Remembering RANDY RHOADS on his birthday

On This Day in Metal December 6th 1956, Randy Rhoads was born.

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 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.

He died in a plane crash while on tour with Osbourne in Florida in 1982. Despite his short career, Rhoads is regarded as a pivotal figure in metal music, credited with pioneering a fast and technical style of guitar soloing that largely defined the metal scene of the 1980s. He helped popularize various guitar techniques now common in heavy metal music, including two-handed tapping, tremolo bar dive bombs, and intricate scale patterns, drawing comparisons to his contemporary, Eddie Van Halen. The JacksonRhoads model guitar was originally commissioned by him. He has been included in several published "Greatest Guitarist" lists, and has been cited by other prominent guitarists as a major influence.

Watch him perform during his time as Quiet Riot’s lead guitarist.