Ozzy Osbourne “The Prince of Darkness” talks about the good times, writing “Diary of a Madman,” and also meeting Randy Rhoads’ mom!
Ozzy has always thrived in the face of adversity. After the bitter split with Black Sabbath in 1979, he started anew as a solo artist with help from the flamboyant six-string virtuoso Randy Rhoads, who had already “sharpened his chops” with Quiet Riot. Together, he and Ozzy crafted classics like “Crazy Train,” “Mr. Crowley,” and “Over the Mountain.” Then a freak plane accident took the loved guitarist’s life.
“I have a lot of fond memories of Randy, he lived with me for a while. We had an apartment together in London. And I always was out of my mind shitfaced and passed out somewhere. I came around one time and I heard Randy, he was having a lesson in this room with me. A classical lesson. And I come around and I heard, [indistinct Ozzy mumbling]. I said, ‘That’s next.’ ‘What?’ ‘Remember that.’ And it became ‘Diary of a Madman,’ the song.” – Ozzy
“I’ll tell you a bit about that song,” Ozzy continues. “I remember it like it was yesterday. Randy comes to me, ‘Oh, man. I’m not happy with the guitars.’ So I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, Randy, go in and come out when you’re happy. Spend as much time as you want on it.’ So he’s in there for a couple of days, and one day he comes out and he’s got this big shit-eating grin on this face, and he goes, ‘I think I’ve got it.’ And my hair on the back of my fucking neck stood up. Back then, it was all fun.”
But all that fun wasn’t just restricted to songwriting. “Another time his mom came, and we were over at rehearsals,” Osbourne recalls. “I was sitting here, his mom was next to me and Randy was next to her. And I’m fucking bloated and fucking drunk or whatever, and she goes to Randy, ‘When do I get to meet Ozzy?’ And he starts laughing. He goes, ‘That’s him.’ She goes, ‘Oh!'”
Delores Kell Rhoads ~ March 30, 1920 – November 11, 2015
Cherished mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, passed away peacefully in her home in Burbank, California. She was a music educator, and proprietor of Musonia School of Music, established in 1948. Pre-deceased by her son Randy Rhoads.
Ozzy Listening to Lost Randy Rhoads Solo
