How Did You Discover Randy Rhoads.....?

[RandyFan100]

Album version, when I heard the solos it got me hooked on him instantly.

[Paul Wolfe]

I first heard of Randy after a guy at summer church camp gave me a cassette tape with side one of the Blizzard LP on it. I'd heard the commercials for Ozzy coming to Seattle that July and remembered the "ALL ABOARD" being a focal point of the commercials...

After I got home I listened to the tape a lot and by the time school started in September, a lot of my frieds were into Ozzy. Back then any RR collecting was very limited and difficult, I was 14 and there were no computers to speak of and the only collectable stuff came after Randy's death. THe first thing I remember getting was a cassette tape of a guitar lesson where you could hear the guitars, but not the words being spoken... that was a treasured item for years.

[wyldeone]

When I heard crazy Train on the radio back when Blizzard was released there was this instint draw.I was hooked.

That was me too.. there was a local Radio show called Night Rock they would play Imports and stuff and it was 1980 and they played I dont Know and I was Hooked.. I was like Who is this guy playing Guitar.. Then I went to a local record store the next day and found Blizzard in the Import section..

[Trigger]

For me (I may have said this in thread earlier) I heard the live EP version of Mr Crowley on a tape given to me and then bought a copy of 'Diary of a madman'.

[The Flying Dutchman]

I read about Randy before I ever heard him playing. (!)
There was a story about him in a metal magazine about one month before Tribute was released way back in 1987. That story made me very curious. About two months later a Radio station played "Goodbye to Romance" from the Tribute album, I missed the intro so I was wondering who that guitarplayer was who played that incredible solo????? Then I heard it was from the new Ozzy/Randy live album.
I got to really hear him a few weeks later when I skipped school and listened to the album in a record store. At that time I was into McAlpine, Vinnie Moore, Malmsteen but Randy had something none of the other players had. His way to mix pentatonic stuff and classical figures in solos and his machine gun attack in combination with his great live sound sold me right away! He had a whole different approach. To me it sounded all very fresh even 5 years after he was gone. And after all these years I still don't get tired of his playing.

I still have the magazine and this is the picture used in that article, it was the first image of Randy I ever saw:

[SunKing]

Waaaaay back in 1980, I was a huge Ozzy fan. When I heard 'Blizzard of Oz' I was hooked. I was learning guitar, and pestered my teacher to teach me as much new Ozzy as Ihe could. I was also lucky enough to see Randy when he and Ozzy played Houston Feb 17, 1982 - just over a month before he died.

[CHAOS]

WOW!!
That was a looong time ago for me!!

I'm 42 now, and i remeber getting the album when it first came out because i also was a huge sabbath & ozzy fan, i had 3 older brother's that are 10-13 years older than me, & my brother above me turned me onto alot of music at a pretty young age, learned how to play guitar from my mom starting at 9 so i was into all that before i even heard RR & freaked when i heard it!!!

And as time went by and the next album came out it, i was even more of a follower and have been one of his biggest fan's ever since!! Not a fanatic, just a fan

[41533]

Guitar World

[rokket]

I've been an Ozzy fan since the BS days, discovering Randy when he joined up with Ozzy.

[rhoadsscholar]

I guess I am dated here. went to high school in L.A.. Local Bands were, Quiet Riot, Van Halen, Snow, Exciter. Going to the Starwood, the Whiskey, Gazzari's .... My friend was studying with the Guitar player from Quiet Riot and hooked me up for Lessons at Musonia ... Randy was a phenominal guitar teacher as much as he was a player. Best musical year of my life studying with him. Still draw from what he showed me.
I got to attend the "School of Rock". Delores Rhoads was great too. Hooked me up with a singer studying vocals there and formed a band.

I was blessed for the experience. Had George Lynch for a substitute teacher while Randy was away doing Blizzard. How cool is that.

rhoadsscholar
over the mountain and flying high again

[frank]

I guess I am dated here. went to high school in L.A.. Local Bands were, Quiet Riot, Van Halen, Snow, Exciter. Going to the Starwood, the Whiskey, Gazzari's .... My friend was studying with the Guitar player from Quiet Riot and hooked me up for Lessons at Musonia ... Randy was a phenominal guitar teacher as much as he was a player. Best musical year of my life studying with him. Still draw from what he showed me.
I got to attend the "School of Rock". Delores Rhoads was great too. Hooked me up with a singer studying vocals there and formed a band.

I was blessed for the experience. Had George Lynch for a substitute teacher while Randy was away doing Blizzard. How cool is that.

rhoadsscholar
over the mountain and flying high again

excellent credentials. visit more often please.

[Trigger]

I would like to gather stories from all the people who were taught by Randy and try to archive them in the future, that will be a post 3,19 project

[orion_damage]

My friend at school told me to check out ozzy (my thoughts were "oh god ozzy...blah) but i checked it out and listened to diary of a madman and was hooked for life

[James UK]

I was 13 years old and at a friend's house when he put on the Mr.Crowley live 7". Immediately afterwards I asked him to play it again, then again. Went straight out after school and bought it the next day.

[Trigger]

I was 13 years old and at a friend's house when he put on the Mr.Crowley live 7". Immediately afterwards I asked him to play it again, then again. Went straight out after school and bought it the next day.

WOW! thats a coincidence, I was given a tape of the the Mr Crowley single and it changed the way I listened to music. After that I got 'Diary' loved it and then listened to 'Blizzard'. I still enjoy 'Diary' more than any other Randy album.