27 years ago today, guitarist Randy Rhoads was killed in a plane crash in Leesburg, FL. Randy was born in Santa Monica, CA on December 6, 1966. At the age of 17, Randy formed Quiet Riot and released two albums in Japan, “Quiet Riot I” and “Quiet Riot II”. Just before his last show in 1979 with Quiet Riot, Randy was recommended to ex-Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne by producer Dana Strum (later of Vinnie Vincent Invasion and Slaughter). Randy showed up for the audition with a Les Paul guitar and a practice, plugged it in and tuned up to which Ozzy said, “You got the gig”.
After spending most of ’79 writing, the Ozzy Osbourne album “Blizzard of Ozz” was released in 1980. A very successful tour was followed up almost immediately by a 2nd release, “Diary of a Madman” in 1981. The band toured very successfully behind this album playing arenas and festivals all over the world. Randy Rhoads’ last show was played on Thursday March 18, 1982 at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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