Ozzy Osbourne records his 'Blizzard of Ozz' album at Ridge Farm Studio, 1980. From left to right, guitarist Randy Rhoads, drummer Lee Kerslake, Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Bob Daisley. (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images)
Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads died in 1982, but his memory lives on at the Musonia School of Music, the North Hollywood institution started by his mother where Rhoads taught for many years. On Thanksgiving night, multiple instruments previously owned by the guitarist were stolen from the music school in a robbery. Now, Ozzy Osbourne has announced that he’s offering a $25,000 reward for the return of the stolen instruments, as Rolling Stone points out.
“I am heartbroken that these treasured physical memories of Randy and Delores [Rhoads] have been taken from the family so I’ve decided to personally offer a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction and/or return of all stolen items,” Osbourne wrote Saturday on Instagram. Included amongst the stolen items is Randy Rhoads’ first electric guitar, as well as other items that Osbourne calls “irreplaceable.”
“Musonia was run by Randy’s late mother, Delores, and after his death 37 years ago, the school became something of a pilgrimage to his fans from all over the world,” the statement notes. “It is a place where the Rhoads Family happily opened their hearts to share the life of Randy.”
The full list of missing instruments includes a 1963 Harmony Rocket guitar, a 1970s Peavy amp head, a Marshall amp head, and a Besson trumpet owned by Delores Rhoads. Rhoads played on numerous Ozzy Osbourne albums including 1980s Blizzard of Ozz and 1981’s Diary of a Madman before dying in a tragic plane accident in 1982. Read Osbourne’s full note below.
