Original subtitles

1975, I got a little phone message

from a guitar player in Burbank, California

who was forming a rock and roll band,

and he was auditioning lead singers.

I met up with him at his mom's house about a week later.

He plugs a guitar into a little Fender practice amp,

and I tell you what, he played some of the best guitar

I've ever heard to this day.

People, don't ever forget the name of this guy.

He was Randy rhoads!

All right!

J” oooooh j”

I yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! J”

J” just laugh the time away j”

j” you'll survive j”

j do what you do your way, all right j

In the late 1970s,

Randy rhoads and his band,

quiet riot, were tearin' up the music scene in Los Angeles.

J” yeah j

All aboard!

Then, in 1979, at 23 years old,

rhoads etched his place in history as a guitar legend

when he joined ozzy Osbourne's new solo band.

It was an extraordinary rise to fame on a road

that was paved with hard work, determination, and sorrow.

Randy was an la kid,

born in Santa Monica, California on December 6th, 1956,

and raised in Burbank.

His parents were musicians and music teachers.

His father left the family when Randy was just 17 months old

and his mother, delores, raised him

and his older brother and sister.

To support the family, she opened a music school

in north Hollywood called musonia.

He grew up in my school, my music school,

and he was very influenced that way.

We were steeped and immersed in all the music

and all of the activities that were going on.

Randy started playing guitar when he was six.

I started playing drums when I was 12.

Randy took folk guitar lessons at musonia,

where he learned basic chords and simple pop tunes.

He wanted more than that, so he came and said,

"mom, I really wanna take electric guitar."

Randy was taking two to three lessons a week

at musonia.

His teacher saw that he was no ordinary student.

This is where Scott Shelly taught Randy for nine months

until Scott went to my mom and said,

"Mrs. Rhoads, I can't teach your son any longer."

My mom said, "why would that be?"

And Scott's reply was, "for the last month and a half,

he's been teaching me,

and I can no longer keep up with him."

In junior high, Randy formed a band with schoolmate

and neighbor friend Kelly garni.

He taught Kelly how to play bass,

and the two would have regular jam sessions.

And I can remember telling them,

"there's this concert we gotta go to.

I'm gonna take you to see Alice Cooper."

And he thought that that was a folk singer,

so he goes, "well, why do we have to go see her?"

I said, "when you see her,

you're gonna see why you had to see her."

Total epiphany. Changed his life.

Komp 92.3, the rock of Las Vegas.

We're talkin' to Kelly garni here, who grew up with Randy

and was one of the founding members of quiet riot,

which was Randy's basically first real band?

Mhm. Yeah, first real band of any renown.

Everything we had done prior to that

was just little backyard parties and things like that.

We often performed with no singer whatsoever.

We'd show up, me and Randy,

and whatever drummer we could get that night,

and just jam, and people loved it.

One of Randy's most stunning features

was his charisma,

way before he had even developed any big talent

as a lead guitar player, but, I mean,

you just looked at this kid and said,

"someday, he's really gonna be something.

He's really gonna be somebody."

And you could just tell, he glowed.

Since they were getting more gigs,

Randy and Kelly thought it was time they got a singer.

In march of 1975, Randy reached out to Kevin dubrow.

Dubrow had been jamming with some friends

but had no live experience.

Known for his flamboyant clothes,

it was clear he always wanted to be center stage.

The only piece missing was a drummer.

After my first year in college

in the summer of 1975,

I was looking for something to do

and just, on a whim, called Randy to see,

you know, what he was up to. Maybe we'd get together,

jam, do something, whatever.

And he and Kelly and Kevin were in the process

of looking for a drummer, so that's when I called him.

It was just pure, dumb luck.

Kevin dubrow and I were dating at the time,

and he told me that he had tried out for this new band

to be the singer,

and so he had been rehearsing with them,

you know, quite a few weeks and everything,

and then finally he said, you know,

"would you like to come down and watch us rehearse?"

So I went down and I walked in,

and they were more hippie—like.

They had long hair and kinda grungy clothes

and very plain, like very simple.

I was expecting something more like a british—style band

'cause that's what Kevin really loved.

They started rehearsing and it just sounded really amazing.

It was really fun.

J I got a letter in the mail j

j sayin' I'm gonna go to jail j

j someone's got an ax j

j lookin' it out for me j

Kevin loved Randy.

He had feelings for him as a younger brother.

He had respect for his talent.

They were very, very close.

Actually, the sun Rose and set on Randy,

as far as Kevin was concerned.

When I first heard the guy play,

I knew how good he was that moment.

It was like, whoa, where did this guy come from?

It was like a secret, like a treasure.

He wasn't really classically trained.

He was a regular rock guitar player,

started out playing blues,

listened to things like Johnny winter, Leslie west,

Alice Cooper, and then, as time went along,

he started listening to more classical music

and started taking a few classes or lessons,

but to say he was classically trained,

which means somebody who started off playing classic guitar,

and Randy, nah, he was a rock guitar player.

When I saw him play,

I just couldn't believe it either.

He was like, here's this little skinny kid,

and he was fucking great.

Ron sobol was a friend of Kevin dubrow's,

and they both shared an interest in photography.

We both were photographers, or I was just starting to be,

as far as taking rock pictures.

He says, "well, bring your pictures over.

I'll show you mine."

And, from then on, we became best friends.

Ron went on to become the band photographer

for quiet riot,

capturing many pictures from their early days,

and he too was blown away

by Randy's abilities on the guitar.

He could play fast.

He could play slow.

Or he could play crunchy.

He could play bluesy.

And all of it with so much feeling. It was just amazing.

You know, I just loved it,

and he looked good.

You could just tell this guy was gonna become a rock star.

Randy kinda had an aura about him back then even.

We'd go up and we played stough park just on a whim,

like on a Friday, and 3,000 people would show up.

It was always kinda like that.

The group decided they needed a manager,

and, through a friend, Kevin found Dennis wageman.

Wageman converted his garage into a rehearsal space,

and now the band had a place to jam whenever they wanted.

And, of course, we weren't quiet riot then, either.

Throwing out all sorts of ridiculous names at that time.

Okay, I gotta know, what was the name?

The previous name?

- Come on, you gotta! - — You got any bleach?

Toss in the dung heap.

It was... It was little women.

Really? Are you kidding?

- Seriously. - — Oh, no.

No wonder you changed it.

Lasted for about a week.

There was a friend of mine.

There was this group called status quo, English band.

It was Richie parfitt, a really good guitar player,

and I told him the name of the band

of what we used to be called, and he said, "ughhh."

And he said, "if I had a band, I'd call 'em quite right."

"Quite right", and I said, "hey, this is quiet riot!"

He says, "say it in English!" He goes, "quiet riot!"

And so I took it to the guys in rehearsal that night,

and they said, "eh, it's cool."

