“Therearesomepeoplewho arelikea shootingstar.Theycome,hitthe planet
andexplodeintoa beautifulrainbowofcolours.Thenthey shootoff
somewhereelse...thatwas thelifeof RandyRhoads.”
Thesourceofthese touching,eloquentwords?Believeitor not,they’redirectly
fromthemouthof hardrock’smostbelovedmadman,OzzyOsbourne– taken
fromaninterviewhedidwithGuitarWorldmagazineafewyearsago.In truth,
toanyonewhoknowsmore aboutOzzythanthe oftenshockingimagethe
populartabloidpresslike toportray,thissortof lyricalwaxingbythe
legendaryheavymetal artistwillcomeas nosurprise,especiallywhenitcomes
toRandyRhoads.Afterall,thesingerconsideredthelate,greatguitaristto
havenotonlybeen his“bestfriend”butalso“thegreatestmusicianIhaveever
known.”
Ozzyisnot aloneinrightfullyconsideringRandyto beone ofthe most
extraordinarymusicaltalentsinthehistoryof rock– onlya handfulofplayers
areasbelovedand reveredas heis. Inthe spaceofa meretwostudioalbums
withOzzy– 1980’sBlizzardof Ozz and1981’sDiaryofa Madman – the
guitaristestablishedhimselfasoneof themostinnovativeandinspirationalrock
guitariststo everwalkthisplanet.Furthermore,despitetheheartbreakingfact
thatRandywastakenfrom usat thetenderageof only25, thetimelessnature
ofhistalentcontinuesto inspirecountlessyoungplayerssome26 yearslater...
suchisthe sizeof theindelibleshadowRandycastandthe colossalimpactof
hisbriefbutbrilliantcareer.
WhatmakesRandysovery special?Well,likealltimelessmusiciansitwasn’t
onlyhisincredibleplayingbutalsohisprofoundskillsin theareasof
compositionandarranging.Simplyput,thesongs hewrotewith Ozzyareas
freshsoundingandexcitingtodayastheywerewhen theywerefirstpenned.
Addtothat Randy’sbrilliantrhythmwork,his jaw-droppingsolosandleadfills,
plushistrademarkpenchantforsuccessfullyblendinghisclassicalsensibilities
withhardrockand you’releftwiththe stuffthatlegendsare madeof.As Zakk
Wylde,Ozzy’scurrent,longstandingsix-stringsidemananda guitarGodin his
ownright,soaptly putsitin hisheartfelt,handwrittenintroductiontothistome:
“WhatmorecanI say?Randyhad itall,stillhasit,alwayshad it– beyond
forever,alwayswill.WithoutRandyI wouldn’tbetheplayerI amtoday–the
chops,thewritingandthat amazingfatherMarshalltone.”And Zakkisn’t
alonewithsuchsentiments–as youwillseefromthe quotesthatpepperthis
piece,Randyinfluenceda wholegenerationof cutting-edgeplayerswhoare
nowinfluencersthemselves.Fromthelikesof KirkHammett& KerryKingto
Dimebag(RIP),John5& AlexiLaiho(ChildrenofBodom),Randy’sinfluenceis
omnipresent...
Talkingofomnipresententities:toa greatmanyfolk,Randy’sbeloved,large
logo,whiteMarshall100WattSuperLeadheadis assynonymouswiththe
guitaristas isthe uniquewhiteJacksonguitarhedesigned(asidefortriviafans
–thisaxewasoriginallynamedthe“Concorde”byRandyand co-creator,
GroverJackson).As theengineerofBlizzardofOzz and the
producer/engineerofDiaryofa Madmanand theposthumouslyreleasedlive
Tributealbums,MaxNorman,recentlytoldus aboutRandy,“heinsistedonno
compromisesforhis amplification.There'snodoubtin mymindthat his
MarshallampsandcabinetsnotonlyaccompaniedbutassistedRandyinhis
climbtogreatness.”Asa fittingtributetoRandy,the1959RRheadyou’renow
theproudownerof isnot onlyvisuallyidenticalto hislegendaryMarshall,itis
alsosonicallyidenticalaswell.
Asrevealedelsewherein thismanual,whenRandyorderedhisnow famous
whitehead,hevisitedthe factorytopick itup andhadit modifiedformore
gainwhilehewas there.Thankstothe Rhoadsfamily,oneofour engineers
wasallowedtotakea detailedpeakinsideRandy’soriginalhead(wiselykept
underlockandkey ina vaultinan undisclosedlocationalongwithhis equally
famousguitars)toensurethatthe Tributeampwaselectronicallyidenticaltoit.
Asa furtherbonuswewerealsoableto speaktothe Marshalltestmanager
whodidthe modificationwhile“thesmallblokewitha whiteLesPaul”patiently
stoodbyand waited!Themodin question?It simplycascadesthetwohalvesof
thefirstECC83valve,givingyoualot morepreampdistortionthanina
standard1959SuperLead head.ChannelI(a.k.a.the “HighTreble”channel)
remains“asis”butwhenyoupluginto ChannelII(theso-called“Normal”
channel)bothVolumecontrols(I &II) worktogetherintandem(series)to
producetheincreasedpreampoverdrivedesired.Theresult?Well,toquote
Zakkagain,“FatherMarshalltone”indeed!
Randywassohappywithhisvisitto theMarshallfactoryandthe amphe left
withthathe actuallypennedthefollowingina postcardtohisfriendand ex-
bandmate,KevinDuBrow–the recentlydeceasedsingerforQuietRiot."I did
somethingyou'llappreciate–I wentto theMarshallfactoryandorderedmy
ownamps,I hadthembeefedup andmodifiedthere,I gotthemin white!”
