in himself to go on and conquer the world.

Little professional footage exists of Randy Rhoads in action with Ozzy but what does exist stands as a testament to the greatness he achieved in his short life , this is the best footage I am aware of if you know of other please post

Randy was a phenomenal guitarist and truly missed. Such a shame that his life had to end while he was so young.

a reply to: gortex

Randy Rhodes < raises glass >
I was fortunate enough to see him for my first concert in 1982 Diary of a Madman Tour, months before he passed. Ozzy was drunk and sounded like crap (still love him though) and I had not heard of Rhodes, but Diary and Blizzard of Oz were filling my youthful rebellion and Rhodes was the epitome of a rock guitarist,but with a comforting kindness about him. I used to bang my head tirelessly to Over the MOuntain and Flying High Again. You Can't Kill Rock and Roll was my mantra song for a while and it was the first song I ever learned on the acoustic. His stance and stage presence were incredible and his chops masterful!

When one thinks about great solos that really fit the song, Randy's has to be in top 10 for sure!
I once had all his posters and tshirts til my step dad raided my room and threw it all away thinking it was a bad influence on me, haha. Man I wish I still had them.

Like so many other awesome musicians, his time was cut short in his prime and all us 'heads' at school were bummed for a while. He was a genuine master of his craft and incredibly humble and kind. Dee is another great piece of work.



RIP brother and thanks Gortex for bringin his work and presence onto the boards!

This may be of interest to anyone with an interest in Ozzy , Randy or the Blizzard of Ozz album.

Last month we've hit 35 years since that fateful day.

Anyway, he has inspired, confused, thrilled, dumbfounded, taught me, made me walk away from, then pick up the guitar again. Bless your soul Randy Rhoads!

I thought I should share this story with fellow fans. It is written from both a fan and a guitar builder's view point. It is full of passion and pathos but is not sappy. Great photos too. Enjoy!

Sullyguitars.com: Randy Rhoads: 35 years later

a reply to: gortex

Whooha!! RR is one of my favourite guitarists of all time. The solos in live Crowley and Crazy Train still get played even after all these years.

I was never quite into the cock rock and Ozzy's Blizzard and Madman era came close to that style. It was RR's guitar play that took it above and made them great records for me.

I was wondering about the Fender strat Randy played. And I ran across this which is so cool I have to share (again).

mylespaul.com - Randy’s strat (w/photos)

The OP on that thread went to a guitar store in Everett, Washington (USA). What was sitting there? Randy's strat! He posted the photos he took. A couple poster later, Randy's roadie from back in the Quiet Riot days hops on posts all the details (model, year, pickups, switch functions, neck, etc., all the good deets a guitar nerd likes to read about). Turns ot the roadie is friends with the guitar shop owner and gives the back story on how it wound up there.

A very cool find!