Randy Rhoads was a guitarist best known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne and the band Quiet Riot that he formed in 1973.
Randall William “Randy” Rhoads was born in 1956 in California. He started to learn to play the guitar when he was six years old on his grandfather’s old Gibson classical guitar. He formed his first band aged 14, called Violet Fox and then together with his best friend Kelly Garner who Randy Rhoads had taught bass, formed a band called The Whore playing at parties around Los Angeles. The new band Quiet Riot followed when they were both 16 years old with Kevin Dubrow the vocalist and drummer Drew Forsyth completing the line up.
Quiet Riot played at major LA music clubs Whisky a Go Go and the Starwood but failing to land a recording contract in the US, the band secured a record deal with Japanese label CBS/Sonic records, releasing Quiet Riot and Quiet Riot 2 in Japan.
Things changed for Randy Rhoads when he got his big break in 1979. Ozzy Osbourne was forming new band and looking for a new guitarist. Randy Rhoads name was suggested and he successfully auditioned for Ozzy before going to London with the band to record the Blizzard of Ozz album later the same year.
With the artistic freedom that Ozzy encouraged, Randy Rhoads playing had evolved into a more classical style using scales and arrangements, which added a completely new dimension to the sound. The singles “Mr Crowley” and the hit “Crazy Train” reinforced his position as a guitarist to be reckoned with. Randy Rhoads toured the Blizzard of Ozz in both the UK and USA.
Tragically, Randy Rhoads life was cut short when he was killed in a plane crash after his last gig played on March 18th 1982.
The band had stopped over with the tour bus on the way to a festival in Orlando Florida, at the tour bus driver Andrew Aycock‘s property.
Aycock an amateur pilot took Randy Rhoads and the tour seamstress up in the plane for a ride and then attempted to buzz the tour bus. On the third attempt, the wings clipped the roof of the bus causing the plane to crash killing occupants instantly.
Following Randy Rhoads death, Jackson guitars bought out the white signature Jackson Randy Rhoads which sadly he never got to see.
Randy Rhoads is buried at the mountain view cemetery in san bernardino California, alongside his grandparents.