OZZY REMEMBERS RANDY RHOADS ON DEATH ANNIVERSARY

It was twenty four years ago today, March 20, that Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads lost his life in a plane crash. The guitarist was an instrumental part of Ozzy Osbourne’s comeback after down years following his Black Sabbath departure.

Rhoads was the guitar genius behind such songs as “Crazy Train,” “Over The Mountain” and his masterpiece, “Dee.” Ozzy was in the middle of his comeback when Sharon spotted the guitarist. The prince of darkness recalled meeting one fo the most beloved guitarists in rock history.

[Ozzy] “I do. I was stoned out of my mind, and I thought I was dreaming. They guy was a little guy with such a big sound. The guy could play. He could play. I remember being in the studio, and I was barely awake. I had just flown in from England, had jet lag, and I had been drinking on the plane, and I was just like, ‘Play Something.’ I thought I was dreaming when I heard this guy play. He was all of this [motions hand from floor measuring height] and he was all of 110 pounds….” [Sharon] “He was too good to be true. You couldn’t believe that there was this perfect person who was a gentlemen. He looked gorgeous and he played like nobody had ever played before. There was too much in one little person.”

Randy Rhoads actually started out in the L.A. metal band, Quiet Riot, but made his shining debut on Ozzy’s 1980 release Blizzard Of Oz.