According to Zakk Wylde, the late Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads didn’t like Black Sabbath’s music.
The guitarist shared in a Sweetwater interview that musicians bring their unique tone to bands. Changing dynamics, like when Ozzy Osbourne recruited Rhoads, can lead to exciting outcomes. He explained:
“I always say, with St Rhoads being with Ozz. Me coming in, I’m a huge Sabbath freak. I studied at Lord Iommi University, and Randy couldn’t stand Black Sabbath. I just figured everybody in the ’70s had to love Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. But Randy was coming from Alice Cooper and David Bowie, Mick Ronson was his favorite guy.”
Wylde further talked about why the partnership between Randy and Ozzy worked:
“That’s why it worked. Because he had no connection with Black Sabbath. So the angle he was coming in was a completely different thing from where Ozzy came from. It has no remnants of Sabbath, at all, but that’s what made it work.”
What Did Ozzy Say About Randy?
Osbourne and Rhoads’ relationship started when they were introduced by Slaughter bassist Dana Strum. Osbourne initially mistook Rhoads for a girl because of his size but later formed a close friendship with him. Rhoads played on songs like ‘Crazy Train’ and ‘Mr.Crowley’ from Osbourne’s first album, ‘Blizzard of Ozz.’ Ozzy talked about his bond with Randy in a 2022 chat with Stereogum:
“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, 2It would be better if you could sing it in this key,’ you know. He was very patient.”
Last year, Ozzy paid tribute to Rhoads on his death anniversary with two social media posts. He honored the late musician on X, saying ‘Rest in peace, my friend. Randy Rhoads forever.’ On Instagram, he shared a photo from Randy’s final concert in Knoxville, Tennessee.
You can watch Zakk’s entire conversation below.