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Randall William Rhoads was born on December 6, 1956 at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California. With one brother (Doug) and one sister (Kathy), Randy was the youngest of three. When Randy was 17 months old his father, William Arthur Rhoads, a public school music teacher, left and all three children were raised by their mother, Delores Rhoads. William Rhoads would later remarry, producing Dan and Paul, ... "half" brothers to Randy. Randy started taking guitar lessons around the age of 6 or 7 at a music school in North Hollywood called Musonia, which was owned by his mother.
His first guitar was a Gibson (acoustic) that belonged to Delores Rhoads father. Randy and his sister (Kathy) both began folk guitar lessons at the same time with Randy later taking piano lessons (at his mothers request) so that he could learn to read music. Randy's piano lessons did not last very long. At the age of 12, Randy became interested in rock guitar. His mother, Delores, had an old semi-acoustic Harmony Rocket, that at that time was "almost larger than he was." For almost a year Randy took lessons from Scott Shelly, a guitar teacher at his mothers school. Scott Shelly eventually went to Randy's mother explaining that he could not teach him anymore as Randy knew everything that he (Scott Shelly) knew.
When Randy was about 14, he was in his first band, Violet Fox, named after his mothers middle name, Violet. With Randy playing rhythm guitar and his brother Doug playing drums, Violet Fox were together about 4 to 5 months. Randy was in various other bands, such as "The Katzenjammer Kids" and "Mildred Pierce", playing parties in the Burbank area before he formed Quiet Riot in 1976 with longtime friend and bassist Kelly Garni. Randy Rhoads and Kelly Garni (whom Randy taught to play bass guitar) met Kevin Du Brow through a mutual friend from Hollywood.
How they actually got together is a different story with many variations: A. ) The two contacted Kevin Du Brow, went to his house to "audition" him but originally werent interested in having him as a vocalist. Kevin kept calling Randy and Kelly until they eventually decided to try him out as a vocalist. B. ) Randy and Kelly Garni auditioned Kevin Du Brow in Delores Rhoads kitchen. Kevin sang for them, then said something to the point of, "well if you dont like me just say so and Ill leave. " Randy and Kelly decided to work with him though they would have to "work some things out." C. ) Randy Rhoads called Kevin Du Brow, they decided to get together to see about putting together a band. Randy went to Kevin's house with his guitar and an amp. As Randy began to play, Kevin began to hear the best guitarist hed ever heard.
Around that same time Randy began teaching guitar in his mothers school during the day and playing with Quiet Riot at night. Originally called "Little Women", Quiet Riot got their "new" name from one of Kevin's friends from the band Status Quo. Quiet Riot were quickly becoming one of the biggest acts in the Los Angeles area and eventually obtained a recording contract with CBS/Sony records, releasing two full length l. p. s and one e. p.
in Japan. Quiet Riots two records, Quiet Riot 1 (1978), which was originally recorded for an American record label, and Quiet Riot 2 (1979), received rave reviews in the Japanese press, claiming them to be the "next big thing." Unfortunately these recordings were never released in the United States. While there were plans for Quiet Riot to tour Japan, their management turned down the offer and Quiet Riot stayed in the United States continuing to sell out college and high school auditoriums as well as clubs in the Los Angeles area. About 5 months before Randy left Quiet Riot, he went to Karl Sandoval to have a custom guitar made. Several meetings and drawings later they would ultimately create a black and white polka dot flying "V", a guitar that would become synonymous with the name Randy Rhoads. The guitar would cost Randy $ 738. 00 and was picked up by Randy on September 22, 1979. (September 22, 1979 saw Quiet Riot playing at the "Whiskey a go-go" in Los Angeles, California, ...
so chances are, that was probably the first place he ever played that guitar in front of an audience. ) In the latter part of 1979, at the request of a friend (Dana Strum), Randy went to audition for a band being put together by former Black Sabbath lead singer, Ozzy Osbourne. As the story goes: Ozzy had auditioned just about every guitarist in Los Angeles and was about to go home to England, the hopes of a new band washed away. Enter Randy Rhoads. Randy wasnt completely interested in auditioning, he was happy with his current band and thought that this "audition" wouldnt amount to much. As with Kevin Du Brow, Randy's first meeting / audition with Ozzy Osbourne has a few variations: A. ) Randy walked into Ozzy's hotel room late one evening with a guitar and a small Fender practice amp, plugged in and started tuning his guitar. He did a few warm up exercises and got the job as Ozzy Osbournes lead guitarist at age 22.
