Number 2
Randy Rhoads
Randy Rhoads changed the course of music with just two albums. Two albums that he wrote within a year and a half of each other. Every track on those two albums, Blizzard of Ozz, and Diary of a Madman, are considered the gold standard for all heavy metal that came after.
The 1980s are the peak for hard rock, heavy metal, and, in particular, guitar wizardry. In the late 70s, two young men out of southern California were poised to change the face of music, how the guitar was approached, and even how the instrument was constructed. Randy Rhoads was one of those young men. The other is my number one greatest guitarist of all.
Randy Rhoads’s impact on hard rock, metal, and guitar music in general, really cannot be overstated. Before Rhoads, rock guitar had basically stayed in what is called “box blues' and pentatonic scale since the 1950s. Rock had been birthed out of the blues, so guitarists at the beginning of rock were just working with what they learned from blues players. The guitarists who came in the late 1960s were working with what they had learned from the 50s guys, and well into the 70s that tradition stayed. Clapton, Harrison, Page…they all played the blues almost exclusively. Until he got the freedom to do so, Randy Rhoads did too.
But once he got that opportunity…man…it ALL changed! But let me back up a bit to lay the groundwork.
A huge part of Randy’s story is how he fell in love with learning and teaching. Music theory was his obsession and, unlike me, he understood it and even had the mind to move it forward. Randy’s mother, Dee, owned a music school, and Randy took lessons from the guitar expert there. When he was 16 the instructor told Dee that he had taught Randy everything he knows and Randy gets it. Anything moving forward with him would be a waste of Randy’s time. So, at 16 years old, Randy started teaching guitar at his mother’s school.
Randy wasn’t just good at guitar. He wasn’t just good with music. He was a prodigy.
Randy became a founding member of a glam band called Quiet Riot.
It was here that he developed his signature branding of polka dots and bow ties. Riot was one of two big dogs in that region. The other big dog?
The Monkeys.
Just kidding. It was Van Halen.
A quick interjection, if you don’t mind. The two young men that changed everything that I mentioned before are obviously Randy Rhoads and Edward Van Halen. They were the two best guitarists in the two biggest bands in a hotbed of rock music. So, OF COURSE, there had to be rumors about a feud between the two.
Let me put that to rest.
According to Randy’s girlfriend at the time, Jan, Randy went to see Van Halen in 1976 or 1977. She said that after seeing Van Halen Randy was “devastated”. He had been the king of Burbank. Everyone was always telling him just how amazing he was at guitar. Seeing Eddie Van Halen was an eye opener. He thought Eddie Van Halen was unbelievable. And Randy wanted to be unbelievable, too. He was inspired, not angry.
After seeing the show Randy asked Eddie how he could do some of the whammy bar work without his guitar going out of tune, unlike every other guitar player in the world. Randy, being a teacher who shared everything he knew about guitar with anyone interested, was shocked and disappointed when Eddie told him “That’s my secret to keep.”
I’ll get to the reasons why when we get to our number one…SPOILERS!
According to Quiet Riot’s drummer, Drew Forsyth, Eddie used to come see Randy quite a lot. More than Randy went to see Van Halen.
During an interview, Randy once stated that he “copies a lot of Eddie’s stuff” on stage. He didn’t feel good about doing it because he believed each musician has a right to keep their style. But, the kids loved it and wanted to see it, so Randy used it. Eddie has gone on record many, many times stating that he knows people ripped him off all the time, but that was cool because he got a lot of techniques and knowledge from other people, too. That’s how learning works.
And finally on the subject, when Randy was on break from the tour, he went to a local music store to buy some classical albums. He ran into Eddie there, buying a copy of Diary of a Madman. This was a story told by Randy himself.
They had no problems with each other. He had nothing but respect for Edward Van Halen.
While Quiet Riot was big locally, Randy became convinced that they had peaked. If he wanted to become a national star he had to make a change. Plus, he was tired of being stuck playing the same pentatonic and box blues I mentioned before. All he needed was a chance.
That chance came in the form of the fired, washed up former lead singer of Black Sabbath.