RandyenteredthisworldasRandallWilliamRhoadsin SantaMonica,
California,onDecember6th 1956.Tosayhe wasborninto amusicalfamily
wouldbea grossunderstatementashis belovedmother,Delores,rana Music
SchoolinNorthHollywoodnamedMusonia -a fineinstitutionshestillworksin
everydayat nearly90yearsyoung!Randystartedplayingguitarat the
tenderageof6½ afterfindinghisGrandfather’soldGibsonacousticina
closet.“Hejustpickedit upandthat washislifefromthenon.” Deloresrecalls
withagrin.“NaturallyI hadhim starttakinglessonsfromoneof myguitar
teachers–he learnedafewsimplechordsandtheywouldplaysomeofthose
songsthatheespeciallyliked.”
Eventhoughoneof hismostmagicalmusicalmomentsisthe shortacousticsolo
piece“Dee”(namedafteranddedicatedto hismother,Delores)onBlizzardof
Ozz,Randydidn’tstickwiththe acousticlong.“Bythetime hewas sevenhe
cametome andsaid,‘you knowMomma,Ireallywant toplayelectric
guitar.’”Deloreslaughs.“Ihadaverygood teacheratthattimesoI saidfine
buttheonly instrumentwe hadwasan oldsemi-acousticand theguitarwas
almostlargerthanhewas!”
Armedwithhisbehemothinstrument,Randywasa naturalanddevelopedasa
playerincrediblyquickly.“Helearnedveryfast,it wasjustamazing.”Delores
confirmed.“Thestory abouthisteacher,ScottShelley,sayingtome,‘I’ve
taughthimallI knowI can’tteachhim anythingmore’hasbeenwrittenupin
themagazinesquiteoften.Isaid,‘ComeonScott,’becauseI thoughthewas
teasingmebuthe toldmethat hereallymeantit. SothenRandyhad totakeit
uponhisownselftodo whathe wantedtodo,which hedid.
“Hejustlovedthe guitar,”Delorescontinues.“Thatwashiswholelife.He
wouldn’tgo anyplacewithouthisguitar- if wewenton avacation,wehad to
takeit!”Alongsidehislovefor theguitarcamean affinityforrockmusicafter
hisolderbrother,Kelle,tookhimto anAliceCooperconcertwhich,as Mrs.
Rhoadsrecallswithasmile,“impressedRandyagreat dealandinfluencedhim
togetreallyinterestedinrock.”
Marshall’smeetup withKelleRhoadsfor a technicalassessmentof Randy’sMarshallgear
Itwas my pleasuretoassistRandy inthis veryjoyfuloccasion,at MusoniaSchoolof Music
inCalifornia;itwas justme and theSignatureSeriesDevelopmentEngineerfrom Marshall
Amplification,wewere inthe roomwhere I teachmy students,andone byone the ampand
cabinetsthat belongedtoRandy,werepulled fromtheirroad casesand thoroughlyscrutinized.
Randywasso happythe day hegot to go to Marshallsandpickthis equipment.Well,hereweare
twentyfiveyearslaterwith the verysame gear,excepttheblackstenciledname onthe boxesis
notjusta touringguitaristnameanymore;it is thename of oneof the world’sgreatestIcons.I could
feelhispresencethat day,laughingandsmilingwhilethe Marshallengineerworkedoverthe circuit
boardandsweatedto makesure everythingwas100%accurate.
Inthe endstandingon the porchof Musonia,asRandy andI so oftendid, smokinga cigarette
(soappropriateifyou knewRandy)the MarshallengineerandI saidgoodbyeand off hewent
backto England…andI was leftwith specialmemoriesofRandyand his ampsonce again.
54
ENGLISH
Randy Rhoads: Tribute to a Timeless Talent
RandyRhoadswasmore thanjust a
guitarplayer–he was a lion!He represented
thehardworkingmusicianwhosededication
tohis instrumentbroughthim all thesuccess
thathe deserved,withoutcompromisinghis
attitudeand visionor his soundandtone. He
alsolaiddown theblueprintto showus how
tofollowour ownvision aswell.
KirkHammett,Metallica
Ican’tsay enoughgood thingsaboutRandyand the
influencehe had onme, especiallywhenit cameto
orchestrating.Theclassicalvibehe hadwas incredible.
Iloved Randy’sbrittlesoundand his awesomeabilityto
doublehisleads.There’snotellingwhat thatcat wouldbe
bustingoffif hewas stillaround.He was a monsterplayer
andhis guitarworkon “BlizzardofOzz” and “Diaryof a
Madman”wasdefinitelyonestepabove anythingelse
goingonat that time.Tome, EddieVan Halenwas heavy
rock‘n’roll, butRandywas heavymetal.
DimebagDarrell(RIP),Pantera,Damageplan
FromRandy'sfierceplayingto
hisdedicationasa musician,he was
andstillis an inspirationtome in all
ways,notjust asa guitarist.
DougAldrich,Whitesnake
“
”
“
”
“
”
“”ZakkWylde
BlackLabelSociety&Ozzy Osbourne
KelleRhoads
Iwas 13 whenI firstheard Randyplayingon thelive
'Tribute'albumwhichis still myfavouriteOzzyrelease
andalwayswillbe. The wayRandy playedrhythmand
threwinthose gnarlylicksin-betweenjustblewme
away.Iwas alreadyfamiliarwithplayerslikeSteve Vai
and YngwieMalmsteenbutthere wasjust something
abouthissoundthat was somethingelse.
He'sdefinitelybeena biginfluenceon myplaying...and
howI likemy guitarsshaped!Each notehe played
served themusic whichis whatmakesa great guitarist...
andthatwas Randy. AlexiLaiho,ChildrenofBodom
“
”