Randy Rhoads facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Randy Rhoads
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Rhoads in 1980
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Randall William Rhoads |
| Born | December 6, 1956 Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 19, 1982 (aged 25) Leesburg, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres |
|
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Years active | 1972–1982 |
| Labels |
|
Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albums Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981). Rhoads was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
Originally educated in classical guitar, Rhoads combined these early influences with heavy metal, helping to form a subgenre later known as neoclassical metal. With Quiet Riot, he adopted a black-and-white polka-dot theme which became an emblem for the group. He reached his peak as the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne's solo career, performing on tracks including "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" on the Blizzard of Ozz album. "Crazy Train" features one of the most well-known heavy metal guitar riffs.
He died in a plane crash while on tour with Osbourne in Florida in 1982. Despite his short career, Rhoads is regarded as a pivotal figure in metal music, credited with pioneering a fast and technical style of guitar soloing that largely defined the metal scene of the 1980s. He helped to popularize various guitar techniques now common in heavy metal music, including two-handed tapping, tremolo bar dive bombs, and intricate scale patterns, drawing comparisons to his contemporary, Eddie Van Halen. The Jackson Rhoads model guitar was originally commissioned by him. He has been included in several published "Greatest Guitarist" lists, and has been cited by other prominent guitarists as a major influence.
Contents
Early life and education
Rhoads was born on December 6, 1956, in Santa Monica, California, the youngest of three children. His parents were both music teachers. His brother was also a musician, who performed under the name "Kelle. " In 1958, when Rhoads was 17 months old, his father left the family and remarried. All three children were subsequently raised by their mother, Delores. She had received a bachelor's degree in music from UCLA and had played piano professionally. She opened a music school in North Hollywood called Musonia to support the family.
The Rhoads family did not own a stereo, and the children created their own music at home to entertain themselves. Rhoads listened to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones as a child and would imitate their performances with his brother Kelle in the family garage. Rhoads began folk and classical guitar lessons at approximately age seven at his mother's music school. He became interested in rock guitar and began lessons at Musonia from Scott Shelly. Shelly soon approached Rhoads' mother to inform her that he could no longer teach her son, as Rhoads' knowledge of the electric guitar had exceeded his own. Rhoads also received piano lessons from his mother to help build his understanding of music theory.
Rhoads met future bandmate Kelly Garni while attending John Muir Middle School in Burbank, California, and the two became best friends. According to Garni, the pair were unpopular due to "the way we looked. Every time we showed up for school it was usually problematic, so we pretty much avoided it. We weren't nerds, [...], we were just on our own." Rhoads taught Garni how to play bass guitar, and together they formed a band, rehearsing during the day at Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco, a 1970s Hollywood nightspot. It was during this period that Rhoads learned to play lead guitar. "When I met him he didn't know how to play lead guitar yet at all. He was just starting to take lessons for it and really just riffing around," said Garni. Rhoads spent several months playing at backyard parties around the Los Angeles area in the mid-1970s.
The pair later formed a cover band, Violet Fox, with Rhoads' older brother Kelle on drums. Violet Fox, which was together for approximately five months, staged several performances in the Grand Salon at Musonia. Among their setlist was "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain and songs from the Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper and David Bowie. After Violet Fox dissolved, Rhoads formed various other short-lived bands such as The Katzenjammer Kids and Mildred Pierce. The Katzenjammer Kids' lead vocalist would often wear dresses on stage, which sometimes led to violent reactions from the audience.
According to Garni, he and Rhoads frequently listened to Long Beach, California radio station KNAC because it was "the only radio station that would play anything of interest to us," and it was through KNAC that Rhoads discovered much of the music that influenced his playing. The home of a neighborhood friend with a high-quality stereo and large record collection became a regular hangout for the pair, and there they listened to more obscure hard rock music such as early Scorpions records.
Live bootleg recordings were very popular at that time, and Rhoads began to take note of the differences between studio recordings and the live versions, particularly the different licks guitarists incorporated when playing live. He began to memorize these licks and taught himself to play them. Rhoads' brother states that a July 11, 1971, Alice Cooper concert at the Long Beach Auditorium that the pair attended was a defining point in the guitarist's life.
Garni concurs, calling Rhoads' discovery of Alice Cooper "a game changer." Guitarists Glen Buxton, Mick Ronson, and Leslie West were early influences on his playing.
Quiet Riot
At age 16, Rhoads and Garni formed the band Little Women. At approximately the same time, Rhoads began teaching guitar in his mother's school during the day and playing live gigs at night. He graduated from Burbank High School, participating in a special program that allowed him to condense his studies and graduate early so he could teach guitar and pursue music full-time. Recruiting lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, the band soon changed its name to Quiet Riot.
