In a recent interview with Stereogum, Ozzy Osbourne shared his thoughts about the relationship he built with Randy Rhoads. He added that he will always appreciate Rhoads for spending time with him in the studio and being patient.
Randy Rhoads and Ozzy Osbourne’s relationship goes back to the early days of Osbourne’s solo career when Slaughter bassist Dana Strum introduced them while he was drunk. Osbourne recalled that he even thought Rhoads was a girl at first because he was smaller in size. Rhoads would ultimately join the metal icon on his projects, and the duo would develop a close friendship.
Rhoads performed on tracks like ‘Crazy Train’ and ‘Mr.Crowley’ from Osbourne’s debut album ‘Blizzard of Ozz,’ and the first two studio albums they worked on cemented Osbourne’s spot in the music industry. In a recent conversation, Ozzy looked at his career retrospectively and said that Randy Rhoads had a special place in his band.
The Prince of Darkness said that Rhoads wasn’t the type of musician who would give him a melody that he had recorded and expect him to sing it live. Instead, the guitarist would sit with Osbourne and patiently work on what key he should sing and how the live performance could live up to the recording. Ozzy shared that he will always be grateful to Rhoads for spending time with him and being patient when they worked together in the studio.
Ozzy Osbourne’s words about Randy Rhoads:
“The one thing about Randy Rhoads that I’m forever grateful for is he spent time with me. He didn’t sit in the recording booth and give me some melody to do over what he played, regardless of whether I could do it on stage or not. Then you’d get this stuff that you couldn’t do on stage. But he would say, ‘It would be better if you could sing it in this key,’ you know. He was very patient.”
Unfortunately, their working relationship lasted for two studio albums since Randy Rhoads tragically passed away in a plane crash in 1982 while he was on tour with Osbourne. Although their collaboration didn’t last long, Rhoads significantly impacted Osbourne’s career both as a guitar player and a friend who looked out for him in the studio and on the road.
