Given Ozzy Osbourne's stature, – even after his departure from the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath – and the fact that it was the early '80s, high-quality videos of Ozzy performing with his first electric guitar sideman, the legendary Randy Rhoads, are surprisingly hard to come by.
That's part of what makes this footage of Osbourne and his band – featuring at that time Rhoads, Rudy Sarzo on bass, Tommy Aldridge on drums, and Lindsay Bridgewater on keys – tearing through "Mr. Crowley" for American TV audiences in April 1981 so special. You can check it out below.
Written about the prominent English occultist Aleister Crowley, "Mr. Crowley" was the second single from Osbourne's 1980 debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz.
Though not as perhaps instantly identifiable as the single that proceeded it, "Crazy Train," "Mr. Crowley" remains decades later one of Osbourne's most beloved solo tunes, and a fixture of his live shows.
Containing what many regard to be the greatest guitar solo that Rhoads recorded before he was tragically killed in a plane crash at the age of 25 on March 19, 1982, "Mr. Crowley" is a shining example of the Osbourne/Rhoads partnership at its finest – the former's charismatic vocals over the latter's stinging combination of attitude-filled, hard-rock riffing and classically-influenced, virtuosic leads.
"Randy Rhoads was quite possibly the best composer and musician that I have ever met in my life," reads a comment on the above video from Osbourne's official account.
"He came into my life like a bolt of lightning and as such he was gone again. I consider myself one of the luckiest men alive to have not only met him but also I had the great honor of being able to work with him.
"I will cherish the time I spent with him 'till the day I die. Long live Randy Rhoads. Long live rock 'n' roll. I love you all."
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