Funny how those things happen in life

'cause there was no, "okay. You know, we're a band now."

That didn't happen.

I remember playing San souci restaurant.

We got there, and it was this, like, Chinese restaurant,

and, you know, there are patrons eating,

and, you know, Randy turns on his guitar,

and it was like, "you can't play here."

J get your kicks, come on everybody, get your kicks j

one of the first places I remember us playing,

it was a place in Van nuys on oxnard

called the rock corporation, and it was like a bikers' bar,

and the patrons there were like bikers,

and it went bad sometimes.

There was one time where we were playing,

as always, too loud.

Randy was always louder than god,

and it was too loud for the club,

and so the management turned off the pa,

and so Kevin plugged his microphone into Randy's amp

and called him an asshole or something like that,

and one of his biker buddies ran from the back of the bar

with a pitcher in his hand and...

Just by real quick thinking on behalf

of one of our roadies, Harold,

Harold jumped in front of Kevin,

and the guy beaned Harold right on the head with it.

Probably woulda killed Kevin with it.

I mean, didn't phase Harold.

He was a big, heavy guy with a very, very thick cranium.

They played a place called la Canada country club,

and I did take pictures of the band

playing in front of an audience.

J ooh, here I come j

J you got it, rock rock rockin', woo! J

j rock rock rockin', woo! J

j everybody get your kicks j

Dennis gave us some money to do a demo at sound city.

It was really kind of a beat—up place.

Had kind of a history to it,

but it was kinda, you know, one of those lower—end studios.

J you know he's fit to be tied j

Randy was obsessed with finding the right tone

and the right guitar.

'Cause you're really playing hard,

and I need, I think if you felt that way, it'd come across.

Yeah, if I had the right tone.

- You'll get it. - — I got it.

Ronnie! Ronnie, can you movie the—— Randy, look, say hi.

Hi, Ron! Well, we had a bad movie here,

but, ah, it's all together now.

We'll be just finishing up here,

and then we'll have some pictures after.

Say hi, Dennis! Hi, Dennis! Say hi!

For an early birthday present,

Dennis bought Randy a les Paul.

Even though it was a gift,

Randy insisted on paying him back.

Best thing he ever did, he gave Randy that Gibson.

J well, I ain't got no inhibitions j

j and my daddy gets left, all right j

j the time for him to make the decision j

j if this is still that place, I'm gonna spend the night j

j he says get out, j

j you're no son of mine j

j what a problem, you know he's fit to be tied j

The demo didn't get them booked anywhere,

so the band decided they were gonna put on their own show

on Halloween.

They booked a gig at the machinists hall in Burbank.

I remember playing one of those kinda dances

also not going well.

It happened a lot in the early days, it seemed like.

The police had to come and break up fights.

Kids were trying to get in free,

so it was quite a ruckus.

It was around this time

Randy got the nickname snoopy.

If you looked at his profile,

the way his nose was and his mouth,

and if he kinda went like that,

it's just kind of a snoopy look.

And he liked that nickname. I mean, he embraced it.

I remember playing the chili festival.

From Van nuys, the group is called the quiet riot.

It was actually quite a large crowd.

There was like 25,000 people there.

The band got its first taste

of playing in front of a huge crowd.

In November of 1975,

quiet riot played a show on club day at valley college,

and while the student body got into

Randy's face—melting leads,

not everyone was pleased.

They were really loud,

and the guy in charge of booking them for club day

took a lotta heat

from the faculty and the administration.

J when you hold me, a feelin' inside j

j you're givin' and I'm takin' j

j I know just how you want it j

j here goes, just how you need it j

j I know just how to give it j

j I know, I know, I know, I know, I know j

The band was on a roll, gigging all over town,

but one thing was missing:

Playing the Hollywood club scene.

But, as fate would have it,

they got a new year's Eve gig at a club called the speakeasy

after a last—minute cancellation by the runaways.

There are a few specific gigs I can remember

that were really integral into getting us somewhere.

That show was huge for us.

Once we started to get some notoriety,

that was probably the most fun time.

At first, we were best buddies.

We did everything together, socializing, partying.

You know, we were together a lot.

We were together two, three, four days a week all the time,

so, yeah, it was easy at first, and everybody was happy.

The starwood, quiet riot played frequently.

Every six weeks, they'd play Thursday, Friday,

and Saturday nights, and they'd do two sets,

and they packed the house,

so it was an amazing place to go see them.

J like a rock—mobile j

j our pistons are a—poppin' right under your wheels j

j we're the ravers, oh yeah j

the first time I saw quiet riot, I was 15 years old,

and I had never been to a rock club before,

so quiet riot came out, it was this huge sound,

and the sound was coming straight from the guitar player.

I think my ears rang for two days after I went there.

So, back at high school,

I was telling all the kids about quiet riot and Randy.

Anybody that would get in the car with me,

I'd take 'em down there to the starwood.

We'd line up in front of both the gates.

Any door that opened first, we'd fly in there,

because I had to have my position in front of Randy,

in front of the stage. That was where I stood always.

J come on down j

j the ravers, we're here to stay j

I had just arrived

in Los Angeles in the late '70s,

and I went to see whoever was playing at the starwood,

and it just happened to be quiet riot.

I was just exploring, and they were different

from anybody else I had seen in a club

because they were already projecting an arena band image.

Everything that they were doing was bigger than life.

Even though they had minimal production,

still, they had big production values.

When I saw the band performing that night,

I actually got to speak with Kevin after the show,

and I gave him kudos on how great

their vision and the band was and I told him,

"hey, you know, you guys are gonna be really big."

We played places like the starwood

and whisky all the time,

and if you played those kinda places,

you were on their, like, good list.

You could go there any night of the week,

like the starwood, for instance,

and they would let you in free. You could go see any show.

They had a area upstairs that was just for vip,

a vip lounge, and they'd give you free drinks,

and it was just like being a huge celebrity.

I mean, we're like 20 years old, so it was fun.

It was a grand old time.

The starwood was a great place and quiet riot

had such a solid following,

but the kind of guys that Randy and Kevin

and Kelly and drew were,

I mean, these guys wanted to be rock stars,

but they were also really nice guys.

That came off to the people that followed them.

It was one big family reunion every time they played.

A iotta high energy and a lotta fun,

people having a great time.

The band everybody was talking about was quiet riot,

and the main reason everybody was talking about it

was because of Randy, I mean, Randy was—— was—...

You'd be hard—pressed to find—— As a matter of fact,

you couldn't find anyone that hadn't heard Randy

that just spoke volumes

of his talent, it was just ridiculous.

The minute he walked onto that stage,

it was the most fantastic vision you can imagine

because he looked like a rock star,

and the band hadn't been discovered.

I mean the band, they were still sluggin' down in the clubs.

