TalkingofAliceCooper,whilethelikesof JeffBeck,LeslieWest(Mountain),
JimmyPage,RitchieBlackmore,MichaelSchenker(UFO,MSG)andMick
Ronson(DavidBowie)areoftencitedas beingmajorinfluenceson Randy,one
thatisrarelymentionedbut,accordingtoclosefriends,wasa hugesourceof
inspirationonthe thenfledglingguitarist,wasAliceCooperguitarist,Glen
Buxton.Detourover,backtothe mainplot…
Needlesstosay,withhis God-givengiftfor guitarandhisincredibledrive,
Randy’splayingcontinuedtoimprovein leapsandbounds.Notsurprisingly,
givenhissurroundingsand thefactthathe’d learnedall hecouldfromhis
mother’sbestguitarteacher,bythetime hewasa teenagerRandyhad
becameateacherat Musonia.AndRandywasnotjusta goodteacherbuta
greatoneandincrediblypopularwithhisvast legionofguitar-worshipping
disciples.“Randywasnot onlyalegendaryrockstar,I alsoconsiderhimas an
outstandingteacher,”statesRudySarzo,thebrilliantbassistwhoplayed
alongsideRandyin hisfirstbandQuietRiot andthenwithOzzy.“He actually
taughtmeto bea betterteacher.I wasteachingbassatMusoniaand oneof
thegreatthingsabouthis teachingmethodswashis abilitytolistento his
students.He wasn’toneofthose,‘thisis whatI wantyoutodo,don’taskme
anyquestions,’guys,he wouldactuallylistentohisstudentsandby doingsohe
wouldgetto findouttheirspecificneedsandreallyhone inonthem.
“Healsotoldme oncethathe wouldlearnalot byactuallywatchingand
listeningto hisstudentsplay,”Rudycontinues.“Sometimesnaturalmusicians
havedifferentwaysofdoingthings– liketheway theyholdthe pickor
positiontheirleft (fretboard)hand.Hewouldlookcarefullyat thewaynatural
playerswouldhandletheirinstrumentandlearn fromthat.”
“Randywasareallygood teacher,”Deloresconfirmswithunderstandable
pride.“Healwayspassedonhis loveformusicand encouragedhisstudentsto
beas dedicatedandmusicallycuriousashe was.He alsomadethestudents
feelreallyimportantandhewouldalwaysend upthelessonby playingwith
them.And,ofcourse,theyall cameouton cloudnineasthey thoughtthey
werethegoodones.”
Afterrunningtheusualgamutof garagebands,Randyformedhisfirstreal
band,QuietRiot,andby themid‘70s theoutfithadbecomethe housebandat
theStarwood,aninfamousHollywoodrockclub.Sarzojoinedthatin 1978,a
yearbeforeRandyleftto joinOzzyOsbourneandcommencehisrapidrise to
rockstardom.Ironicallythough,theOzzy auditionnearlydidn’thappen…
“WhentheyfirstcalledRandyto auditionfor Ozzyhesaid,‘Oh Idon’tthink
I’dbeinterestedbecauseIwork formyMom andIhave myownbandwhich I
like.’”Deloresrecounts.“Hewasn’tevengoingto go.I said,‘Whatwasthat
allaboutRandy? Whowasthat?’I didn’trecognizethename Ozzy
OsbournebecauseI didn’tknowanythingabouttherocksceneand Randy
explainedto methathe hadbeenin thebusinessfora longtimewitha band
calledBlackSabbath.He alsosaid,‘Ireallydon’tcare forthatbandat all!’“
“SoI said,‘Wellifhe’sbeeninthebusinessthatlongsometimesthat’sa good
thing.Whoyouknowisimportantasthatcan giveyoua littleinletor
somethingthathelpsyougetfurtheralongin theindustry.’Anyway,theycalled
backandsaid,‘We reallydowantyouto cometo audition’andRandytold
themitwouldhave tobelatebecausehewouldbeteachingherefirstand
didn’twanttolet hisstudentsdown.Theysaidtheydidn’tcare howlateitwas
anditended upthathe wasn’tgoneallthatlong atall.He camebackmuch
soonerthanIexpected.‘Well,whathappened?’Iaskedandhesaid,‘OhI
don’tknow.Iwas justwarmingupa littlebitandtuningup whenOzzycame
outandtold meI’dgot thejob!’”
Aslegendnowhas it,apparentlyOzzywassleepingona couchinthe
rehearsalroomand whenheinitiallywokeuphethoughtRandywasa girl!