Forsyth had periodically played with Rhoads and Garni in the past, most notably in Mildred Pierce. DuBrow was an L.A. photographer who was not at all what Rhoads had in mind for his new band, and he was not well liked by his Quiet Riot bandmates, a situation that caused a great deal of tension within the band. Rhoads had envisioned a frontman in the vein of Alice Cooper or David Bowie, but DuBrow was persistent and would not take no for an answer. In the end, Rhoads and Garni decided that if nothing else, DuBrow shared their enthusiasm and he was hired.
Quiet Riot quickly became one of the most popular acts on the Los Angeles club circuit, and by late 1976 were signed to CBS/Sony Records. Rhoads' "polka-dot theme" became an emblem of the band, as many fans began showing up at Quiet Riot shows wearing polka-dot bow-ties and vests, emulating what the guitarist wore on stage.
While the band had a strong following in Los Angeles, Quiet Riot and Quiet Riot II were released only in Japan. The relationship between DuBrow and Garni had also deteriorated completely during the recording of the band's second album, with potentially catastrophic results. After drunkenly firing a handgun through the ceiling and engaging in a fistfight with Rhoads, Garni hatched a plan to shoot and kill DuBrow at The Record Plant studio while recording the album. Rhoads was left with no choice but to fire his longtime friend and band co-founder.
Ozzy Osbourne
In 1979, former Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne was in Los Angeles, attempting to form a new band. An acquaintance of Rhoads' from the LA club circuit, future Slaughter bassist Dana Strum, phoned Rhoads relentlessly to coax him into auditioning. Rhoads initially told Quiet Riot bandmate Rudy Sarzo that he was not really interested in auditioning, but finally agreed to go simply to get Strum off his back. Rhoads got the call for the audition just before his final show with Quiet Riot in September 1979. The day before Osbourne was scheduled to return to England, Rhoads agreed to audition for Osbourne at a Los Angeles studio.
Over the next couple of days following the audition, Rhoads, Osbourne, Strum, and drummer Frankie Banali jammed together in Los Angeles before Osbourne returned to England. Disillusioned with Quiet Riot's inability to land an American recording deal, Rhoads discussed with his mother the possibility of joining an already established band. When she asked him if he would accept "an offer like this one", he replied, "Of course!"
Upon returning to England, Osbourne was introduced to former Rainbow bassist Bob Daisley by a Jet Records employee named Arthur Sharpe, and the pair hit it off and decided to work together. Unhappy with the guitarist they were initially working with, Osbourne mentioned to Daisley that he had recently met a talented young guitarist in Los Angeles by the name of Randy Rhoads. The new group's management intended to keep the lineup all-British and was reluctant to hire an unknown American guitarist, but manager Don Arden eventually relented. Rhoads flew to England only to return home a couple of days later, being turned away by English customs at Heathrow Airport when he didn't have the necessary work permit. A representative from Jet Records was dispatched to clear the matter up but he never arrived, and Rhoads spent the night in a holding cell before being handcuffed and put on a plane back to the United States the next day. Osbourne subsequently called him to apologize, and arrangements were made for Rhoads to return to England with the proper paperwork. Rhoads flew to England on November 27, 1979, and met with Osbourne and Daisley at the Jet Records' offices in London. The trio traveled by train to Osbourne's home, Bullrush Cottage, which also housed a rehearsal space. It was here that Rhoads lived with Osbourne, his then-wife Thelma, and their two children, during his first weeks in England.
The Blizzard of Ozz
After a short search, former Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake completed the new band, then known as The Blizzard of Ozz. The group headed into the studio to record their debut album, titled Blizzard of Ozz. Rhoads' guitar playing had changed due to the level of freedom allowed by Osbourne and Daisley. His work with Quiet Riot had been criticized as being "dull" and did not rely on classical scales or arrangements. Propelled by Rhoads' neo-classical guitar work, Blizzard of Ozz proved an instant hit with rock fans, particularly in the US.
They released two singles from the album: "Mr. Crowley" and "Crazy Train". "Mr. Crowley" is in the key of D-minor and "Crazy Train" in F-sharp minor. Osbourne said years later, "One day Randy came to me and said that most heavy metal songs are written in an A to E chord structure. He said, 'Let's try to change that' ... so we made a rule that almost every number that we recorded on an album was never played in the same key." AllMusic reviewer Steve Huey described Crazy Train's main guitar riff as "a classic, making use of the full minor scale in a way not seen since Ritchie Blackmore's heyday with Deep Purple."
"Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" placed 9th and 28th, respectively, on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos readers poll. "Crazy Train" placed 51 in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time list.
Diary of a Madman
Following a UK tour the band recorded another album, Diary of a Madman. In December 1981, Rhoads was voted "Best New Talent" by the readers of Guitar Player magazine and voted "Best Heavy Metal Guitarist" by the readers of UK-based Sounds magazine. At about this time, Rhoads reunited with Dubrow for a one-off Quiet Riot show at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood during a brief trip home. Rhoads was subsequently warned by manager Sharon Arden not to do such a thing again.
During a break before leaving for their first US tour, both Kerslake and Daisley were suddenly fired by Sharon, the band's manager and Osbourne's future wife. For the US tour, ex-Black Oak Arkansas drummer Tommy Aldridge and bassist Rudy Sarzo – who had been Rhoads' bandmate in Quiet Riot – were hired. Diary of a Madman was released soon after in October 1981, and since Kerslake and Daisley were already out of the band, Aldridge and Sarzo's names and photos appeared on the album sleeve. Disputes over royalties performance and other intellectual property rights became a source of future court battles. Kerslake has maintained that Rhoads almost left Osbourne's band in late 1981 due to his displeasure with the firing of himself and Daisley. "He didn't want to go [on tour with Osbourne]. We told him we were thrown out. He said he was going to leave the band as he did not want to leave us behind. I told him not to be stupid but thanks for the sentiment", the drummer later recalled.
Around this time, Rhoads remarked to Osbourne, bandmates Aldridge and Sarzo, and friend Kelly Garni that he was considering leaving rock for a few years to earn a degree in classical guitar at UCLA. In the 1991 documentary film Don't Blame Me, Osbourne confirmed Rhoads' desire to earn the degree and stated that had he lived, he did not believe Rhoads would have stayed in his band. Friend and ex-Quiet Riot bassist Garni has speculated in interviews that if Rhoads had continued to play rock, he might have gone the route of more keyboard-driven rock, which had become popular through the 1980s. While on tour with Osbourne, Rhoads would seek out classical guitar tutors for lessons whenever possible.
At the time of his death, Rhoads had already made the decision to part ways with Osbourne once his contractual obligations had been fulfilled.
Osbourne viewed this decision as a betrayal, and the relationship between him and Rhoads became quite strained. Osbourne's confrontational behavior soon convinced Rhoads to leave the band. He grudgingly agreed to perform on the live album with the stipulation that he would depart after fulfilling his contractual obligations to Jet Records, which consisted of one more studio album and subsequent tour. The proposed live album was scrapped upon the guitarist's sudden death weeks later, though the plan was quickly resurrected with the release of Speak of the Devil in November of that year.
Death
[[File:Grave of Randy.jpg|thumb|Randy Rhoads' grave, San Bernardino, California]
Rhoads played his last show on Thursday, March 18, 1982, at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. The next day, the band was heading to a festival in Orlando, Florida, called Rock Super Bowl XIV.
[[File:1957 Bonanza H35 N5589D.jpg|thumb|240px|A 1957 Beechcraft Bonanza Model H35, similar to the 1955 Model F35 in which Rhoads died]] After driving much of the night, they stopped at Flying Baron Estates in Leesburg, Florida, to fix a malfunctioning air conditioning unit on the bus while Osbourne remained asleep. On the property, owned by the Calhoun Brothers tour bus company, there was an airstrip with helicopters and small planes. Without permission, tour bus driver and private pilot Andrew Aycock took a single-engine Beechcraft F35 plane registered to a Mike Partin. On the first flight, Aycock took keyboardist Don Airey and tour manager Jake Duncan with him as passengers. During this first flight, Duncan later revealed that Aycock "buzzed" the bus in an attempt to wake drummer Tommy Aldridge. The group then landed and a second flight soon took to the air with Rhoads and makeup artist Rachel Youngblood aboard. Though afraid of flying, Rhoads wanted to take some aerial photos of the countryside for his mother. He had tried unsuccessfully to coax bassist Rudy Sarzo to join him on the flight; Sarzo chose to get some extra sleep instead.
During the second flight, more attempts were made to "buzz" the tour bus. Aycock succeeded in making two close passes, but botched the third attempt. At about 10 a.m., after being in the air for approximately five minutes, one of the plane's wings clipped the top of the tour bus, breaking the wing into two parts and sending the plane spiraling out of control. The plane then severed the top of a pine tree and crashed into the garage of a nearby mansion, bursting into flames. Rhoads (25) was killed instantly, as were Aycock (36) and Youngblood (58).