He played every single note every single night

like they were headlining

the biggest festival on the planet.

Despite their p0pularity

in the Hollywood club scene,

the band still couldn't land a record deal.

Frustrated with manager Dennis wageman,

they fired him and looked for a new manager.

For a while, Kevin shoved me out front and said,

"we don't have a manager so you act like our manager

'cause big bands have a manager."

You know? And I played that role for a little while,

but, at the time, I was taking bass lessons

from a guy named Adrian ball,

and he introduced me to his cousin named Susan,

and Susan had gotten a job working for Warren entner,

and I told her about quiet riot, so I said,

"why don't you have Warren and David go see these guys?

I think it might be a band that they can sign."

And she did.

Susan and Warren went and saw them at the starwood,

and that started their relationship.

When they first signed that contract,

the feeling with the band and with friends was that,

okay, this is it, this is the start.

Warren entner was working with angel.

Angel was on Casablanca with kiss.

Quiet riot was waiting in the wings

to be the next big thing

and everything was just gonna go great.

He was a really personable guy

and he was in grass roots,

so he had some background in music,

and they had a pretty good management company going

at the time.

They had some pull, I gotta say.

Toby, they were a legitimate management company,

so when we did showcases, it wasn't like a cattle call.

There were specific showcases for specific labels.

That was really efficient. That was the way to do it,

and so when Neil bogart came, you know,

he came by himself and we played just to Neil.

Neil bogart was the head of Casablanca records at the time.

It was really tense. We played like maybe three songs.

He walked out, that was it.

Next day, you know, Warren calls us,

says, "yeah, he's gonna sign you."

Didn't happen, so then we had to go back

and start doing the showcases again.

So we did one in buddah. One guy came.

He said, "yeah, I get it. I'll sign these guys."

The album that you have out now,

a lot of people have had trouble finding it

because it is on CBS Japan.

How did it happen that an album like this

gets released on a Japanese label?

Did you record it in Japan?

Yeah.

We were doing the album for buddah.

They went bankrupt,

and so Toby paid for it themselves.

Derek Lawrence produced that album,

but he had no interest in the band.

He just cared about the money.

I'd do a drum track that was a really bad drum track,

and instead of saying, "let's do it again,"

he'd say, "oh, yeah, we'll fix it in mix."

And, you know, now I look back.

I don't wanna hear that stuff anymore.

It was just miserable for me.

Quiet riot one did not showcase anybody in that band well,

which is a real shame.

The band generated a lotta interest in Japan

by virtue of its look.

The Japanese bought that album before they heard it.

They bought it on the strength of a picture,

which gives you some idea of the strength of a picture.

Kevin and I were very, very close,

and I think we had a really good relationship too,

except that things with the band

and him getting older and a lot of attention,

he didn't know how to have that and a girlfriend,

so that's pretty much what ended our relationship.

Kevin wasn't the type to stay faithful to a girl,

so it's kinda cool that he stayed friends with Jodi,

and then Jodi and Randy started to have an attraction.

Randy came to me and said, you know,

"I'd really like to spend some time alone with Jodi."

He was so confident in so many things

but he was like a little kid with this.

He just really wanted to be alone.

Randy called and he asked if he could come out

and get his hair cut.

Something just really felt different,

and we just clicked

and we talked for hours and hours,

and at the end of the evening,

he asked me if I wanted to go to Disneyland,

and I said, "sure," and that was our first date.

From that Saturday on, we never parted.

There was a lotta tension with Kevin,

although he would never admit that,

but I do think his ego was hurt.

My dear friend, Lori hollen,

and my girlfriend, Carolyn Freeman,

they both came home as if they had seen

the second coming of Christ

after having an amazing time watching some band

called quiet riot,

and they go, "Brian, you have to see this band!

This band is called quiet riot,

and they have this guitar player named Randy rhoads,

and he's like nothing you've ever seen before!"

When I saw quiet riot,

the songs, the music was fantastic.

They just got that whole club shakin'

like I'd never seen anybody be able to do before,

and I completely understood

what Carolyn and Lori were on about that night,

and I then at that moment was hooked on quiet riot

and wanting to see Randy rhoads play again

because, for me, it was all about Randy.

I tell Lori, I said, you know, "talk to Kevin.

I will work for free and I will be a band roadie

for these guys 'cause they're amazing."

Next thing you know, I was doing gigs with quiet riot

and tuning his guitars and changing his strings.

All right!

"Laughing gas" would probably be the song

that I enjoyed playing

because it had more of an edge to it.

It was much more metal,

and, you know, of course it had Randy's solo in it as well.

I think every guitar player that was worth his salt

had his solo time, and Randy's personality came through.

Randy was mischievous, you know. He was fun.

That came through in his solo, you know,

and I think the people loved him for that.

Every night, Kevin would basically introduce Randy rhoads

going into this guitar solo.

J I've heard some guitar players, well, well j

j but I ain't heard not too many j

j like the incredible Randy rhoads j

j and he's gonna play you a little song j

j it's called "laughing gas" j

most guitar solos or drum solos are pretty fuckin' boring,

to be honest, you know.

If you go see somebody play a drum solo for 10 minutes,

after, you know, three minutes, you're pretty much done.

Randy did this guitar solo that was mesmerizing.

He would crank up the volume

and kick on his distortion peddle.

And he would play frets up on the neck.

Bend the neck,

and you'd get the sound of bending the neck on the guitar.

And I'd be back there behind his amp,

and he had an echoplex, an old echoplex,

with a, you know, a tape in it,

and it had settings from zero to like 36 or 24 on it,

and during each part of the guitar solo,

I was back there and he would give me, you know,

my little numbers, you know.

"During this, it'd be a 12, and during this part,

during d it would be a 36, and at this one, 24."

And I would be back there changing the echoplex

during his guitar solo.

The use of volume,

he would roll his hands on his volume knobs.

And then he would go into this beautiful classical portion.

You could hear a pin drop in the starwood

when he was playing this.

All eyes and ears were glued to Randy

during that guitar solo,

especially during the quiet moments.

Everybody was riveted to Randy and his guitar,

and he made it sing like I'd never seen anybody

make it sing before.

J burn the fire like a flame j

I could just sit there and watch him

from my vantage point on the stage. Look to my left

and there's Randy rhoads. Even before he was a huge star,

I viewed him as a huge star.

I said, "I'm playing with one of the best guitar players

there is whether anyone knows it or not

is irrelevant to me."

On lead guitar, this is Randy rhoads!

Randy knew how good he was,

but that didn't matter that much to him.

He wanted to be the absolute best guitar player

that he could ever be,

he wanted to be the greatest guitar player in the world,

but he didn't think that made him a better person

or he wasn't arrogant about it at all,

and I know that he disliked arrogance

from other guitar players.