In 1979, Ozzy Osbourne was in Los Angeles trying to put a band together. Randy wasn’t a fan of the type of heavy metal that Black Sabbath had pioneered, but, at the behest of a friend, Randy decided to give it a go.
There are conflicting reports about how the audition went down, mainly because Ozzy’s recollections can be…err…fuzzy at times. But the gist is that Randy showed up, Ozzy was drunk and tired of listening to guitarist after guitarist. But, when Randy plugged in and started warming up Ozzy woke up and said “That’s our guy”. Or, something to that effect. Probably had more cussing in it, but that’s the gist. Randy was shocked because he was just warming up. Ozzy hadn’t even heard him play anything!
Ozzy, keyboardist Bob Daisley, and Randy went to work creating their first album together. Ozzy gave Randy free reign. Whatever Randy wanted to try, Ozzy was open to. A far cry from Quiet Riot, who’s music was already set and wasn’t going to change. This was a clean slate.
Randy decided that no two songs on the album would be in the same key. His understanding of music theory helped in many ways: he could write songs that worked best with Ozzy’s voice, he could construct songs based on rules, which sped things up, and, most importantly, he could write the type of music that no one in hard rock ever heard before.
Blizzard of Ozz was written and recorded in 28 days. It was the first neoclassical metal album and everyone noticed. Of the 9 songs on that album, 5 are considered 5 of the greatest heavy metal songs ever written.
The remaining 4 are bangers too, but the 5 I mentioned are the best of the best of the best. They set a tone and style of guitarmanship that, simply put, had not been seen in hard rock before. Randy Rhoads was turning heads in a big way. I cannot overstate just how important these 5 songs are to that genre.
But, while Randy was winning award after award, there was no time to stop and enjoy it.
After a year on the road promoting the new album, Ozzy wanted to go straight back in the studio and keep the hard earned momentum going. Many of the new songs were written while touring, so, in February of 1981, the band recorded their next album, Diary of a Madman, in less than a month.
With Diary, Randy pushed the envelope even further. Ozzy trusted him completely and, besides being business partners, they were like brothers.
Once again, Randy’s reputation as a creative songwriter and guitar wizard was elevated to near Edward Van Halen levels.
Only 8 songs were recorded for Diary of a Madman, but of those 8, Randy and Ozzy had created 5 songs that are absolute “musts” for hard rock guitarists to learn:
The remaining songs, Little Dolls, Tonight, and S.A.T.O. are absolute bangers too. Classics. But the impact of the aforementioned 5 is greater. Accolades were constantly pouring in. Crowds were maxed out. Randy Rhoads had solidified himself as a guitarist second only to Edward Van Halen, a man that, in many ways, he was chasing. He had one of the greatest frontmen of all time. He had a great band. He had just written two albums that he knew were different from anything that had come before. He had world fame. (editor's note: I teared up when I wrote the next sentences).
He was on top of the world.
It was as far as he would go.
On March 19, 1982, Randy Rhoads and band stylist Rachel Youngblood, boarded a small airplane with the tour bus driver, a former pilot. The pilot, showing off, flew low, buzzing the tour bus. They made it twice. On the third fly-by the plane’s wing clipped the bus at 150mph. Both Randy and Rachel were thrown through the plane’s windshield. The burning wreckage smashed into a nearby house. Both died instantly.
A senseless death for an amazing musician. Randy was fortunate that he got to get a glimpse of where his legacy was headed. When asked 10 years later if he thought Randy would still be in the band, Ozzy said “Fuck no! He’d be teaching classical music somewhere.”
This is the last picture of Randy before the crash.
Randy Rhoads means a lot to me. I’ve studied his music. I’ve loved his music. His music has made me happy. His music has helped me through tough times. His music has inspired me. I even did an illustration in tribute to Randy Rhoads. He’s important to me personally.
I've even made a portrait of him using lyrics from songs and aspects of his life. I have it below but you can see it better HERE.
For changing how guitar is played, for writing 10 of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time, for being one of the two most influential guitarists that help set up the hard rock renaissance of the 1980s and beyond, Randy Rhoads is the second greatest guitarist of all time.