Rudy Sarzo Explains Why Randy Rhoads Succeed With Ozzy Osbourne

Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo did a brand new interview with AL. In the interview, the veteran bassist talked about his late bandmate Randy Rhoads and how things went differently after Randy started playing with Ozzy Osbourne.

According to Sarzo, things were tough in the early days of Quiet Riot because the label was pushing artists to make hits rather than their own style in order to get a quick break. But that was all until Randy Rhoads auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne‘s band.

Having received a great musical education since childhood, Rhoads made excellent use of the chance Ozzy Osbourne gave him and increased his reputation. He took part in two albums with the band until the tragic accident in which he passed away. Those albums were Osbourne’s debut and second albums, named Blizzard of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman.

Anyway, in a recent interview, Rudy Sarzo admitted that he was surprised about Rhoads‘ performance when he compared Rhoads‘ Quiet Riots and Blizzard of Ozz times. He stated that the biggest reason for the difference was the freedom that Ozzy Osbourne gave to him.

“I even asked Randy about it,” Rudy recalls. “Because that was my impression when I first heard the ‘Blizzard of Ozz‘ record. Like, ‘What happened? What’s going on here?’ [Laughs]. I used to teach at his family’s [music] school, Musonia, and that’s the first time I ever heard Randy playing classical guitar.

“I didn’t even know he owned a classical guitar. Because we were very focused when it came to anything having to do with Quiet Riot. It was rehearsals or writing music to bring to the labels to see if we could get a record deal.”

“And at that time, we were basically chasing our tails, by trying to please the record company, taking their advice: You guys should write a song like this one or this one that’s on the Billboard charts. Even though we knew what we liked, we were trying anything possible to break in so we could be ourselves later on.”

Ozzy Osbourne Said To Randy Rhoads ‘Just be Yourself’

Sarzo attributes the reason for Rhoads‘s success with Osbourne that he is very talented and has been well-educated since childhood, as his family has a music school. And he reveals that all Osbourne wanted from Rhoads was for him to be himself.

“So Randy went through that,” he continued. “I mean, he had so much deeper musical knowledge and capabilities, because he was schooled. He had a proper musical training – composition and reading and all that – because his family owned a music school. That was natural for him. So when he joined Ozzy, he asked Ozzy, ‘What do you want me to write?’ And Ozzy said, ‘Just be yourself.’ That’s when the real Randy showed up in the studio and started composing all those songs.”

“With Quiet Riot, Randy was teaching about eight hours a day and then he would come over and rehearse with us for about an hour and then go home and do it again the next day. So there wasn’t room for jamming and experimenting. It was pretty much focused on we’ve got to write a hit song, or something commercial that gets on the radio. And when you start approaching music like that, you’re not going to be digging in too deep. And you’re going to be second guessing a lot and playing it safe also.”

Last week (May 14), UFO guitarist Neil Carter appeared on the Rock Interview Series. In the interview, the veteran guitarist shared his honest opinion about Ozzy Osbourne, who is considered one of Heavy Metal’s best vocalists. He said that Ozzy reached fame because of the musicians around him.

“Watching them – I mean, I’ve never been a massive fan of Ozzy‘s voice,” Neil said. “I like Ozzy himself, and he’s a very funny man, extremely funny guy, but watching that band on stage with Tommy Aldridge, Rudy Sarzo, and then you’ve got Don sitting up in the tower – it was a great thing to watch.

“But I must admit, I used to watch the audience and thinking 19-20 thousand people going bonkers, and watching Ozzy stomping around the stage. I mean, it’s a very strange thing. I’ve never quite understood the appeal of Ozzy, but people love him.

Neil Carter underlines that Osbourne has come to the fore thanks to the talented artists next to him and says that it is great to listen to the band in the line-up of the Diary of a Madman Tour, where Randy Rhoads passed away in a plane crash during the tour.

“They actually think he’s the best thing ever, but he’s always had really good people with him. If you just had Ozzy on his own, it would be a slightly different story. He’s had great songwriters with him, and he had people like Bob Daisley, who I’ve worked with for a long time, writing the lyrics.

“That band was spectacular, the band with Randy, Rudy Sarzo, and Tommy Aldridge, which is absolutely incredible to watch. I used to just be in awe of Randy’s playing, it was so good.”

Neil also said the following about the tragic death of Randy Rhoads during the tour: “That tour was very sad, you know, for that to happen, and also for them to have to start another guitarist, you know, and then yet another guitar was in and it was just painful. That second half of the tour was painful, I felt so sorry for them, particularly Don, because he was on the site when it happened. That must change the way you look things in life, you know, I felt very sorry for them. Really, really sorry.”