So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star: The Randy Rhoads Story
by Susie Hodgson
Maybe you’re a Beatles fan; maybe you’re a Waylon Jennings fan. Maybe you don’t like heavy metal at all. But if you live in Burbank, chances are you’ve heard of Randy Rhoads, a hometown hero.
Randy was born in 1956. He came from a musical family and his mother owned a popular music school in North Hollywood (now Valley Village) called Musiana. Dad left the family early on. Mom (Delores) had a BA in music from UCLA and played piano professionally. Randy started taking guitar lessons at his mom’s school when he was about six-and-a-half. He quickly moved on to electric guitar when the teacher soon had to dejectedly tell Mom that he could no longer teach Randy. Little Randy already knew more than he did.
Randy’s sister Kathy describes how tight they were as kids – until Randy met a friend named Kelly Garni at John Muir middle school (then a junior high, no doubt). The two bonded over music and stayed close till the end. In 1971, Randy got to see Alice Cooper play live and, according to Randy’s brother, it changed his life. Randy had an epiphany, declaring, “I can do that!”
Throughout Burbank High School, Randy and his friend Kelly Garni kept forming and re-forming rock groups. This continued for a while and they even practiced at the well-known Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco, where Randy perfected his work on lead guitar.
Then, while teaching guitar classes at his mother’s school and fooling around with his rock groups, Randy had his “aha” moment – and Quiet Riot was born. The lead singer was a guy no one particularly liked, but even Randy had to admit the guy was enthusiastic and persistent. So they let him in. His name was Kevin DuBrow.
Have you ever heard the DuBrow name? You may not admit to it publicly, but if you watch TV, you may know a certain plastic surgeon on Botched named Terry DuBrow. He was Kevin’s little brother. Or maybe you’re a secret Real Housewives aficionado. Remember Heather DuBrow from the Orange County franchise? That’s Terry’s wife. Sister-in-law of Kevin DuBrow.
Soon Quiet Riot was one of the hottest bands on the L.A. circuit. They even signed a deal with CBS records. But the deal went nowhere. Their first two albums (Quiet Riot I and Quiet Riot II) were never even released in the United States. Plus the tension in Quiet Riot was through the roof. Still Randy was starting to gather a following. He had a habit of wearing polka-dotted clothes and playing a polka-dotted guitar and soon his fans began piling into the clubs wearing polka dots. But it wasn’t enough. Old pal Kelly Garni hated Kevin DuBrow and a scene involving a gun, alcohol and a threat promising to kill DuBrow (by Garni) was leveled. Randy had no choice but to fire his old friend.
Reeling from the chaos that was Quiet Riot AND the lack of any record deals in the States, in 1979 Randy entertained an invitation to join Ozzy Osbourne’s new band. (Osbourne had been fired from Black Sabbath.) In a drunken haze, Ozzy hired Randy.
Randy thought life would stabilize and for a while, it was great. Ozzy let Randy have a lot more freedom to play his adventurous riffs and classical influences. But soon, the chaos set in again. Ozzy was married with kids, but was dating Sharon Arden, the daughter of his manager. Ozzy was also perpetually inebriated. In one concert, Ozzy bit a live bat for which he had to undergo painful rabies shots. In another he literally bit the head off a chicken. Good clean living…
There were also money troubles which led to even more fighting. So Randy decided to play out his contract and not sign up again. He wanted to go home, enroll at UCLA and get a degree in classical music, his secret love. Randy did not do drugs and barely drank. Dealing with Ozzy was one nightmare after another. Ozzy also fought all the time with his future wife Sharon. All in all, not fun.
Still, Randy’s fame as a star guitarist only grew. Among other accolades, he was voted the Best New Talent by Guitar Player magazine in 1981 and named on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists… all while Ozzy kept right on doing drugs, drinking booze and fighting. The last words Ozzy ever heard Randy utter were words of advice to him, “You’ll kill yourself, you know? One of these days…” But it wasn’t Ozzy who died.
It was March of 1982 in Orlando. The band’s bus driver and Sharon’s assistant and Randy all decided to take a ride in an old plane they had no permission to fly. Details are murky. Some say the pilot was playing a prank on Ozzy, swooping way down clipping Ozzy’s bus to wake him out of his drunken stupor. Others say the pilot had cocaine in his system. Still others say the pilot wasn’t properly certified. But the end result was the same: the plane hit a tree, then a mansion and burst into flames. All aboard died instantly. Randy was only 25.
Today Randy’s older brother directs the Musiana music school and plays music himself. Sister Kathy married into a wine family and operates D’Argenzio Wine Tasting Bar in Burbank. (Come try the Randy Rhoads edition of Cabernet Sauvignon!) Mother Delores passed away in 2015. Garni owns a restaurant/art studio north of Las Vegas.
As for Kevin DuBrow? He stayed with Quiet Riot, mostly. He lived in Las Vegas and became a morning DJ. But in 2007, Kevin DuBrow was found dead. He’d overdosed on cocaine, pain killers and alcohol. His corpse had been rotting there for nearly a week.
Everyone everywhere said how nice Randy was. Humble, kind, never bragging. Many say he was on the verge of being one of the world’s best guitarists ever. Maybe it’s like they say: Only the good die young.
Want to learn more about Burbank? Come visit us!
The Burbank Historical Society/Gordon R. Howard Museum
OPEN SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS, 1 TO 4 pm - FREE Admission!
Located in George Izay Park, right next to the Creative Arts Center
Phone: (818) 841-6333
Web site: www.burbankhistoricalsoc.org
Email: ghowardmuseum@sbcglobal.net