“My solos are more like rolling scales than the call-and-response of blues riffs... I used to analyze the progression. If I didn’t like what was available, I’d play as weird as possible”: How Randy Rhoads reinvented classical guitar for metal

Randy Rhoads riffs on his Gibson Les Paul Custom as Ozzy Osbourne mans the mic on the far-left of the image, in this live shot from the Blizzard of Ozz Tour 1981.

Born in Santa Monica California in 1956, Randy Rhoads was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1982 at the age of 25. Despite his young years, Randy had recorded four studio albums.

He appeared on the first two Quiet Riot albums and two Ozzy Osbourne albums; Blizzard Of Ozz which was Ozzy’s 1980 debut solo release, and the follow-up, Diary Of A Madman released in 1981.