This was the years of guitar heroes,

and I think, to a large degree,

bands were judged on their guitar player,

and I think all the guitar players in town

kept up on each other.

I know that, at some of the shows,

we would see David Lee roth and Eddie Van halen there,

which was always interesting to me

because I know Randy never went to see them play,

but they would always come to see

quiet riot and Randy play.

There was a little cross—town rivalry there

between quiet riot and Van halen,

so Van halen, you know, they were playing the whisky

and gazzarri's and all those same places, you know,

and everybody's comparing Eddie Van halen to Randy rhoads.

Did you know Randy rhoads?

Yeah.

What'd you think of that kid?

He was one guitarist who was honest, anyway.

'Cause I read some interviews that he did,

and he said that everything he did he learned from me.

- Uh—huh. - — You know?

And he was good, but I don't really think he did anything

that I haven't done.

Sure, there ain't nothin' wrong with it, man.

I've copied some other people's licks, you know?

I would take a picture of Eddie Van halen,

and just to kind of piss off Randy,

and I would put it on his wah—wah peddle,

which, you know,

he wasn't very excited about, but it was in the perfect place

because every time he stomped on his wah—wah peddle,

he stomped on it as if he wanted to crush it.

Between gigs, Randy gave guitar lessons at musonia.

At one point, he had upwards of 50 students.

Some of those licks the students wanted to learn

were from his cross—town rival, Eddie Van halen.

But talking about Randy being a teacher,

and, you know, if you look at any of his live photos,

it always looks like he's giving a lesson

to everybody in the arena.

He was never one of those guitar players

that would hide what he was playing.

He always was very articulate, very clear,

in his presentation to the audience.

I had started to listen to Van halen,

and so I said, "well, I really kinda like this,"

and I would bring a cassette and I'd play it for him.

I didn't realize at the time

that there was this relationship between the two of them.

Had I of known about that, I probably wouldn't have asked.

But Randy graciously offered to learn the song,

and, you know, I'm sure it killed him

to have to take that cassette home

and learn how to play the songs of his Nemesis.

Honestly, I never felt any rivalry with Van halen,

but then again, from my perspective,

I think it was more because it was the guitar hero thing

and since, you know, I'm a drummer,

you know, maybe it just didn't occur to me,

but we did play with 'em that one time at glendale college.

There was a concert that almost didn't happen

because quiet riot and Van halen couldn't decide

who was gonna be the headliner

and who was gonna be the warm—up act.

I mean, it literally came down to a short time

before the concert ever happened,

and then Van halen signed a record contract,

and then it was like, "okay, you're the headliner."

It was a big show, over a thousand. Lotta people there.

That was a big venue for us back then.

Randy had the flu that night,

and I know he really wanted to be at his best that night

because he felt, I think, a bit of a rivalry

because people likened him to Eddie,

so I think he wanted to,

you know, to show that he was as good,

but I don't think his ego was involved,

and what I remember was he stepped off the back

of the stage and fell down and hurt himself,

just 'cause his head wasn't in it, you know?

He was really feeling lousy.

And, you know, Randy was a real card.

He would always do something to get you in trouble

almost every time you interacted with him,

so he was like, "oh! There's these dresses.

Oh, let's put 'em on!"

When I look at Ron's pictures now,

it's hard for me to believe it's the same person we lost.

Here's our manager, Warren entner.

He got us all together just like this.

He showed us just how to dress.

On the surface, it looked like the band was having

a good time, but underneath frustrations were boiling over,

especially when Van halen got signed to a record deal

and quiet riot didn't.

Kevin, he was a real strong personality,

and he and Kelly never really got along from the get—go.

Part of that was due to Kelly's, you know, problems.

He was suffering from a real bad alcohol addiction problem,

and it was getting the better of him and it came to a head.

J you give advice for free j

to me, it's the most tragic night of Kelly garni's life.

If there's one night in Kelly garni's life

that he could have back, I'm sure that's it.

J bottoms up j

there had always been a tension in the band

between Kevin and Kelly but it never became a crisis

because Kelly always carried his end of playing onstage.

J say what you wanna say j

Kevin would've replaced him, you know, if he could've,

but, you know, he wasn't gonna fight Randy over it.

J face is red because you're happy j

Kelly just wanted to be in a bar band,

you know. He was just havin' a good time,

and he wanted to keep having a good time.

J bottoms up j

I'm not sure that Kelly thought he was good enough

to be in the band.

Kevin was always telling him he wasn't,

so there was a whole lotta frustration going on,

and Kelly was drinking more and more and more.

J say what you wanna say j

I mean, we all were.

The difference was, Randy and I could go out

and get hammered one night,

but Randy always practiced his parts,

always made it to the rehearsal studio on time.

He always did what he needed to do.

Kelly, on the other hand, didn't.

They'd been listening to tapes of the recording,

and Kevin was very critical of Kelly's playing,

was critical especially of some of the background vocals,

and basically had told Randy

that Kelly wasn't taking it seriously enough,

and, for the first time, Randy was kind of,

"you know, you might be right."

But I think Randy really believed that he could go there

and talk to Kelly and Kelly would change.

One night, Randy wanted to confront him,

so he went over and took Kim with him to confront Kelly

about all the problems they were having

and tell him if he didn't shape up, you know,

they were gonna have to get somebody else to replace him.

Randy and I went over there, and by the time we got there,

Kelly was already pretty hammered,

and Randy was not comfortable wanting to confront Kelly

about what was gonna happen,

so there was some real tension in the room right away.

As the evening progressed,

it became more and more confrontational.

Randy was pushing Kelly.

"You need to not drink. You need to learn your parts.

You need to do what's necessary. You need to cooperate.

You need to work hard."

It just got more and more aggressive,

and finally Kelly just said,

"I wanna show you how much I don't care."

And he pulled a gun out from the sofa,

and Randy's like, "what the hell are you doing?"

He aimed the gun and started firing it off.

J say what you wanna say j

that really pissed Randy off,

and Randy just took a run at Kelly at that point

and just basically tackled him and it was just total chaos.

You know, in retrospect, it was a very tragic night,

and I know both of them felt equally bad about it later.

I think Randy walked in there with dreams

that his boyhood band could make it as is,

and he walked out going, "okay, it's time to move forward.

Now I have to make decisions for me.

I have to do the right thing for my band."

It was a line that was drawn, okay,

where Randy moved from being in a garage band

to being in a professional band.

With Kelly outta the band,

they needed to find a new bass player.

One of their first auditions was with Nikki sixx.

And Nikki,

at the time, quite some time ago,

he couldn't even tune the bass.

Randy had to show him how to tune the bass,

and he was trying to show him songs,

but, you know, Nikki had no formal training,

so he didn't know, you know, Randy would say,

"this is in c" or "this is in e" or whatever.

