Ozzy Osbourne Admits He Owes Randy Rhoads A Huge Amount, ‘He Wasn’t Just My Guitarist’

Black Sabbath guitarist Ozzy Osbourne opened up about his late guitarist Randy Rhoads in the recently published book, ‘Randy Rhoads by Ross Halfin,’ and apparently, Osbourne thinks he owes too much to the late guitarist since his friend represents the beginning of his solo career.

As many of you know, Randy Rhoads was primarily known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne with his first two studio albums, the 1980 album ‘Blizzard of Ozz,’ and the following recording, ‘Diary of a Madman,’ helping former Black Sabbath lead vocalist to re-create his legacy as a solo musician.

Unfortunately, young guitarist Randy Rhoads passed away in a plane crash on March 19, 1982, at the age of 25 after tour bus driver and private pilot Andrew Aycock took a single-engine Beechcraft F35 plane without permission while the tour bus stopped at Flying Baron Estates in Leesburg, Florida, to fix a malfunctioning air conditioning unit.

Nearly four decades after his passing, Rufus Publications decided to publish another book for their collection of electric guitarist books named, ‘Randy Rhoads by Ross Halfin‘ including an extensive collection of photos as well as his friend and bandmate Ozzy Osbourne’s sincere statements about Rhoads in order to celebrate the life and legacy of the late guitarist.

During his statements, the Black Sabbath icon revealed that he always felt like the two have been friends for decades despite having a short amount of time with Randy Rhoads. Furthermore, Ozzy Osbourne stated that he owes too much to the late guitarist due to the fact that he has been there for him during the time when Ozzy was trying to start over as a solo musician.

Here is what Osbourne said about his deceased friend:

“It’s weird, I only knew Randy for a couple of years, but it felt much longer. I felt like I knew him for my whole life. I still think about him a lot, and I do wonder what he would be doing now. I owe him a huge amount – he was the beginning of me. He wasn’t just my guitarist, he was my friend.”

You can see the source right here and watch the video of the book down below.