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Talking of Alice Cooper, while the likes of Jeff Beck, Leslie West (Mountain),
Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker (UFO, MSG) and Mick
Ronson (David Bowie) are often cited as being major influences on Randy, one
that is rarely mentioned but, according to close friends, was a huge source of
inspiration on the then fledgling guitarist, was Alice Cooper guitarist, Glen
Buxton. Detour over, back to the main plot…
Needless to say, with his God-given gift for guitar and his incredible drive,
Randy’s playing continued to improve in leaps and bounds. Not surprisingly,
given his surroundings and the fact that he’d learned all he could from his
mother’s best guitar teacher, by the time he was a teenager Randy had
became a teacher at Musonia. And Randy was not just a good teacher but a
great one and incredibly popular with his vast legion of guitar-worshipping
disciples. “Randy was not only a legendary rock star, I also consider him as an
outstanding teacher,” states Rudy Sarzo, the brilliant bassist who played
alongside Randy in his first band Quiet Riot and then with Ozzy. “He actually
taught me to be a better teacher. I was teaching bass at Musonia and one of
the great things about his teaching methods was his ability to listen to his
students. He wasn’t one of those, ‘this is what I want you to do, don’t ask me
any questions,’ guys, he would actually listen to his students and by doing so he
would get to find out their specific needs and really hone in on them.
“He also told me once that he would learn a lot by actually watching and
listening to his students play,” Rudy continues. “Sometimes natural musicians
have different ways of doing things – like the way they hold the pick or
position their left (fretboard) hand. He would look carefully at the way natural
players would handle their instrument and learn from that.”
“Randy was a really good teacher,” Delores confirms with understandable
pride. “He always passed on his love for music and encouraged his students to
be as dedicated and musically curious as he was. He also made the students
feel really important and he would always end up the lesson by playing with
them. And, of course, they all came out on cloud nine as they thought they
were the good ones.”
After running the usual gamut of garage bands, Randy formed his first real
band, Quiet Riot, and by the mid ‘70s the outfit had become the house band at
the Starwood, an infamous Hollywood rock club. Sarzo joined that in 1978, a
year before Randy left to join Ozzy Osbourne and commence his rapid rise to
rock stardom. Ironically though, the Ozzy audition nearly didn’t happen…
“When they first called Randy to audition for Ozzy he said, ‘Oh I don’t think
I’d be interested because I work for my Mom and I have my own band which I
like.’” Delores recounts. “He wasn’t even going to go. I said, ‘What was that
all about Randy? Who was that?’ I didn’t recognize the name Ozzy
Osbourne because I didn’t know anything about the rock scene and Randy
explained to me that he had been in the business for a long time with a band
called Black Sabbath. He also said, ‘I really don’t care for that band at all!’“
“So I said, ‘Well if he’s been in the business that long sometimes that’s a good
thing. Who you know is important as that can give you a little inlet or
something that helps you get further along in the industry.’ Anyway, they called
back and said, ‘We really do want you to come to audition’ and Randy told
them it would have to be late because he would be teaching here first and
didn’t want to let his students down. They said they didn’t care how late it was
and it ended up that he wasn’t gone all that long at all. He came back much
sooner than I expected. ‘Well, what happened?’ I asked and he said, ‘Oh I
don’t know. I was just warming up a little bit and tuning up when Ozzy came
out and told me I’d got the job!’”
As legend now has it, apparently Ozzy was sleeping on a couch in the
rehearsal room and when he initially woke up he thought Randy was a girl!
Then he heard him play and literally knew within seconds that he’d found the
guitarist of his dreams. “Building the band with Randy was one of the happiest
times of my life,” Ozzy wrote in the sleeve notes of the 1987 Tribute album. “He
helped make all my dreams come true.”
What happened once Ozzy and Randy joined forces is now part of heavy
metal folklore and has been documented countless times. Alongside Ozzy,
Randy came into his own and his tremendous talents literally took the rock
world by storm. “I always tell people that I played with two different Randy
Rhoads,” Rudy Sarzo states. “The one I played with in Quiet Riot was a
chameleon. We were always trying to please the record companies so we’d
always try and write songs that sounded like the current rock hit of the day.
With Ozzy though he instantly became the Randy that everyone else got to
hear and love – the one who composed “Crazy Train”, “Diary of a Madman”
and all those classic songs. He was very focused on his own style and sound
because with Ozzy he finally had the freedom to just be himself.
“Being a teacher he was very knowledgeable of music in general so, as a
musician he had a very broad vocabulary,” Rudy expands. “He was a very
well-versed and well-rounded player who was very dedicated to his craft.
When we were touring, unless he was sightseeing you could pretty much
guarantee he’d be playing his guitar – practicing or working on something
new. He would also grab the local phone book in whatever town or city we
were in and try and find a local classical teacher. Of course, his chances of
running into an excellent classical teacher in some places were pretty thin but at
least he tried!”
While much has been written about Randy the musician, little has been written
about Randy the man and it would appear that he was equally as special as a
person as he was a player. “…he inspired, cheered and made everyone in
contact with him feel good.” Ozzy wrote in Tribute.