Nikki didn't know what that meant.

Oh, you're kidding.

Was Nikki any good at that time or?

Oh, really.

So we realized this isn't gonna work because, you know,

Randy was a real virtuoso, and he just couldn't be

playing with some guy who didn't even know

you know, what key things were in,

so we auditioned a few guys, one of which was Ronnie barron,

and the look didn't quite work.

It's hard to find somebody who weighs less than 100 pounds

to stand next to Randy onstage.

Rudy had the look. He was a solid player,

and he matched real well on the pictures.

How did you find Rudy?

Unfortunately, quiet riot never operated

like a band should.

It was one of the problems I had with it from day one,

and part of it was because Randy and Kelly

were so close together.

They grew up playing together all the time.

Randy taught Kelly how to play bass,

you know, bands, the way they're supposed to work,

the drummer creates the time,

and then everybody plays with that time.

But it didn't work that way ever in quiet riot.

Kelly played with Randy. Randy played with Kelly,

and I was just back there. Nobody ever listened to me.

Drew Forsyth on drums!

So, Rudy brought a different thing to the band.

Immediately was better.

He was a better musician than Kelly by far.

The band became more professional.

Doo—doo—den, doo—doo—den, dun—dun—den,

dun—don da—da—den—den—den.

Actually, "killer girl",

it's the song that I had to learn for my audition,

and I took it for granted that,

since the riff sounded like a typical e,

in the key of e, riff, that that's how the song went.

'Cause it's doo—doo—den, doo—doo—den, right? Open string.

But no, it happened to be an f song.

J the chicks in town been runnin' around j

when I went in to audition, started playing the song,

of course it was total cacophony

'cause I was playing it in the wrong key, and, anyways,

I just had to transpose everything really quickly,

but it felt really comfortable, really good,

to be playing with really polished musicians.

J killer girls waitin' in line for me j

"killer girls". Very, very unique song.

And it's a very well—crafted song.

It has a lot of not only key changes but tempo changes.

You know, very, very sophisticated, you know,

for a bunch of kids from the valley.

But, you know, quiet riot liked to do things

a little bit outside of the box.

We were not really a cover band and that was very refreshing

because that's exactly what I was looking for,

an original band.

We interrupt this music to bring you

a special bulletin.

We've just received information about the riot

that has broken out downtown.

The house lights would go out in the starwood,

and there were police lights.

We had these red police lights.

A young singer, Kevin dubrow.

The sirens would go.

A new person, bassist Rudy sarzo.

The place would be going nuts.

Guitarist Randy rhoads.

You know, kinda creating some kind of a riot or a chaos

right before the band started to play.

Bassist Rudy sarzo,

one man whose vibes would be the cause of disturbance,

guitarist Randy rhoads.

Collectively, they are known as quiet riot.

The mobs are gonna be seen.

There's nothing like a little sweat before you go on!

This is the part that quiet riot gets to be nervous.

You know, on the sound effect intro,

the mentioning our names before we go out,

cameras, lights, action.

Woo! — go on!

- Get 'em, Kevin! - — Ha!

- Happy birthday! - — thank you!

You know, we were doing great,

but we weren't doing well as a business.

The Toby organization sent out demos all the time,

and they had a relationship with Atlantic,

and the guy at Atlantic, you know,

every couple of weeks they'd send him something,

and we would get a letter back each time,

and, you know, which they'd say "pass",

"we're gonna pass on these guys,"

but after like the 10th time, he got a letter.

They sent a letter back that said,

"pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass.

In case you don't understand what this means, pass!"

So, Atlantic was outta the question for us.

That was never gonna happen.

We believed we had a great band

that was gonna go out there and really do something,

and then suddenly it was stuck,

you know, and it went from the greatest of optimism to,

"what's happening next? Where are we gonna go?

What's gonna happen to the band?"

In 1979, Warren entner was out as their manager

and was replaced by David forest.

The pressure was building as to whether quiet riot

could finally get a record deal.

I also happen to manage this band, quiet riot,

which happens to be kind of a weird phenomenon

'cause they don't have a record deal,

and yet they're drawing huge crowds.

They don't have a record deal yet.

If they don't in the next six months,

I doubt that they'll stick together.

Punk and new wave exploded on the music scene,

and bands like x and the go—go's were getting more popular.

Those bands were now being signed,

and we still weren't getting any toehold

with the record labels.

The record company were very short—sighted.

They were just focusing on whatever happened

to be selling records at that time in that certain spot,

which happened to be new wave music.

After the knack became very big,

they really shut the door on any

of the other rock bands up and coming,

and we were going into a record company and saying,

"listen, we got this demo here,"

and the guy would say, pull out billboard magazine and say,

"okay, if you guys come up with a song

like 'do you think I'm sexy' by rod Stewart,

I will have to check it out."

So, yeah, we would go out, rehearse, record some songs,

go to a record plant, you know, spend money and time,

go back to that guy and, by then,

'you think I'm sexy' is off the charts.

It was like, "nah, that song is dated.

Come up with this other song."

You know, it was like we were basically chasing our tails.

You're not working for the record company.

The record company's working for you.

They contract you to make a record for them.

You basically sort of employ them to release the record,

but when they're holding the money,

what are you supposed to do?

You can't go down there with a gun,

although god knows we've all wanted to.

For the most of this last week,

we have been recording some stuff here

in our never—ending attempt to make

these American record labels give us a deal.

And when I say never—ending, you can count on the fact

that I mean never—ending, all right?

All right!

J one in a million, baby j

j you're a lucky charm j

there was some push for us, especially from management,

to do some things.

Like, "one in a million" is a perfect example.

It's a disco song.

Why are we doing this? I don't know.

Gonna try anything to get us signed,

so we were trying a lotta things that,

in retrospect, weren't a great idea.

You have to do what you do best

and not worry about anything else.

That's what you need to do, and we never did that.

There were too many times where we made exceptions.

"One in a million" is a perfect example of that.

We coulda given them "sgt. Pepper"

and it didn't matter.

We were not a new wave band,

so, out of desperation, I say,

"hey, how about if we take our fan club

and have them picket at every single record company?"

I just said that, probably the most ridiculous thing

I could come up with, you know, just as a joke,

and Kevin said, "wait a minute!

This sounds like a great idea!"

And I went, "whoops!"

Fan club president Lori hollen wasted no time

getting the word out.

She was able to recruit fans all the time,

so our fan club just kept growing and growing and growing,

and in the days, you know, before Facebook or MySpace

or anything like that, she did an incredible job.

Everybody went to Ron and Kevin's house,

and we printed t—shirts.

They were hanging on the beds and the dressers

and all over the place.

We screened all these t—shirts that said "quiet riot"

so that all the fans could have a t—shirt on

while we picketed the record companies.

