In a recent interview with Lipps Service, Zakk Wylde mentioned that Randy Rhoads wasn’t a fan of Black Sabbath and preferred other musicians.
“No, he wasn’t. That was crazy,” the guitarist shared. “I just assumed everybody loved Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath back then. But he wasn’t affected by it at all. Even Zeppelin.”
Wylde added that Rhoads found inspiration from other guitar players. “I mean, I’ve never heard Randy saying he was into Jimmy Page or anything like that. He liked… Mick Ronson was his guy.”
Rhoads’ influence on guitar playing is connected to his love for classical music. His understanding of music theory made it possible for a unique guitar sound. In a 2020 conversation with Montreal Rocks, his sisters Kelly and Kathy talked about their late brother’s passion for classical music.
“We never really asked him or had a conversation about that,… that we can remember, but he did have albums by Boscarelli the cellist… I am sure he liked Bach, and he also liked Segovia. One thing to mention is that when he would come home from a tour, he would always listen to classical music. He didn’t really listen to much rock towards the end of his life.”
The guitarist even considered taking a break from music to get a Master’s Degree in Classical Music, until Ozzy Osbourne told him, “Are you f*cking crazy? You could buy your own university.”
“A lot of people think he always played classical music, but that is not true. For instance, when he joined Ozzy, he may have enjoyed listening to classical. But his desire to play and study didn’t come until later. As a matter of fact, when he was on tour, he would go through the yellow pages and look up universities and find classical guitar teachers and take lessons,” the sisters added.
After Randy Rhoads’ passing, Osbourne chose Jake E. Lee to replace the late guitarist. Lee contributed to two albums — ‘Bark At The Moon’ and ‘The Ultimate Sin.’
