File:RandyRhoads1980.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Film & TV
Santa Monica, California, USA
Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne. A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. He died in a plane accident while on tour with Osbourne in Florida in 1982. Despite his short career, Rhoads, who was a major influence on…
Known for
- Into the Void: Life, Death and Heavy Metal — Self (archive footage)2025
- Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon — Self (archive footage)2022
- The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne — Self (archive footage)2020
- Ozzy Osbourne: Memoirs of a Madman2014
- Randy Rhoads: The Quiet Riot Years — Himself2012
- Ozzy Osbourne: Thirty Years After The Blizzard — Self (archive footage)2011
- Randy Rhoads – Six String God — Self - Guitar2006
- Behind the Music — Self1997
- Ozzy Osbourne: Wicked Videos1988
- Ozzy Osbourne: After Hours — Self (guitars)1981
via TMDB
Key facts
- Born
- Randall William Rhoads , ( 1956-12-06 ) December 6, 1956, Santa Monica, California , U.S.
- Died
- March 19, 1982 (1982-03-19) (aged 25), Leesburg, Florida , U.S.
- Genres
- Heavy metal hard rock neoclassical metal
- Occupation
- Guitarist
- Years active
- 1973–1982
- Formerly of
- Ozzy Osbourne Quiet Riot
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- William
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Santa Monica
- Place of death
- Leesburg
- Occupation
- songwriter
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Religion
- Lutheranism
- Field of work
- rock music
- Genre
- heavy metal music
- Instrument
- guitar
- Official website
- randyrhoads.us
- Image
- Randy Rhoads with Les Paul guitar (1980).jpg
Show 11 more facts
- manner of death
- accidental death
- Commons category
- Randy Rhoads
- cause of death
- blunt trauma
- date of birth
- 1956-12-06
- date of death
- 1982-03-19
- start of work period
- 1972-00-00
- name in native language
- Randall William Rhoads
- copyright representative
- American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
- member of
- Ozzy Osbourne
- end of work period
- 1982-00-00
- short name
- Randy Rhoads
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albums Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981). Rhoads was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
Pursuing an interest in classical guitar, Rhoads combined these influences with heavy metal, helping form a sub-genre later known as neoclassical metal. With Quiet Riot, he adopted a black-and-white polka-dot theme which became an emblem for the group. He reached his peak as the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne's solo career, performing on tracks including "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" on the Blizzard of Ozz album. "Crazy Train" features one of the most well-known heavy metal guitar riffs.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Randy Rhoads” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.