We made big signs and banners

and got all the kids organized

at this park in Burbank.

And they went from record company to record company

to record company trying to get that band signed.

The idea was to make as much noise as we could.

So we went to all the major record companies,

Warner brothers.

Carrying on to capitol records.

A&m. — Elektra.

CBS and century city.

Kevin had laid out the whole route, and we've got signs

saying "sign quiet riot! Sign quiet riot!"

Kevin's ultimate idea was to try to get

news coverage for this, so he had a little schedule.

Unfortunately, on the first stop

in Burbank at Warner brothers,

we didn't have a permit to demonstrate.

We were chased out of there,

so the schedule was pushed about half an hour ahead,

so every time news media was alerted

that the demonstration was gonna happen,

they missed it by half an hour,

but eventually on the very last stop at CBS records,

they actually got to catch the demonstration

and actually appear in the news.

We did get the news people and we did get

on several of the news stations,

but if we'd had a publicity agent

who could've really got the people there,

that might've helped us.

Did we get a record deal? No.

But we got a hell of a story out of it.

With no deal on the table,

the future was uncertain for quiet riot,

but for Randy rhoads,

things were about to take an unexpected turn.

Across town, singer ozzy Osbourne was holed up in a hotel

after being fired as the front man of black sabbath.

The band had enough of his out—of—control behavior

and sent him packing.

Down but not out, ozzy still wanted to make music,

and he came to Los Angeles to find a lead guitarist.

After leaving black sabbath,

I've never, ever auditioned anyone in my life

'cause sabbath just formed, we were mates,

so I didn't even know how to go about auditioning.

Randy was familiar with black sabbath,

but it wasn't his cup of tea.

And he used to tell me, he used to go,

"I don't like black sabbath very much.

I know you do so we're not gonna get into it," but he goes,

"who the fuck would write his name on his hand?"

He goes, "I don't understand that."

Didn't care for sabbath.

Thought it was too dark and too sluggish.

Dana strum.

That bass player was Dana strum,

and he had only one person in mind for that audition.

I was calling Randy rhoads at his mother's music studio

in Burbank, musonia.

And he said, you know, "I'm here with a guy

that wants to audition you.

He wants you to be in his band. This could be really big."

Just come down but bring the shit

that you used at the starwood.

If he doesn't get what I get when I see what I see

from that balcony looking down, then I really thought,

"I'm as wrong as could be and I'm fucked and whatever,

but I have a feeling there's no one

that isn't gonna get what I get

if you're put in the right circumstance."

And Randy said, "well, I teach here 'til 9:30,

10 o'clock at night, I'm tired, I don't know,"

and then Dana said, "look, all right, trust me.

Something tells me you need to do this."

Meeting ozzy was a freaky experience,

and I went to the hotel and, as I opened the door,

I made my way through 50 Heineken bottles.

"I've got a list." He had a list of guitar players.

I'm like, "can I see the list?"

"Yeah."

He had no way to get there, no plan, just hands me a list.

"We're gonna go see these people?"

I said, "well, I know a few of these people. Nope."

I said, "but I have the guy."

And I met this bloke.

This guy introduced me to Randy rhoads.

He said, "this guy, you gotta hear this guy play.

This guy's amazing."

Pulls out this little combo amp.

"Wait 'til you hear this." He goes, "it's huge."

I said, "let's hear Jesus now. Let's hear the man now.

Let's hear the Messiah."

And he starts tuning up and doing arpeggios.

I'm like, "go, kid. This is it."

And I remember ozzy went from the hair down to

almost stammering.

And I says, "just play something,"

and I thought I was dreaming when I heard this guy play.

The guy was a little guy with such a big, big sound.

And it just happened like that,

and I flew back to england and I said to Sharon's father,

who was still involved with us then,

"you gotta hear his playing!"

And he says, "no, no, we'll find one here."

Meanwhile, Sharon came from america,

and I said to Sharon, "please get me this guy,"

and Sharon went back and got Randy.

I had an 18th birthday party,

and quiet riot came to my party,

and Randy and I were strolling in behind everybody,

and he goes, "hey, Lori, come here.

I gotta tell you something."

I said, "what?"

He said, "do you know who ozzy Osbourne is?"

And I said, "is he that guy in black sabbath?"

And he goes, "yeah."

He said, "I auditioned for him today."

I said, "you what?"

"All I did was plug in my guitar,

and all I did was go do—da—loo—da—loo—da—loo,

and he goes, 'you're the guy!'"

and I said, "well, what does that mean?"

And he goes, "well, I'd have to leave quiet riot

and go on tour with him, what do you think?"

I said, "well, Randy, I think you should go

and make a name for yourself,

and you can always come back and get quiet riot."

He gave it some great thought and decided to go with them,

but I know he was in horrible turmoil inside.

He really felt that he was betraying the band,

especially Kevin.

He was scared to death of having to walk up to Kevin

and say, "I'm leaving the band."

You know? He knew it was gonna hurt Kevin really bad.

And I think that was probably the hardest part of it,

but I don't think there's any doubt

that it was the right thing to do.

I'm sure Kevin was obligated to try to save it.

I mean, who wouldn't?

When you're in a band, you kinda feel like

you're all part of this machine,

and so it felt like a betrayal of a sort.

I don't remember exactly how I found out

that he was gonna play with ozzy.

What I do know is that he didn't call me himself.

That was the thing that I was most disappointed in,

was that he didn't make the effort to call me,

after, you know, spending all these years with him,

that he wouldn't pick up the phone and say,

"hey, you know, this is what I'm gonna do,"

so I was disappointed in that and his lack of character,

but I certainly understood why.

Part of the reason he moved on

was because of his writing relationship with Kevin.

It was, you know, toxic to him.

He could not write

what he wanted to write with Kevin.

The last gig of quiet riot at the starwood,

everybody... Was walking on eggshells

that night because nobody really knew what was happening,

but they kind of knew, and it was a very odd night.

And at that time, I knew that that was the end of an era

for that band and that time.

The night before Randy left to go to england to join ozzy,

we all were at Randy's house reminiscing about old times

and what it would be like for him to go.

That night, I remember that we just had fun, you know?

We had fun like we used to have fun.

There are certain nights that are snapshots for me of Randy.

I'm sure that's a night that Randy probably put

in his pocket, and whenever he felt homesick,

he could think of a night like that.

I think it was in September 1979,

I'm sitting in my apartment in west Hollywood

getting ready to go to a rehearsal,

and I get a call from Randy out of nowhere,

and the phone rings and he goes, "Frankie?"

And I go, "Randy?" And he goes, "yeah."

And he was, like, very direct, right to the point.

He goes, "you wanna go play with ozzy?"

And I said, "ozzy?"

He goes, "yeah, the black sabbath guy,"

and we drove to a rehearsal studio that I knew.

It was Mars rehearsal studio,

and I walked in and set up my 1969 green sparkle Ludwig kit

with a 38—inch gong and everything,

and then I finally met Mr. Ozzy Osbourne himself.

Right away, we started playing.

So the first song we started working on

was the beginnings of what became "over the mountain."

Randy was pretty much running the rehearsal

in that ozzy sat there for the most part

and just looked and nodded in approval,

and everything seemed like it was gonna be a go,

but, as luck would have it,

I am told that jet records had decided

that they were gonna record in the UK rather than the us.

They were only gonna bring one person over,

and the choice hands—down was clear.

It had to be Randy. It certainly wasn't gonna be me.

But I have wonderful recollections of that

because I actually got to be in the room with Randy

at the very, very beginning of what turned out to be

a wonderful musical experience for the world.

Then he came to england and he lived with me in my house.

We lived together for about a year

in my house writing songs.

It was Randy's riff for "crazy train"

that would not only jumpstart ozzy's solo career,

but it would put Randy on the map as a guitar legend.

"Crazy train" was the first single off the album

blizzard of 022, which was released in 1980.

I'll never forget a memory I have,

and I'm crossing the street in front of Warner brothers.

There's about four cars at the stop sign,

and I walked in front of them,

and every car was playing "crazy train".

He was in a big band,

and he was being played on the radio all the time.

The blizzard of 022 line up was now complete

and featured ozzy Osbourne on vocals,

Bob daisley on bass,

Lee kerslake on drums,

and Randy rhoads on guitar.

A huge commercial success, blizzard of 022 was certified

four times platinum in the us,

went on to sell over 7 million albums worldwide.

I truly, truly believe that Randy was the one element

that made it possible for ozzy to reach greater heights

than he even had with black sabbath

which is unheard of.

Randy's influence on a generation of guitarists

was felt immediately.

If it wasn't for him,

I wouldn't be playing the way I do.

On top of the great songs or the great riffs,

I mean, any Randy song, you could take a riff,

and you play it and people know.

I remember, you know, being, a...

Gosh, I guess like a 12—year—old kid

and like walking up to my local mall

and going to the musicland

and buying the blizzard of 022 cassette

and gettin' home and poppin' it in

and hearin' "I don't know", and it just like blew me away,

and I was like, "this is like the coolest guitar

I've ever heard in my life,"

and it was really like rock and roll perfection.

The playing was just meticulous and unique.

I knew they were double

you know, and tripling his solos,

which I know how hard that is.

These riffs and these songs were really special

and gave such an amazing, you know, template

for Randy to shine.

Right away, I thought, "wow, ozzy's really done something"

'cause, you know, I'd been a fan of black sabbath,

and I liked ozzy

and he left and I really loved when black sabbath got dio,

and that was cool but we kinda wondered,

"what's ozzy gonna do now?"

In September, 1980, the blizzard of 022 tour

kicked off in Europe with a north American leg

soon to follow.

Is this pretty close to the dream,

being with ozzy

and starting out with this magnificent stage?

But behind the scenes, tensions were rising.

During a management dispute, bassist Bob daisley

and drummer Lee kerslake were fired

before the north American tour started.

Back in la, quiet riot was struggling

without its lead guitarist.

There was a short period of time there,

a couple of months probably where we weren't certain

whether Randy was gonna stay with ozzy

and be a permanent thing

because he was kinda leading us on that he would come back,

so there was a time of just, you know, foundering,

and then after that we realized he wasn't coming back.

Certainly, the ozzy stuff shows more where he wanted to be.

After Randy left quiet riot to join ozzy,

he returned to la and we did a reunion show.

I had cut my hair and wanted to turn new wave,

just because, you know, I had to eat.

I met this kid called Eddie. He called me and said, "hey."

You know, "Randy's playing at the whisky.

He's gonna be playing with Kevin dubrow."

I do remember we came back down

to the second level of the whisky,

and we watched Randy come out and play.

He played a couple songs.

I can just remember today that his guitar sound

just stickin' to my face.

He came back to do that show,

and the whole time his demeanor is,

"oh yeah, we're gonna continue to do this,"

which I think he had no intention

of continuing to do that.

It was great to have Randy back playing with us,

but it was also very sad knowing

that it was gonna be very short—lived.

When Randy left, Kevin was a little bit deluded.

I think Kevin really thought in his gut that,

at some point, Randy was gonna come back

and play with him in quiet riot again.

I mean, I really think he believed that,

and I don't think there was a chance in hell

that was gonna happen.

Randy had moved on.

Classical guitar became Randy's focus.

He would spend hours practicing after shows.

He would always be doing his scales.

I could hear him in the next room.

Doo—da—loo—da—loo—da—doo, all day, every day.

Randy would say to me,

"I don't know if I'm doing the right thing here."

He was quite apprehensive about the whole thing

because he was studying classical guitar,

and actually I think he felt it was interrupting his studies

in a way. — right.

And I said, "no, this is great for you, man.

You gotta do this, you know?" And it's like, I think

I gave him the right advice.

On blizzard of 022, Randy wrote

an incredible classical piece dedicated to his mother, Dee.

It's a piece that's inspired musicians for decades

and one that is often covered in tribute to the man

that never stopped teaching.

One of the things that Randy would always do

was we had support bands, and they asked him,

"how do you get that kinda sound?"

He would teach the other bands,

and he would give them lessons always all the time.

He always had time for musicians, always.

You know, I think another thing that Randy did

was he made classical cool.

I'm the son of two classical musicians,

and, you know, I couldn't wait to get away

from learning cello and piano when I was a kid

and play rock guitar,

and, you know, all of a sudden when I heard Randy

and I was introduced to the concept

of classical music being quote—unquote "cool,"

it really made me reevaluate everything

that I had been through.

Really trying to figure out all of the parts

that were in "revelation ",

if you've never heard Randy's music

and this is one of the first songs that you hear,

you'll notice a heavy classical influence on that,

and he's playing acoustic guitar

and all the overdubbed parts are all these puzzle pieces

that make it challenging to figure out

what the voicing is for each thing,

so you can't necessarily figure out an easy accompaniment.

I got into other kinds of classical music

because of his playing.

Randy's virtuoso performance on blizzard of 022

and his eclectic style was making waves

in the music industry.

In 1981, he was presented with the best new talent award

from guitar player magazine.

It was a proud moment for the kid from Burbank

to finally land on the world stage.

Less than a year after recording blizzard of 022,

the group headed back to the studio to begin recording

their follow—up album diary of a madman,

but unlike blizzard of 022,

where the band took their time crafting songs,

diary of a madman was recorded in just over a month.

Despite feeling rushed in the studio,

Randy's neoclassical guitar work reached new heights.

