Quiet Riot’s Rudy Sarzo on why Ozzy Osbourne's words of wisdom to Randy Rhoads were crucial to his development as a guitarist

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.

Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake bassist Rudy Sarzo has revealed the crucial role Osbourne played in unleashing Randy Rhoads' true potential, after Rhoads had become dissatisfied with Quiet Riot's career trajectory.

“Randy did not become the Randy Rhoads, as in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [guitarist], until he joined Ozzy,” Sarzo says on the Jay Jay French Connection podcast.

“I know this because I asked him, ‘How did this happen?’ And he says, ‘Well, I asked Ozzy, what do you want me to write?’ And Ozzy said, ‘Be yourself.’ And that's when he felt safe to, all of a sudden, put classical influences into his compositions.

“We never had that before, and Randy had it inside of him, but it would not fit with what Quiet Riot was as a band. It fit with Ozzy, but not with that version of Quiet Riot.”

Former Ozzy Osbourne bass player Bob Daisley recently talked about Rhoads' passion for incorporating more classical-leaning flavors into his compositions.

“Diary of a Madman came about because everywhere we went, he'd find a classical guitar teacher, and he was practicing a piece called Etude that his tutor had given him," Daisley said in an interview with Johnny Beane.

“He was turning that into an intro for a song. It was an embellishment, or an elaboration, of the exercise that he was doing.”

Elsewhere in the podcast, Sarzo confirms Daisley’s story of Rhoads frantically looking for teachers at every tour stop. “Once he got the Guitar Player Magazine 'New Best Guitar Player' [vote in December 1981] he said, ‘I got to take this to the next level.’

“He started taking guitar lessons in every city that we played at. We'd check in early at the hotel and Randy's with the Yellow Pages, looking for ads for a music school and a guitar store or something like that. And then he would go.

“Usually he would end up giving the lesson to whoever was teaching because it is Randy Rhoads, but he never lost that [drive]. It became his mission. How can I be the best guitar player, the best composer, the best Randy Rhoads?”