Bass Legend RUDY SARZO Talks About Randy Rhoads' Tragic Death - "(He) Saved Our Lives By Turning The Plane From Actually Completely Crashing Into The Bus Where We Were Sleeping, And Just Clipping It Instead"
April 29, 2011, 13 years ago
Mark Voger from The Star-Ledger spoke with legendary bassist Rudy Sarzo (BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT) recently about a number of topics including his memories of that tragic day in 1982 when he was on the road with Ozzy and an airplane accident - a morning joy ride gone horribly wrong in Florida - which took the life of guitarist Randy Rhoads, 25.
"We all deal with grief in different ways," says Sarzo."You're grieving and you learn to live with the passing of your friend - somebody who I owe my career to, someone who saved our lives by turning the plane from actually completely crashing into the bus where we were sleeping, and just clipping the bus instead."
After the accident, Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, decided against canceling the remainder of the tour.
"She was afraid that if she pulled the tour, there was a good chance Ozzy would hurt himself, either with drink or drugs," Sarzo says. "The reason I left Ozzy was only, only because it was so painful to go onstage and be a member of Ozzy's band within ten days of the crash."Read the entire interview here.
Sarzo is set to appear Friday and Saturday at the Chiller Theatre Expo in Parsippany, NJ.