Personal life
Rhoads stood 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall and weighed 105 pounds (48 kg). He was an avid collector of toy trains, and he traveled around England in search of them when he first arrived from the United States to record Blizzard of Ozz in 1980. He told Osbourne bandmate and close friend Rudy Sarzo that he and Sharon Arden were having a few celebratory drinks together in a hotel one night and ended up sleeping together. At the time, Ozzy Osbourne was trying to save his marriage to first wife Thelma, and Sharon was just his manager.
According to his brother Kelle, Rhoads was a "fairly devout" Lutheran.
Equipment
Guitars
Shortly before leaving Quiet Riot in 1979, Rhoads presented hand-drawn pictures of a polka-dot Flying V-style guitar to Karl Sandoval, a California luthier. The guitar Sandoval built for Rhoads became one of the guitarist's trademark instruments. Rhoads's guitars included:
- 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom Alpine White
- 1957 Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty (used for photographs only)
- Karl Sandoval "Polka Dot" V
- Jackson Rhoads White "Prototype" Concorde
- Jackson Black Rhoads with fixed bridge
- Fender Stratocaster
Strings
He preferred .009 gauge strings on Blizzard of Ozz and .010 on Diary of a Madman.
- GHS Boomers, .009–.042 (Blizzard)
- GHS Boomers, .010–.046 (Diary)
Pickups
Rhoads pickups included:
- Stock pickups on 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom.
- DiMarzio Super Distortion/PAF Humbucker On Karl Sandoval's Flying V.
- Seymour Duncan Distortion/Jazz Model on Jacksons.
Effects
Rhoads claimed "The MXR Distortion Plus is the only gadget I use a lot." His effects pedals included:
- Dunlop Cry Baby Wah-wah
- Roland:
- RE-201 Space Echo
- Volume Foot Pedal
- Korg echo
- MXR:
- Distortion +
- 10 Band EQ
- Flanger
- Stereo Chorus
Amplifiers
- 100 Watt Marshall model 1959 with KT88 Power Tubes
- Marshall 4×12 Cabinets with Altec 417C speakers
2019 Equipment theft
In December 2019, Ozzy Osbourne offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of several pieces of equipment, most of it once belonging to Rhoads, stolen from the premises of Musonia music school on the night of November 28, 2019.
Among the items stolen were a 1963 Harmony Rocket (Rhoads' first electric guitar), a Peavey Amp Head which was part of Quiet Riot's original stage gear, a very rare Randy Rhoads Series Marshall Head (Prototype No. 1 or 2 donated to the Rhoads family by the Marshall Company), and a Great Depression-era Silver French Besson trumpet originally owned by his mother, as well as numerous gifts from fans, memorabilia, all photos of Rhoads, and other "miscellaneous instruments". The items were recovered just a few days later from a dumpster.
Legacy and influence
Rhoads placed 36th on Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists. He placed fourth on Guitar World Magazine's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists, and 26th in Guitar World's 50 Fastest Guitarists list.
Rhoads's biggest influences as a guitarist were Leslie West, Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker, Gary Moore, Charlie Christian, and John Williams.
In the years since his death Rhoads' work has been very influential within genres such as neoclassical metal, highly regarded by such players as Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, John Petrucci of Dream Theater, Zakk Wylde, Michael Romeo, Alexi Laiho, Mick Thomson of Slipknot, Paul Gilbert of Mr. Big, Buckethead, Michael Angelo Batio, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam.
Aldridge, who Rhoads had regarded as his favorite drummer since seeing him perform on television with Black Oak Arkansas in the 1970s, has said that working with a musician as talented as Rhoads "was inspirational. It was life-changing". From a musical standpoint, he has said that playing with Rhoads was the high point of his career, stating "It was very exciting. From a musical perspective, it was probably the high-water mark of my career. Working with people like Randy Rhoads, guys like that, they kind of grab you by the scruff of your neck and lift you up to their level."
Rhoads' talent was not always met with such praise during his lifetime. Fellow guitarist Eddie Van Halen was somewhat dismissive of Rhoads' playing, saying in 1982 "Everything he did he learned from me" and "I don't really think he did anything that I haven't done", but said that "He was good". J. D. Considine of Rolling Stone Magazine was critical of his playing, referring to Rhoads in his review of Diary Of A Madman as "a junior-league Eddie Van Halen – bustling with chops but somewhat short on imagination". Years later, however, the magazine listed Rhoads as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Posthumous recognition
Just before his death Jackson Guitars created a signature model, the Jackson Randy Rhoads (though Rhoads had originally called his white pinstriped V "the Concorde"). Rhoads received one prototype – a black offset V hardtail that is the basis of today's RR line of Jackson guitars – but died before the guitar went into production.