B. ) Randy walked into a Ozzy's studio / rehearsal place late one evening with a guitar and a small Fender practice amp, plugged in and started tuning his guitar. He did a few warm up exercises and got the job as Ozzy Osbournes lead guitarist at age 22. C. ) Ozzy was first introduced to Randy in a bar where someone introduced him to Ozzy as his (Ozzy's) "next guitarist." With Randy Rhoads, Ozzy began to assemble a band that would (ultimately) record his first solo album. How the band was formed is a story with (yet) more variations: A. ) With Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, bassist Dana Strum (Slaughter), and drummer Frankie Bannalli (Quiet Riot, W. A. S.
P. ), the band began to rehearse in Los Angeles, California. However, when it came time to go to England, where Ozzy's albums would be recorded, the record company could only obtain a work permit for one non-English band member, ... Randy Rhoads. B. ) Drummer Lee Kerslake (who played on both of Ozzy's solo albums) auditioned and got the position. A few weeks later while in England, Ozzy happened across Bob Daisley. Boasting about this guitar played he'd found, Ozzy convinced Bob to join his band.
A few weeks later they began to rehearse for the first album in Los Angeles, California. Randy was whisked off to England shortly before Thanksgiving of 1979 where, at Ozzy's home in Wales, the two began to write the "Blizzard of Ozzy" album and audition musicians to fill out the band. While the band rehearsed at "John Henrys", a rehearsal hall in London, the earliest public performances of Randy Rhoads and Ozzy Osbourne came after theyd complete a song then go to a local pub to play the song for whoever was there. One such song, Crazy Train, appeared to get the audience moving, leading them to believe that they "had something." With ex-Uriah Heap members: Lee Kerslake (drums) and Bob Daisley (bass), the Ozzy Osbourne Band entered Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey, England on March 22 of 1980 and began recording for almost a month. "Blizzard of Ozzy" was originally to be mixed by Chris Tsangarides who was fired after one week because Ozzy felt that it "was not happening" with him. Max Norman, Ridge Farm Studios resident engineer, was then hired to pick up where Chris left off and would play an integral part of both Ozzy Osbourne studio albums and the live e. p. , as well as later down the road with "Tribute." After the finishing touches had been put on "Blizzard of Ozzy", Randy Rhoads returned home to California in May of 1980, where he teamed up one last time with the members of Quiet Riot at the Starwood club in Hollywood for their final show.
However, this would not be the last time he played with Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo, who would later join Ozzy Osbournes band just before the start of the United States Blizzard of Ozzy tour. Once back in England, the Ozzy Osbourne Band surfaced for their first "official" show on September 12, 1980 when 4, 000 fans broke the box office record at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. "Blizzard of Ozzy" went straight into the U. K. charts at number 7 as they toured around the United Kingdom for close to three months playing 34 shows.
Sales of Blizzard of Ozzy more than doubled with each U. K. town they played. December of 1980 brought Randy Rhoads back home to California for Christmas. Once again Randy wanted a custom guitar built, this time he went to Grover Jackson of Channel guitars, about a week before Christmas. With a drawing scribbled on a piece of paper, Randy Rhoads and Grover Jackson created the very first "Jackson" guitar to ever be made.
Randy's white "flying V" type guitar was yet another guitar that would become synonymous with the Randy Rhoads name. The finished guitar was sent to Randy in England about two months later. During the months of February and March of 1981, the Ozzy Osbourne band once again entered Ridge Farm Studios to record their second album titled: "Diary of a Madman." With an impending United States tour to follow soon after the recording of "Diary of a Madman", the actual recording of the album became rushed. (Randy's solo on "Little Dolls" was actually a "scratch" solo and was not intended to be the solo for the finished song. ) None of the band members could be present for the mixing of "Diary of a Madman", which only furthered their already mixed feelings of the album. With "Diary of a Madman" already recorded but not yet released, the Ozzy Osbourne Band began its North American tour in support of "Blizzard of Ozzy", beginning in Towson, Maryland on April 22, 1981, one year and one month after the "Blizzard of Ozzy" sessions began.
Though they did not play on either studio efforts, Tommy Aldrige (drums) and Rudy Sarzo (bass)...
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