Revisiting Randy Rhoads’ Final Show With Ozzy Osbourne

Guitarist Randy Rhoads played his final show with Ozzy Osbourne on March 18, 1982, at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. Twenty-four hours later, he was dead at the age of 25.

Rhoads died in a plane crash in Leesburg, Florida, following a joy ride in a Beechcraft Bonanza piloted by Osbourne’s bus driver, Andrew Aycock, who had an expired pilot’s license. His death is one of the most well-documented tragedies in music history, as it cut short one of rock’s most enduring singer-guitarist partnerships. Rhoads helped revive Osbourne’s floundering career following his dismissal from Black Sabbath, and their collaboration produced two classic albums, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman.

Fans will forever wonder what else Osbourne and Rhoads could have achieved together had the guitarist’s life not been cut short. But on the night of Rhoads’ final show, he’d already expressed his desire to pursue other musical endeavors outside of heavy metal.

READ MORE: Ozzy Osbourne’s Guitar Players: A Complete History

Randy Rhoads Wanted to Go Back to School and Leave Heavy Metal

«We were in the tour bus, on our way from Tennessee to Florida, when Randy broke the news,» Osbourne reflected in his 2010 autobiography, I Am Ozzy. «‘I don’t think I want to be a rock ‘n’ roller anymore,’ he said.»

Rhoads told Osbourne he wanted to go to university and get a degree, to which Osbourne replied, «Keep this up for a couple of years, and you can buy your own f—ing university.»

Osbourne’s own feelings of discontent were surely exacerbated by his heavy drinking, which Rhoads pointed out during that fateful night drive.

«Ozzy, why do you drink so much? What’s the point?» he asked, followed by a chilling warning: «You’ll kill yourself, y’know? One of these days.»

Ozzy Osbourne Had Little Time to Mourn Randy Rhoads’ Death

There was little time for Osbourne to grieve following Rhoads’ shocking death. The Prince of Darkness was back on the road less than two weeks later with former Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme filling in. (Torme was quickly replaced by Night Ranger‘s Brad Gillis and then, more long-term, by Jake E. Lee.) His next album, 1983’s Bark at the Moon, was a triple-platinum hit, and Osbourne kept flying high.

But he never quite filled the void in his heart left by Rhoads.

«It’s like Randy was with me for a lot longer than he actually really was. Sometimes I think he’s still with me now,» Osbourne wrote in the liner notes to the 1987 live album Tribute, which comprised performances from the Rhoads era. «Guitar players have a thing where their guitars are an extension of their penis. With Randy, he was an extension of his guitar. There’s a big difference.»

READ MORE: Top 10 Randy Rhoads Guitar Solos

Listen to Randy Rhoads’ Guitar Solo From His Final Show

Ozzy Osbourne – March 18, 1982, Knoxville Set List (via setlist.fm)

1. «Over the Mountain»
2. «Mr. Crowley»
3. «Crazy Train»
4. «Revelation (Mother Earth)»
5. «Steal Away (The Night)»
6. «Suicide Solution»
7. Guitar solo
8. Drum solo
9. «Goodbye to Romance»
10. «I Don’t Know»
11. «No Bone Movies»
12. «Believer»
13. «Flying High Again»
14. «Iron Man»
15. «Children of the Grave»
Encore
16. «Paranoid»

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