March 19, 1982: Randy Rhoads Dies In Plane Crash
Randy Rhoads died 36 years ago today (March 19).Ā Gone far too soon at the age of 25 in aĀ tragic plane crash,Ā RhoadsĀ will be forever influentialĀ to hard rock and metal guitarists for his early work withĀ Quiet RiotĀ and most notably his work onĀ Ozzy Osbourne‘s first two solo LPs,Ā Blizzard Of OzzĀ andĀ Diary Of A Madman.
Rhoads’ classical music influencesĀ helped add artistry to metal in a way that few guitarists did at the time or have since, and it was something Osbourne recognized and cherished from day one.
āWhen he played my brain went, āEither 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. Ā “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.ā
The respect was evident in the video below from the History Channel show Ozzy And Jackās World Detour which shows Ozzy listening to the master, unmixed tapes of his hit āCrazy Train.āĀ The clip just leaves you wondering what could have been.
Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger who once did a presentation in a college public speaking course about why The Rolling Stones were better than The Beatles.Ā (She received an A.)