Jackson Guitars released an exact replica of Rhoads' original white "shortwing" V. His original guitar was handled, photographed, and measured extensively by Jackson's luthiers to produce the most precise replica possible. The guitar comes with black gaffer's tape covering the top wing and the back of the guitar, just like Rhoads'. Only 60 of the guitars were manufactured, each with the symbolic price tag of $12,619.56, which is Rhoads' birthday. In 2010, Gibson Guitars announced a new custom shop signature guitar modeled after Rhoads' 1974 Les Paul Custom.
As a tribute to Rhoads, Marshall Amplification released the 1959RR at NAMM 2008. The amp is a limited-edition all-white Marshall Super Lead 100-watt head modeled after Rhoads' own Super Lead amp. Marshall engineers looked extensively at Rhoads' actual amplifier and made the 1959RR to those exact specifications, down to the special high-gain modification Rhoads requested when he visited the Marshall factory in 1980.
In April 2011, author Joel McIver announced the publication of the first fully comprehensive Rhoads biography, Crazy Train: The High Life and Tragic Death of Randy Rhoads, with a foreword written by Zakk Wylde and an afterword by Yngwie Malmsteen. In June 2012, Velocity Publishing Group announced a comprehensive Rhoads biography, written by Steven Rosen and Andrew Klein, and containing over 400 pages of material.
May 31, 2011, marked the 30th anniversary and remaster-release of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. Both albums were remastered and restored to their original state with Bob Daisley's bass and Lee Kerslake's drums intact. Blizzard has three bonus tracks: "You, Looking at Me, Looking at You", "Goodbye to Romance" (2010 Vocal & Guitar Mix), and "RR" (Randy Rhoads in-studio guitar solo). Originally, Diary was to include long fade-out versions of "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll", "Tonight", and "Diary of a Madman" (2010 Re-mix version), but they were not included in the re-issue. The Legacy version of Diary of a Madman includes a second CD called Ozzy Live, a live album pulled together from multiple performances on the 1981 Blizzard of Ozz tour. This performance features the same line-up as the Tribute album. Also included exclusively in the special box set are the 180-gram vinyl versions of the original albums, a 100-page coffee table book and the DVD Thirty Years After the Blizzard, that includes unreleased Rhoads video footage.
Producer Kevin Churko, who mixed the 2010 Ozzy Live CD, has stated that Epic Records has "a lot more in the vault" for future releases of Rhoads' material with Osbourne, as many of the band's live performances from that era were recorded.
Rhoads' mother, Delores Rhoads, created the Randy Rhoads Scholarship Endowment at California State University, Northridge that gives annual scholarships to guitar students in memory of her son.
On January 18, 2017, Rhoads was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History for defining heavy metal lead guitar.
Rhoads was formally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on October 30th, 2021, as a recipient of the Musical Excellence Award. Speaking (via video message) at the induction were Ozzy Osbourne, and guitarists Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Zakk Wylde (formerly of Osbourne's band, and greatly influenced by Rhoads in his youth) and Kirk Hammett of Metallica.
Discography
With Quiet Riot
- Quiet Riot (1977)
- Quiet Riot II (1978)
- The Randy Rhoads Years (1993)
With Ozzy Osbourne
- Blizzard of Ozz (1980)
- Mr Crowley Live EP (1980)
- Diary of a Madman (1981)
- Tribute (1987)
- Ozzy Live (2011)
Books
- Benoit, Tod (2009). Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die?. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 978-1-57912-822-7.
- Fischer, Peter (2006). Masters of Rock Guitar 2: The New Generation. Mel Bay. ISBN 978-3-89922-078-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=VRDRKvQZBbUC&pg=PA88.
- Hurwitz, Tobias (1999). Guitar Shop – Getting Your Sound: Handy Guide. Alfred Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88284-956-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=OjSsW1wizrYC&pg=PA46.
- Osbourne, Ozzy (January 25, 2010). I Am Ozzy. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-0446569903. https://books.google.com/books?id=yNzCgAEkW8cC&pg=PT134.
- Prown, Pete; Lisa Sharken (2003). Gear Secrets of the Guitar Legends: How to Sound Like Your Favorite Players. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0-87930-751-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=vqQjuzPrqIwC&pg=PA80.
- Schroedl, Jeff (2014). Hal Leonard Guitar Tab Method. ISBN 9781495009068. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hal_Leonard_Guitar_Tab_Method/Qq_VBgAAQBAJ.
See also
In Spanish: Randy Rhoads para niños
