‘Sharon and Ozzy, Were Wonderful to Me, but…’: Rudy Sarzo Speaks Up on Why He Really Left Ozzy’s Band

“What’s the point of playing music if you’re not enjoying where you’re doing and loving it?”

Despite being a member of one of the most popular metal acts at the time, it was simply not the same for bassist Rudy Sarzo as a member of Ozzy Osbourne’s band after the tragic and sudden passing of Randy Rhoads on March 19, 1982.But when he hooked up once more with Quiet Riot, a band that Sarzo and Rhoads had previously been members of, to lend a hand in the studio, he had seemingly found joy in creating music once again. Only one problem: Sarzo was still a member of Ozzy’s band.

During an interview with Disturbing the Priest, Sarzo explained his state of mind at the time. And also, how he had to make the “toughest decision” of his entire career.

“I thought we were making demos [with Quiet Riot] because a standard studio for making a record, like the Record Plant or Cherokee, whatever. I did the session and I found a lot of joy playing with Kevin [DuBrow] and Frankie [Banali] again, something that I had lost when Randy passed away.”

“So, I went to New York, recorded the two nights at the Ritz live, ‘Speak of the Devil’, with Tommy Aldridge, Brad Gillis, Ozzy, and myself. But the thought of playing with Frankie and Kevin kept lingering. So, I finished that, I go back to LA, and I made the toughest decision I’ve ever made in my career, which was to leave Ozzy Osbourne.”

Despite some of the less-than-glowing memories that quite a few musicians have of either playing in Ozzy’s band or how they were treated by his manager, Sharon Osbourne, Sarzo offered nothing but praise for both Ozzy and Sharon.

“They treated me great: Sharon, Ozzy… They were wonderful to me. And [I] joined a complete unknown, which was Quiet Riot, but I knew that I was gonna find joy in making music again. And without that, what’s the point of playing music if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing and loving it?”

The subsequent album that Sarzo would appear on with Quiet Riot, 1983’s “Metal Health,” would top the Billboard 200 in the US, spawn such hits as “Cum On Feel the Noize” and the title track, and go 6x platinum.