Randy Rhoads

American musician. A pioneering heavy metal guitarist, Rhoads was a founding member of the band Quiet Riot, which became successful after his death. He left the group to join Ozzy Osbourne’s new band, making their live debut on September 12, 1980 in Glasgow.

He and his two siblings were raised by mother, a single mom who worked as a music teacher. His father abandoned the family when Randy was 17 months old. His mother began a music school which Randy attended, learning folk and classical music. His love for music was stimulated further by his aptitude for the guitar he received at age 6. By age 14 he and his brother Kellie had formed their own band. In 1975 he and a pal founded Quiet Riot, a popular band that broke up in 1980 when some of the members went their separate ways. Rhoads joined the Osbourne group which recorded two classic albums, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, before Rhoads was tragically killed in a plane crash. The accident, which most news reports portrayed as resulting from a prank, occurred at approximately 10:30 AM local time according to news reports on March 19, 1982 near Leesburg, Florida. The plane in which he and two other band members were riding had reportedly been buzzing the mansion in which the group was staying when it clipped the touring group's van a tree, ultimately crashing into the house itself. Rhoads was 25.