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Excerpt from the book:
OZZY OSBOURNE: THE RANDY RHOADS YEARS
Guitar Legendary Licks
by Aaron Rosenbaum
With note-for-note transcriptions of Randy Rhoads' searing guitar work, gear set-ups, performance notes, historical retrospective and a play-along CD, this info-packed book will teach you to play 72 licks from 11 of Ozzy's most recognizable songs: Crazy Train · Dee · Diary of a Madman · Flying High Again · Goodbye to Romance · I Don't Know · Mr. Crowley · Over the Mountain · Revelation · S.A.T.O. · Suicide Solution.
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Inventory # HL 2500349. Book/CD $19.95 (US).
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RANDY RHOADS
(From Ozzy Osbourne: The Randy Rhoads Years [Guitar Legendary Licks] by Aaron Rosenbaum)
December 6, 1956 - Randy Rhoads is born in Santa Monica, California.
1962-1963 - Randy begins guitar lessons at his mother’s music school, Musonia.
1969 - He starts jamming and knows he wants to do it “for real.”
1970-1971 - At age 14, Randy and brother Kelle form a band named “Violet Fox,” after Mrs. Rhoads’ middle name, Violet. Her sons’ “little group” plays picnics, in the park, and on the Burbank Mall.
1971 - Randy and his friend Kelly Garni (a later bandmate in Quiet Riot) go to see Alice Cooper perform. Glenn Buxton (Cooper’s guitarist), with his unorthodox guitar sounds, becomes a strong influence on Rhoads. Meanwhile, Randy plays in other bands such as Mildred Pierce and the Katzenjammer Kids.
1972-1973 - Randy’s skills exceeds those of his teachers. He begins giving lessons at Musonia.
1974-1975 - Randy, Kelly Garni, Drew Forsyth, and Kevin DuBrow form Quiet Riot. They ultimately release two albums in Japan.
1979 - Randy commissions Karl Sandoval to make him a custom guitar. After discussions and diagrams, they come up with a black and white polka dot flying “V” design that becomes Rhoads’ signature guitar. Kelly Garni leaves Quiet Riot and eventually becomes a paramedic. Later that year, ex–Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne comes to L.A. to audition guitarists for his new solo act. At his friend Dana Strum’s suggestion, and with small expectations, Randy brings his little Fender warm-up amp to the audition and gets the gig at age 22.
Autumn 1979 - Randy is whisked off to Ozzy’s house in England to work on Blizzard of Ozz and to help form the rest of the band. It ends up consisting of Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Randy Rhoads on guitar, Lee Kerslake on drums, and Bob Daisley on bass.
March 1980 - The band enters Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey, England to begin laying down tracks for Blizzard of Oz. After completing the recording sessions for Blizzard, Randy Rhoads returns home to California and plays one last time with the members of Quiet Riot in Hollywood. That band’s bassist, Rudy Sarzo, later joins Ozzy’s band just in time for the U.S. Blizzard of Ozz tour.
September 12, 1980 - Ozzy’s opening concert for the three-month Blizzard of Ozz tour. 4000 fans break the box office record at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. The album climbs the UK charts to #7.
Christmas 1980 - Randy Rhoads returns home and commissions a custom guitar from Grover Jackson of Charvel Guitars. Together they design the first “Jackson” (white “V”) guitar.
Early 1981 - Randy is called back to England to work on Diary of a Madman. His newly commissioned guitar is sent to him in England.
February-March 1981 - The band scurries into Ridge Farm studios once again to record the tracks for Diary of a Madman.
Spring 1981 - The U.S. Blizzard of Ozz tour launches from Maryland’s Towson Center. The album peaks at #21 and eventually goes quadruple platinum. Just before the start of the tour, Bob Daisley (bass) and Lee Kerslake (drums) secede from the band to join Uriah Heep and are replaced by Rudy Sarzo (bass) and Tommy Aldrige (drums).
September 1981 - At the completion of the U.S. Blizzard tour, Rhoads orders his second custom guitar, a black “Jackson V,” from Grover Jackson. He visits Jackson before the guitar is ready and gives him a drawing of what he wants on the instrument.
Halloween 1981 - Diary of a Madman is released. It reaches #14 in the U.K. and #16 in the U.S., eventually going on to become certified triple-platinum.
November 1981 - The U.K. Diary of a Madman tour launches, but is cut short after Ozzy collapses from exhaustion.
December 30, 1981 - The U.S. Diary of a Madman tour launches from San Francisco’s Cow Palace with Daisley back in the band and Don Airey on keyboards. Meanwhile, Rhoads becomes more and more interested in pursuing his classical guitar interests and takes private lessons between shows on the road.
March 18, 1982 - The band plays what will be the last show with Randy Rhoads at the Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee.
March 19, 1982 - While on tour in Florida, the band stops at Flying Baron Estates. While some band members are sleeping and others are stretching, the bus driver, Andrew Aycock, who is also a private pilot, begins taking members of the entourage for short plane rides. The first passengers are the keyboardist, Don Airey, along with the band’s tour manager. Later, Randy Rhoads and Rachel Youngblood, Ozzy’s stylist, are taken up. The plane’s wings clip the tour bus and it crashes into a house, killing both passengers and the pilot. Devastated, Ozzy completes the tour with Bernie Torme and later Brad Gillis on guitar.
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