Ozzy Osbourne’s two most iconic songs begin with pronouncements. With Black Sabbath, Osbourne declared, “I am Iron Man,” and on his defining solo work, “Crazy Train,” he commanded, “All aboard!”
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The former Black Sabbath singer wasn’t returning from the dead, but “Crazy Train” resurrected the rock legend who had resolved to self-destruct, spiraling from addiction and the embarrassment of being tossed from his famous band. Osbourne had returned, and he brought a guitar genius with him.
The Cold War
“Crazy Train” began with Randy Rhoads’ signature guitar riff. He played the riff for bassist Bob Daisley, who helped Rhoads flesh out the chords. With Rhoads’ guitar feeding back through his amplifier, Daisley told him it sounded like a crazy train.
They brought the music to Osbourne, and he sang melodies over the instrumental. Daisley wrote the words and kept the “crazy train” theme.
Crazy, but that’s how it goes
Millions of people living as foes
Maybe it’s not too late
To learn how to love
And forget how to hate
The song’s theme is often misconstrued as “crazy,” meaning going mad or insane. But the song references the Cold War, which consumed the world in the 1980s. Osbourne sings of dictators in the line: One person conditioned to rule and control.
Heirs of a cold war
That’s what we’ve become
Inheriting troubles, I’m mentally numb
Crazy, I just cannot bear
I’m living with something that just isn’t fair
Overwhelmed by the world’s chaos, with the United States and the Soviet Union avoiding nuclear war through mutually assured destruction, Osbourne connects with the general feeling of helplessness in a world where schoolchildren routinely performed duck-and-cover exercises.
Mental wounds still screaming
Driving me insane
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
Guitar Hero
Before working with Osbourne, Santa Monica, California-born Rhoads played in the Los Angeles rock band Quiet Riot. Though Quiet Riot frequently packed Sunset Strip clubs, they watched other bands sign major label record deals and leave to tour the world. Along with Eddie Van Halen, Rhoads stood out as a guitar virtuoso in Hollywood’s dense rock scene, where he mixed Mick Ronson’s glam with classical music.
At the time, Osbourne struggled with drugs and alcohol, and with his future-wife Sharon Arden’s help, desperately needed to revive his career after being fired from Black Sabbath. Under Arden’s management, Osbourne formed Blizzard of Ozz featuring Daisley, keyboardist Don Airey, drummer Lee Kerslake, and Rhoads, who joined last.
Jet Records used the band’s name as the album title for Osbourne’s solo debut in 1980. Rhoads’s guitar riff in “Crazy Train” became one of the most iconic in history. Like Van Halen, his guitar playing influenced a generation of rock legends, including future Osbourne guitarists Zakk Wylde and Jake E. Lee. Rhoads wasn’t the first to mix classical music with heavy metal, but his style distilled it in a signature way.
Plane Crash
Rhoads died in a tragic plane crash at age 25. On March 19, 1982, the band’s tour bus needed repair and stopped at Flying Baron Estates in Leesburg, Florida. A tour bus company owned the property, and a pilot took various band members flying in a single-engine F35 plane. The pilot, Andrew Aycock, flew the aircraft near the group’s tour bus, “buzzing” nearby as a prank. The plane impacted the bus and killed Rhoads, Aycock, and makeup artist Rachel Youngblood.
Airey witnessed the crash. Using a telephoto lens, he photographed the flight from the ground, viewing Rhoads arguing with Aycock through the pilot’s window. With the plane coming toward him, Airey ducked to safety as it clipped the bus, killing everyone on board. It crashed into a nearby mansion before bursting into flames. Sharon Osbourne said when she woke up, she saw body parts strewn everywhere. They later identified Rhoads through dental records and the jewelry he wore.
The young guitarist’s discography with Osbourne is only two studio albums: Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman in 1981. Rhoads’ influence and legacy survive a tragically short life. Osbourne released a tribute album to Rhoads in 1987. The live album documents concerts recorded in 1980 and 1981 and features studio outtakes of Rhoads’s classical guitar composition “Dee,” written for his mother Delores.
Forever Young
There’s a mythos around young dead rock stars. Like Jimi Hendrix, photographs of Rhoads time stamp him into an eternal youth. Still, he looks innocent in pictures and the limited video footage that remains, but it is probably just young death imprinting a forever-young narrative.
With “Crazy Train” being his signature song, Rhoads famously collected toy trains. Rhoads’ curiosity for the guitar appeared boundless, and he kept a childlike awe for the possibilities of music.
However, his destiny didn’t leave space for aging. Instead, with the wisdom of an old soul, Rhoads’ small catalog left a massive legacy. Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, a Rhoads descendent, called him the “Robert Johnson of heavy metal.”
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Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns
