Remembering Randy Rhoads

Randy Rhoads would’ve been 67 on December 6. Gone far too soon at the age of 25 in a tragic plane crash, Rhoads will be forever influential to hard rock and metal guitarists. His early work with Quiet Riot is often noted, but he'll forever be known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne. Rhoads played on Osbourne's first two solo LPs: 1980's Blizzard Of Ozz and 1981's Diary Of A Madman.

Rhoads' classical music influences helped add artistry to metal in a way that few guitarists did at the time. It was something Osbourne recognized and cherished from day one.

“When he played my brain went, ‘Either this is the greatest gear ever or this guy really is the best guitarist in the world!'" said Osbourne in a 2011 interview with The Guardian. "It took me a very long time to get over his death...Randy gave me a purpose, he gave me hope. I was fed up fighting people. I just had the greatest respect for him.”

The respect was evident in the video below from the History Channel show Ozzy And Jack’s World Detour which shows Ozzy listening to the master, unmixed tapes of his hit “Crazy Train.” The clip just leaves you wondering what could have been.

Rhoads was posthumously honored with the Musical Excellence Award as part of the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction class. Following the news of his induction, Osbourne said in an interview, "I’m so happy that Randy’s genius, which we all saw from the beginning, is finally being recognized and that he is getting his due. I only wish he was here in person to get this award and that we could all celebrate together. It’s really great that Randy’s family, friends and fans get to see him honored this way."

After you get thrown out of one of the most influential bands of all time, what do you do for an encore? Ozzy Osbourne was a misfit, an unusual vocalist, he didn’t play instruments or write songs in the conventional sense… so his former Black Sabbath bandmates probably didn’t see him as someone who would rival them for popularity. Surprise, surprise: Ozzy Osbourne’s long second act has been one of the most surprising and tumultuous in the history of rock and roll.

Sure, the bottom-feeding celebrity news machine loves him as a headline-generating lunatic, but the reason why we still care after all these years is the amazing discography Ozzy has amassed over the decades. Here are our 40 favorite Ozzy jams from 1980 on. As Ozzy prepares to wrap up an incredible career, we listened to everything, from the classic ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ (every song made the list, except for Randy Rhoads’ solo guitar piece “Dee”) to the advance tracks released from ‘Ordinary Man.’