The complex music showcased his ability to shred,

create great riffs, and weave in classical themes.

You know, one of those players

that I personally love listening to,

and I know a lotta people do, where they're just not trying.

They're serving the composition, for one, and secondly,

not trying to show off.

But he was really pickin' his spots,

and he was very economical in the way he played

and very smart and served the song.

In support of diary of a madman,

the group was gearing up for their second concert tour.

Bob daisley and Lee kerslake were replaced

with drummer Tommy aldridge and, on Randy's recommendation,

his former quiet riot bandmate, Rudy sarzo, on bass.

It was a tour highlighted by some moments

only ozzy was capable of.

It was during a show in des moines, Iowa

that a fan threw a dead bat onstage.

Thinking it was a toy,

ozzy picked it up and bit its head off.

Then in San Antonio, Texas,

after yet another night of drinking,

ozzy was arrested for relieving himself on the alamo.

I remember Randy was saying to me,

"ozzy, why do you drink so much?

Why do you take so much dope?

Why do you get stoned all the time?"

He never drank much. He never took drugs at all.

He never smoked a joint.

He smoked cigarettes, but that's about it.

He had the occasional drink,

but I was drunk and stoned all the time,

and he would say to me,

"you know, ozzy, you're gonna die soon."

For Randy, touring was exciting,

but he was in uncharted waters

as a guitar hero in a heavy metal band.

The tour was a huge success.

After weeks of playing to sold—out venues,

they played what would be Randy's last show

at the Knoxville civic coliseum on march 18th, 1982.

After the gig, they boarded their tour bus

and headed to Orlando, Florida to play rock super bowl xiv,

which featured foreigner, ufo, and Bryan Adams.

On the way to Orlando, bus driver Andy aycock

made a pit stop in leesburg, Florida

to fix a broken air conditioning unit on the bus.

They pulled into the estate of country singer Jerry Calhoun,

who was the owner of Florida coach.

Aycock lived on the property,

which housed an airstrip and several small aircraft.

Aycock, who knew how to fly, convinced keyboardist Don airey

and tour manager Jake Duncan to go for a flight.

He took the plane without permission

and headed on a joy ride.

After buzzing the bus several times,

they landed safely and now aycock wanted Randy

and makeup artist Rachel youngblood to go for a ride.

Youngblood had a heart condition and was hesitant to go.

Although Randy didn't like flying,

he agreed to it when aycock said he would do nothing risky

because of youngblood's condition.

Randy also wanted to take some aerial photos

to send to his mother.

During the flight, aycock didn't stick to his word.

Instead, he buzzed the tour bus several times,

flying at over 150 miles per hour,

and on his last attempt, everything went wrong.

The plane's left wing clipped the top of the bus,

sending the aircraft spiraling outta control.

The plane hit the top of a pine tree and burst into flames

after crashing into the garage of the mansion.

Everyone on board was killed instantly.

It's amazing in one second how your whole life

can turn around, you know.

You go to bed on a bus driving down a freeway,

and you wake up and you're in the middle of a field

and there's a house on fire,

and there's bits of airplane everywhere,

and people are like running around screaming.

It's horrendous!

According to police, the three were on

an early morning joyride after staying up over 24 hours.

While some members of the ozzy Osbourne band slept

in their tour bus parked next to the house,

the other three buzzed overhead,

circling the bus three times.

On the fourth time, they didn't make it.

Is this really happening?

You don't think it's happening.

You don't think it's not happening.

You can't understand what's happening.

You're just kind of like locked in a time lock,

and it's like horrible.

And you can't get out, every time you turn around,

there's something worse happening, you know,

and it's like being in a battlefield, you know.

And I'm pretty sure I heard about it,

I was listening to the radio and they said it,

and as soon as I heard it, I called Kevin

and he was crying.

He couldn't believe that that happened.

And, of course, everybody wanted to know what happened,

why, how. It's just a tragic thing that happened.

Kevin was destroyed when Randy died when he got the news.

I remember going to the funeral.

Kevin was one of the pallbearers.

It was just awful. He was just so upset and so depressed,

and it was a terrible, terrible thing.

My heart went out to his mother and his family

and to my own son, who was so deeply affected

by having lost this friendship.

You know, it was very hard for me personally

to carry on playing in ozzy's band after Randy's death.

Every time we went onstage, it was, you know.

The memories, you know.

It was the same stage, production, clothing.

Even the intro of the show was Randy playing

diary of a madman,

and,

I don't know, I had become very robotic onstage,

and the only way that I could really survive the show

was just to shut down and just, you know, play.

In 2004, Randy received another honor.

He was inducted into Hollywood's rockwalk of fame.

Fans and fellow musicians joined in

to celebrate his life and legacy.

Today, we're here to honor the memory

of an extraordinary musician.

He was a man that, during his brief 25 years on this planet,

touched millions of people just like you and me

with his talent and he left a musical legacy

that will never, ever be forgotten.

Randy was just 22 when he joined ozzy

for the blizzard of 022 album.

He wrote many of the songs on that record,

and after blizzard of 022, of course,

Randy went on to write music for the next album,

diary of a madman,

And it's his work on just these two albums

that have guaranteed Randy rhoads

a lasting place in rock history

and his induction today into the rockwalk.

Ozzy Osbourne, folks.

It seems such a long time ago

that I played with Randy rhoads,

and yet it seems so like yesterday I knew him,

but what all I can say about my memory of Randy rhoads

is that I will never forget as long as I live

that he was a small guy with such an enormous, giant talent,

and he's so certainly missed in my family,

and there's not a day goes by without us thinking of him.

He'll never die in my heart. He's there forever.

God bless Randy rhoads.

I feel that,

in my heart, definitely Randy and I were soulmates.

It's funny when you talk about that "it" factor

and the presence that Randy had.

He'd enter a room and people would just turn and look,

you know, and it was amazing,

but that wasn't what made him who he was.

I mean, part of who he was was the fact that,

it's like his talent, it's like you're aware of it,

but it's not the big deal?

He was my friend and,

at the time, we were just two guys

that were having a great time.

Randy had celebrity, is what he had.

There are certain people that just have that.

From the time I first met him,

you know, we would play a party

and thousands of people would show up.

You know, at the time, he was like, you know, 15.

It wasn't because he was such a great guitar player

at the time but he had celebrity, he drew people.

When somebody is a celebrity, when they have that essence,

that light, everybody gravitates to it.

They're like moths to the light, and that's what Randy was.

When you're watching the band on stage, you know,

all the audience gravitated to that side of the stage

because that's where the light was.

Randy was the light and everyone gravitated to the light.

And Randy's light continues to shine.

In 2021, he was recognized for his contribution

to the music world

and was inducted into the rock & roll hall of fame.

In a short time, Randy inspired millions across the globe.

It's a legacy that continues to this day.