“Are you crazy? You’re a rock star”: Ozzy Osbourne’s baffled reaction when Randy Rhoads told him he was going to quit his band shortly before his death
Ozzy Osbourne might not have been a guitarist, but he was a remarkable judge of guitar talent. His knack for picking sidemen is legendary, and none of his solo axemen are as feted as Randy Rhoads. But now it appears that not only was Randy ready to call time on his rock star career before his death, his choice of alternative was shocking. nearly took a step back from life on the road to get a master’s degree instead.
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According to his sister Kathy Rhoads, Randy was planning to leave Ozzy’s solo band and head back to college to complete his master’s degree in classical music instead. It’s a remarkable claim, and Kathy remembers that one person in particular was flabbergasted by his plans to step away from rockstardom: Ozzy himself.
Kathy explains in a forthcoming interview with Guitar World, “He had told Ozzy just a few short days before he passed that he was done with touring and wanted to come back home,” she shares.
“My mom went to UCLA, my dad too, so my mom was at the beginning of the process to get him into the school and get his master’s degree in classical music. She was starting the process and contacting the school. And he was really looking forward to that.
“Ozzy said to him, ‘Are you crazy? You’re a rock star.’ Randy said, ‘That’s just not what I want right now. This is what I want to do.’ Ozzy said, and I’ll quote him, ‘Okay, you could buy your own fucking college by the time you’re done if you keep doing this!’ But for Randy, the biggest key [thing] was that he was a true musician. It was always about the music for him,” she concludes.
Rhoads was part of the original lineup of Osbourne’s solo band, which formed in 1979. He played with them until his death in 1982 due to a plane crash. Osbourne passed away just recently on 22 July, just a matter of weeks after Black Sabbath’s reunion and farewell show.
Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler recently reflected on the experience in an interview with Uncut. He told the outlet, “I am so grateful that we were able to play one final show together, the original four of us, back in our home town,” he says. “[Ozzy] held on so he could do that gig, to say farewell to the fans.”
The post “Are you crazy? You’re a rock star”: Ozzy Osbourne’s baffled reaction when Randy Rhoads told him he was going to quit his band shortly before his death appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
