Randall Rhoads born in California in 1956 and cut down in his prime at the age of only 26 has been an immense influence on a whole generation of musicians in rock and metal. He first came to international prominence in 1979 when he was recruited from the cult metal band Quiet Riot to play with Ozzy Osbourne who had been fired from Black Sabbath for his drink and drug addictions and was in urgent need of a co-writer to kickstart a solo career.ÞHow and why Ozzy and Randy went on to find enormous success is one of the key themes of ÊCrazy TrainÊ named after the first and most famous Osbourne/Rhoads co-composition. It was Randy's pioneering combination of neo-classical soloing catchy riffage and unforgettable songwriting which propelled Ozzy to stardom in his own right ä even after thousands of Black Sabbath fans had written him off.