“Musically Randy touched a lot people and still does to this very day,” Sarzo
smiles. “I was one of the few blessed ones who got to know him as a human
being and I learned a lot from him, especially how to carry yourself in the face
of becoming famous. He really took that well and never changed as a person,
becoming popular didn’t affect him whatsoever. Some people thought he was
quiet but sometimes I think we confuse being quiet with being humble. He was
a very humble guy with a great sense of humour. If you spent some time with
him you were bound to see him do something funny or ridiculous just for the
sake of a good laugh.”
Sadly, as we all know, Randy’s brief but brilliant career came to an end on
March 19th, 1982, following a tragic and unnecessary plane crash. As Mrs.
Rhoads points out, “he accomplished so much in his short life. Only the Lord
above knows how much more he could have given us.”
As already mentioned, despite his shooting-star like life, Randy’s legend not
only endures, it continues to grow. In addition to still regularly appearing on the
covers of the world’s leading rock guitar magazines, Randy was inducted into
the world famous Hollywood RockWalk of fame in 2004. To help celebrate this
momentous occasion, Dr. Jim Marshall OBE wrote the following in a letter to
Delores: “I was and still am delighted that he played through Marshalls and
consider him to be one of the finest ambassadors of my amplifiers to this very
day – the fact that he is still rightfully held in such high regard by so many
musicians speaks volumes regarding the tremendous impact he had on the
world of rock guitar.”
At the aforementioned induction ceremony – with the help of the one and only
Zakk Wylde, who was also in attendance as a speaker – the wheels started
well and truly rolling towards the creation of the Limited Edition 1959RR. As
Zakk told me way back in 2001 when we were working on his own signature
head, “forget about me, the guy who has to have a signature Marshall is
Randy. End of story.” We all agreed and so thankfully so did the Rhoads
family. The result is the stunning looking and sounding limited edition head you
are now the proud owner of. Thank you Mr. Wylde...and thank you Randy!!
To close, why is Randy’s influence still so huge a staggering 26 years after he
was taken from us? Rudy Sarzo’s answer is beyond perfect: “Well, since I
joined MySpace I get tons and tons of messages from not only older fans but
from a lot of young musicians who have been touched by his music and his
playing. When they hear it they hear the same purity and soulfulness that we
heard when we heard Randy for the first time. That has not been lost or
diminished by time. The same exact thing applies to the music of Jimi Hendrix –
it has a certain characteristic that makes it timeless. Randy has that same
timeless quality to his sound, songwriting and playing style.”
For these very same reasons, Marshall Amplification is proud to offer the
Limited Edition 1959RR in tribute to Randy’s timeless talent.
Nick Bowcott, January 2008
Special thanks to Delores & Kelle Rhoads, Zakk Wylde, Rudy Sarzo, Max Norman,
Guitar World magazine, Rita Haney & the Abbott family for permission to use Dime’s
quote, plus all the wonderful guitarists who kindly gave us the quotes used above.
7
ENGLISH
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I saw Randy Rhoads when I was 14 years
old. He had the best rock sound I have EVER
heard live. His tone and playing blew my mind.
Paul Gilbert
Randy had a unique gift and
produced many tasty riffs and melodies.
He shall remain one of the greats.
Yngwie Malmsteen
Randy Rhoads? He was a total life changing experience for
me. I can still remember back to when I was a 10 year old kid
hearing "Crazy Train" for the first time and immediately thinking
"that's all I want to do. If I could just play that whole song I'll be
happy as a guitarist!" On top of being such a phenomenal and
innovative player and soloist Randy was also an amazing
composer. He was definitely an epiphany in my life.
John 5, Rob Zombie & solo artist
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Randy Rhoads - one of the greatest guitar players of all time.
With an amazing grasp and depth of knowledge of scales and
harmonic theory, Randy insisted on no compromises as he
constructed his arrangements and solos - which his work clearly
shows.
Randy also insisted on no compromises for his amplification -
there's no doubt in my mind that his Marshall amps and cabinets
not only accompanied but assisted Randy in his climb to greatness.
There's no doubt in my mind that the tonality and presence of the
Randy Rhoads White Amp will help you get there too!
Max Norman
Engineer of Blizzard of Ozz, Producer/Engineer of Diary of a Madman & Tribute
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Photo © Jay Banbury
Randy Rhoads is truly a guitar icon. His unique approach to
songwriting, riff construction and lead playing singlehandedly
established a new standard for metal guitar that would last
decades beyond his all too brief career and untimely death.
Randy's style and techniques, both on stage and in the studio, are
every bit as relevant today as they were in 1981, and remain
THE template for heavy metal lead guitar. His influence is
absolutely colossal, shaping generations of future artists. It's
amazing to think that such an abbreviated catalog of material,
cut short by tragedy, could so change the genre, but his impact is
undeniable. Randy was my very first heavy metal guitar hero,
and is a huge part of why I was drawn to music. His playing still
gives me the same "goose bumps" it did when I was 14 years
old.... and for that, I remain grateful.
Mark Morton, Lamb of God
Randy was a phenomenal player and
probably my first real taste of heavy guitar.
Before I heard him I was listening to hard
rock like Van Halen and Randy was much
more classical sounding and heavier
sounding too. Both his rhythm playing and
his leads were incredible. The only time I
saw him play live was on New Year’s Eve
the year before the tragedy occurred and he
really did blow me away. Randy was a tiny
dude and must’ve only weighed a 100lbs
wet! His guitar was almost as big as he was
but he played the hell out of it.
Kerry King, Slayer