Thenheheardhim playandliterallyknewwithinsecondsthathe’dfound the
guitaristof hisdreams.“Buildingthe bandwithRandywasone ofthe happiest
timesofmy life,”Ozzywroteinthe sleevenotesofthe 1987Tributealbum.“He
helpedmakeallmy dreamscometrue.”
WhathappenedonceOzzyandRandyjoinedforcesis nowpartof heavy
metalfolkloreandhasbeendocumentedcountlesstimes.AlongsideOzzy,
Randycameintohisownandhistremendoustalentsliterallytooktherock
worldbystorm.“I alwaystellpeoplethatI playedwithtwodifferentRandy
Rhoads,”RudySarzo states.“The oneIplayedwith inQuietRiotwas a
chameleon.Wewere alwaystryingtopleasetherecordcompaniessowe’d
alwaystryandwrite songsthatsoundedlikethecurrentrockhit ofthe day.
WithOzzythoughhe instantlybecametheRandythateveryoneelsegotto
hearandlove– theone whocomposed“CrazyTrain”,“Diaryof aMadman”
andallthoseclassicsongs.He wasveryfocusedonhis ownstyleandsound
becausewithOzzyhefinallyhad thefreedomtojust behimself.
“Beingateacherhe wasveryknowledgeableof musicingeneralso,as a
musicianhe hada verybroadvocabulary,”Rudyexpands.“Hewasa very
well-versedandwell-roundedplayerwho wasverydedicatedtohis craft.
Whenweweretouring,unlesshe wassightseeingyoucould prettymuch
guaranteehe’dbe playinghisguitar–practicingorworkingon something
new.Hewouldalsograb thelocalphonebookin whatevertownor citywe
wereinand tryandfind alocalclassicalteacher.Ofcourse,hischancesof
runningintoanexcellentclassicalteacherin someplaceswereprettythinbut at
leasthetried!”
Whilemuchhasbeen writtenaboutRandythemusician,littlehasbeenwritten
aboutRandytheman anditwouldappearthat hewasequallyas specialas a
personashe wasaplayer.“…heinspired,cheeredandmadeeveryonein
contactwithhimfeelgood.”Ozzy wroteinTribute.
“MusicallyRandytoucheda lotpeopleandstilldoes tothisveryday,”Sarzo
smiles.“Iwasone ofthefew blessedoneswhogotto knowhimas ahuman
beingandI learnedalotfrom him,especiallyhowto carryyourselfinthe face
ofbecomingfamous.Hereallytookthat wellandneverchangedas aperson,
becomingpopulardidn’taffecthim whatsoever.Somepeoplethoughthewas
quietbutsometimesIthink weconfusebeingquietwithbeinghumble.He was
avery humbleguywitha greatsenseofhumour.Ifyou spentsometimewith
himyouwerebound toseehim dosomethingfunnyorridiculousjustforthe
sakeofa goodlaugh.”
Sadly,asweall know,Randy’sbriefbutbrilliantcareercametoan endon
March19th,1982,followinga tragicandunnecessaryplanecrash.AsMrs.
Rhoadspointsout,“heaccomplishedsomuchin hisshortlife.OnlytheLord
aboveknowshowmuchmorehecouldhavegivenus.”
Asalreadymentioned,despitehis shooting-starlikelife,Randy’slegendnot
onlyendures,itcontinuestogrow.In additionto stillregularlyappearingonthe
coversoftheworld’sleadingrockguitarmagazines,Randywasinductedinto
theworldfamousHollywoodRockWalkof famein2004.To helpcelebratethis
momentousoccasion,Dr.JimMarshallOBEwrote thefollowinginaletterto
Delores:“I wasandstillam delightedthat heplayedthroughMarshallsand
considerhim tobeone ofthe finestambassadorsofmy amplifierstothisvery
day– thefactthathe isstillrightfullyheldin suchhighregardbyso many
musiciansspeaksvolumesregardingthetremendousimpacthehadon the
worldofrockguitar.”
Atthe aforementionedinductionceremony–withthe helpofthe oneandonly
ZakkWylde,whowasalso inattendanceasa speaker– thewheelsstarted
wellandtrulyrollingtowardsthecreationof theLimitedEdition1959RR.As
Zakktoldme waybackin 2001whenwewereworkingon hisownsignature
head,“forgetaboutme,theguywhohasto havea signatureMarshallis
Randy.Endofstory.”Weall agreedandsothankfullysodid theRhoads
family.Theresultisthe stunninglookingandsoundinglimitededitionheadyou
arenowthe proudownerof.ThankyouMr. Wylde...andthankyouRandy!!
