Getting the gig with someone like Ozzy Osbourne feels like a dream come true for any up-and-coming guitarist.
Even if Ozzy may have looked like the one guy too wild for Black Sabbath, sharing the stage with the Prince of Darkness as he tore through songs like “Iron Man” and “Sweet Leaf” is too much for any guitarist to pass up. It’s the golden ticket for any rocker, but during Ozzy’s first few tours, playing these tunes was an absolute chore for Randy Rhoads.
After coming off of making Blizzard of Ozz, those close to the band said that Randy never was all that much of a fan of Sabbath and never took too kindly to playing their songs, with drummer Tommy Aldridge saying:
“Randy was most disheartened to have to play “Iron Man” and all those Black Sabbath tunes. Neither he nor I were big Sabbath fans. Sometimes there were train wrecks on those songs, only because we were not that diligent about putting them together.”
As far as the rest of the band was concerned though, bassist Rudy Sarzo talked about it being a sort of necessary evil for the guys to undergo, saying:
“Randy understood that there is a legacy to Ozzy prior to his solo career. He knew the importance of doing those songs. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say that was his favorite part of the show. After spending an hour onstage playing {solo stuff}, Randy just felt uncomfortable doing Black Sabbath songs, which were never really his style.”
There were even a few times when Randy’s frustration spilled over into his career decisions, as Aldridge continues:
“Not long after I joined, Randy confided in me that he had aspirations to do something else other than play with Ozzy. I knew he wasn’t the happiest camper out there.”
Randy didn’t really have a say on whether he would leave Ozzy behind altogether though, dying in a plane crash during the last tour with him, with Tribute standing as the last album to feature his guitar playing.
Seeing how much he brought to guitar though, it makes sense why he would want to branch out from the house Tony Iommi built.