A new documentary about guitar great Randy Rhoads is out now. Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon, tells the story of Rhoads's short career from from his early days with Quiet Riot and the two albums made with Ozzy Osbourne, to the tragic plane crash that took his life at the age of just 25.
A mix of archive footage and new interviews have been used to tell the story, with contributions coming from the likes of Black Sabbath legend Ozzy, Eddie Van Halen, Frankie Banali, Kevin DuBrow, Joel Hoekstra, George Lynch, Gary Moore, Rudy Sarzo and Dweezel Zappa, as well as Rhoads's mother Delores. The film is narrated by LA Guns man Tracii Guns.
In the clip below, Slaughter bassist Dana Strum – who introduced Rhoads to Ozzy – and Randy's brother Kelle Rhoads set the scene for the audition that thrust the young prodigy into the public eye. Strum would go on to introduce Randy's eventual replacement, Jake E. Lee, to Osbourne.
"He [Randy] used to tell me, 'I don't like Black Sabbath very much. I know you do, so we're not going to get into it, but who the fuck would write his name on his hand? I don't understand that'", says Kelle, referring to Ozzy's famous tattoo. "He didn't care for Sabbath – thought it was too dark and too sluggish."
The clip also features a recording of Rhoads's voice, while Dana Strum does a pretty convincing impersonation of Ozzy Osbourne. Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon is available now via DVD, Blu-ray and via Download-to-Own. You can also watch the trailer below.