Toclose,whyis Randy’sinfluencestillso hugeastaggering26yearsafter he
wastakenfromus? RudySarzo’sanswerisbeyondperfect:“Well,sinceI
joinedMySpaceIgettons andtonsof messagesfromnot onlyolderfansbut
fromalot ofyoungmusicianswhohavebeen touchedbyhismusicand his
playing.Whentheyhearit theyhearthesame purityandsoulfulnessthatwe
heardwhenweheardRandy forthefirsttime.That hasnotbeenlostor
diminishedbytime. Thesameexactthingappliesto themusicofJimi Hendrix–
ithasa certaincharacteristicthatmakesit timeless.Randyhas thatsame
timelessqualityto hissound,songwritingand playingstyle.”
Fortheseverysame reasons,MarshallAmplificationisproud toofferthe
LimitedEdition1959RRintributeto Randy’stimelesstalent.
NickBowcott,January2008
SpecialthankstoDelores&KelleRhoads,Zakk Wylde,RudySarzo,MaxNorman,
GuitarWorldmagazine,RitaHaney& the Abbottfamilyforpermissiontouse Dime’s
quote,plusallthe wonderfulguitaristswhokindlygave usthe quotesusedabove.
7
ENGLISH
6
Isaw RandyRhoadswhen I was14 years
old.He hadthe bestrock soundI haveEVER
heardlive.Histone and playingblewmy mind.
PaulGilbert
Randyhada uniquegift and
producedmany tastyriffsand melodies.
Heshallremainone of the greats.
YngwieMalmsteen
RandyRhoads?Hewas a totallife changingexperiencefor
me.I can stillrememberbackto whenI was a 10 yearold kid
hearing"CrazyTrain"forthefirst timeand immediatelythinking
"that'sallI wantto do. If I couldjustplay thatwhole songI'llbe
happyasa guitarist!"Ontop of beingsuch a phenomenaland
innovativeplayerand soloistRandywas alsoan amazing
composer.He wasdefinitelyanepiphanyin my life.
John5,Rob Zombie&soloartist
“
“
”
”
“
“”
”
“
”
RandyRhoads- oneof the greatestguitarplayersofall time.
Withan amazinggraspanddepth of knowledgeofscalesand
harmonictheory,Randyinsistedon no compromisesas he
constructedhisarrangementsandsolos- which hiswork clearly
shows.
Randyalsoinsistedon nocompromisesforhis amplification-
there'snodoubtin my mindthat hisMarshallamps andcabinets
notonlyaccompaniedbutassistedRandyin his climbto greatness.
There'snodoubtin my mindthat thetonalityand presenceofthe
RandyRhoadsWhiteAmp willhelp youget theretoo! MaxNorman
Engineerof BlizzardofOzz,Producer/EngineerofDiaryof a Madman&Tribute
“
”
Photo© Jay Banbury
RandyRhoadsistruly a guitaricon.His uniqueapproachto
songwriting,riffconstructionandleadplayingsinglehandedly
establisheda newstandardfor metalguitarthat wouldlast
decadesbeyondhisall toobrief careeranduntimelydeath.
Randy'sstyleandtechniques,bothon stageand inthe studio,are
everybitas relevanttodayas theywere in 1981,and remain
THEtemplateforheavy metalleadguitar.His influenceis
absolutelycolossal,shapinggenerationsof futureartists. It's
amazingtothinkthat suchan abbreviatedcatalogofmaterial,
cutshortby tragedy,couldsochange thegenre,but his impactis
undeniable.Randywas my veryfirstheavy metalguitarhero,
andis a hugepart of whyI was drawnto music.His playingstill
givesmethe same"goose bumps"it didwhen I was14 years
old....andforthat, I remaingrateful.
MarkMorton,Lambof God
Randywasa phenomenalplayerand
probablymy firstreal tasteof heavyguitar.
BeforeIheard himI was listeningtohard
rocklikeVanHalen andRandy wasmuch
moreclassicalsoundingandheavier
soundingtoo. Bothhis rhythmplayingand
hisleadswere incredible.The onlytime I
sawhim playlivewas on New Year’sEve
theyearbeforethe tragedyoccurredandhe
reallydidblowme away.Randy wasa tiny
dudeandmust’veonly weigheda 100lbs
wet!Hisguitarwas almostas big as hewas
buthe playedthehell out ofit.
KerryKing,Slayer