Blizzard of Ozz: And So Began The Saga….

Released on this day in 1980, Ozzy Osbourne’s debut solo album Blizzard of Ozz is crucially important for so many reasons. First it introduced the world to some of Ozzy’s biggest and most iconic songs, and second it introduced us to a uniquely gifted and talented guitarist named Randy Rhoads. Randy would of course go on to revolutionize the instrument and still remains one of the, if not THE, most influential rock guitarists in history.

The first song written for Blizzard of Ozz was “Goodbye to Romance”, which Osbourne says was a “goodbye letter” to his former band Black Sabbath because he felt his career was over….that could not have been further from the truth. Much of the album was written by Ozzy, bassist Bob Daisley and Randy Rhoads at a “live-in” rehearsal facility in England. Recorded between March and April at Ridge Farm Studios in the UK, the album would be certified 4x Platinum, a feat Osbourne would not achieve again until 1991’s No More Tears .