Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Blizzard of Ozz, the 1980 debut solo album of former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzie Osbourne

**http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8SCm7kNhOk** This is a "Crazy Train" live performance from the album The Blizzard of Ozz featuring Randy Rhoads on guitar.

In 1979, Black Sabbath sacked its lead singer, Ozzie Osbourne, and Ozzie who was forming a new band auditioned 22 year old Randy Rhoads for guitarist. As Rhoads was tuning up, Ozzie hired him immediately, later saying it was if God had entered his life.

The band, The Blizzard of Ozz, released its debut album of the same name in 1980 featuring Randy Rhoads on his Gibson Les Paul guitar. Rhoads was clasically trained and a pioneering innovator in neo-classical metal music. It was said that Rhoads guitar jumped out to scare the listener.

The album is one of the few albums to achieve 4x Platinum certification in the U.S. without the benefit of a Top 40 single. The album has sold over 6 million copies worldwide, making it Ozzy's best selling album to date.


Rhoads died in 1982 at age 25 in a plane crash. His career was short, but he left his mark. Randy won Guitar Magazine's Best New Artist award. His guitar tone was special. See the following link on how to achieve Randy's tone. 
**http://www.kolumbus.fi/kari.tammilehto/rrtone.htm** (Copy and paste into your browser.)

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