Ozzy Osbourne has paid tribute to late, great guitarist, Randy Rhoads, on the 43rd anniversary of his passing.
Earlier today (March 19th), Osbourne wrote on his Facebook page,”Randy Rhoads was quite possibly the best composer & musician that I have ever met in my life. He came into my life like a bolt of lightning and as such he was gone again. I consider myself one of the luckiest men alive to have not only met him but also I had the great honor of being able to work with him. I will cherish the time I spent with him till the day I die.
LONG LIVE RANDY RHOADS. LONG LIVE ROCK N ROLL. I LOVE YOU ALL.”
Four years ago, the Prince of Darkness told Rolling Stone magazine, “I knew [Rhoads] for a very short amount of time. But what he gave me in that short amount of time was immeasurable in f–king greatness. To get somebody like Randy Rhoads to play on two albums, and for those two albums to sound as good as the day they were recorded, is something else. And I’m forever in gratitude for that. God only knows where that man would be today. The very fact that he’s not here to breathe the air is just a f–king crime… He was a dedicated, true musician, and he was a lovely guy. I still think about him all the time.”
Rhoads famously played on Osbourne‘s debut, Blizzard Of Ozz album, as well as its follow up, Diary Of A Madman.
On March 19th, 1987, Osbourne released the live album, Tribute, in honor of Rhoads. It features live recordings from the Blizzard Of Ozz tour, as well as, studio outtakes of Rhoads recording the classical-influenced acoustic guitar piece, Dee. The instrumental, which appears on Blizzard Of Ozz, was written for Rhoads‘ mother Delores.
In 2021, Rhoads received the Musical Excellence Award at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.
The Musical Excellence Award is given to artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.
14 Responses
My favorite guitarist, and one of the greatest, of all time.
43 years since he was died? Wow, it feels like yesterday. I never subscribed to the theory that time flies, especially when one is in their single digits, it seems to pass excruciatingly slow. However, once one passes through their 20s, it does seem to accelerate rather quickly.
Rhoads’ passing, was such a terrible loss, to the music community. Who knows what he would have accomplished had he lived? Remember, he was a prodigy, and his musical prowess, is greatly missed.
I was only 7 years old when Randy passed. I was too young to understand the magnitude of it all. But as time went by and I ventured into hard rock and heavy metal, a road that I’m still going full speed ahead on some 40+ years later, there’s no doubt the impact that Randy had on so many people, and not just guitarists. I think I will spin Tribute in his honor tonight!
Hello again Dana
I acknowledged Mr Rhodes this morning on the way to work in the car; wishing him eternal peace. I also acknowledge Rachel Youngblood, a friend of Sharon Osbourne’s who sadly went with him on that fateful day.
I know what you mean about once you get through you twenties. My father actually said to me that once you hit 21, everything, it seems, accelerates faster than before. I turn 47 this November; so the fact that I was 21 26-years-ago later this year seems unreal. The fact that I can now talk about things that happened over 40-years-ago in my life is even more mind blowing. I can remember seeing Ozzy perform ‘Bark at the Moon’ on TV here in England when it came out in 1983, and seeing him in the newspaper’s done up as the Werewolf holding baby Aimee. I also remember seeing the video for Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ and later ‘Why Can’t This Be Love’ – again when they were both new!
With Randy being passed 43 years today, the saying of “You’re a long time dead” will probably pop up somewhere. Now I personally have a strong belief in Spirit. It’s not for everyone and I certainly don’t push it, but the way I look at things and with my own beliefs, the fact that we always have these memories of those who have passed, whether we knew them personally or not, says to me that we never die – we just fade away.
Randy Rhodes, Ronnie James Dio, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix and the recently departed John Sykes will live on in the memories for ever; and if you don’t believe me, what about the fact that Beethoven and Bach are still talked about to this day?
Hello, my friend,
Thank you so much for you lovely comment, I can always count on you for great prose. 🙂
Out of the many CDs, cassettes and albums that I own. This is the saddest thing. No new music from Randy. From what I read the idiot flying the plane survived. Ozzy should of been looking after him a little better. Idiots, complete fucking idiots!!!! All around!! I am listening to Metric Fantasies, Heart Magazine, and Robert Plant’s first solo release Pictures at Eleven. Amazing music!!!
So many great guitarist have come and gone in our time, and Randy Rhoads is at the top of the list!
I was a lucky 22 year old when me and friends drove 90 minutes from my hometown in Fort Dodge, Iowa to Des Moines to see OZZY at Vets Auditorium. The date?….Jan 20th, 1982….Randy was amazing and you guessed it….I watched through binoculars as OZZY picked up what he thought was a rubber bat and bit it’s head off……I still have the ticket stub and handbill from that show….
Wow, lucky you, that was a famous, or infamous, moment in rock history.