(Gibson) Rudy Sarzo has been at the forefront of classic metal since the early '80s. The Cuban-born bassist rose to prominence with Quiet Riot before moving on to Ozzy Osbourne's group with bandmate Randy Rhoads. After Rhoads' tragic death, Sarzo went back to Quiet Riot, just in time for the band to explode with the release of the Metal Health album. He finished the '80s with Whitesnake and has since played with the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio, Blue Φyster Cult and Tim "Ripper" Owens, among others.Sarzo spoke recently with NJ.com about coming to terms with his dear friend Rhoads dying in the crash of a plane that clipped the tour bus in which Sarzo, Osbourne and others were sleeping. "We all deal with grief in different ways," he said. "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 tour continued, willed forward (according to Sarzo) by Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne. "She was afraid that if she pulled the tour, there was a good chance Ozzy would hurt himself, either with drink or drugs," he said. "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 10 days of the crash." more on this story
