December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982
His death was a tragedy brought about by the stupid actions of another person. He was a beautiful person. I'm not talking about his physical appearance, although he was attractive. Everyone who spoke of him said that he was a kind and generous soul. There are far too few such people on the planet.
The damn fool of a tour bus driver, a fellow named Andrew Aycock, talked Randy and the band's hairdresser and wardrobe mistress, Rachel Youngblood, into taking a ride on a plane which he was piloting. Aycock was apparently on a toot and decided that it would be a lark to buzz the tour bus. He instead managed to clip the tour bus, smash through a pine tree, and end up crashing into a garage, where the plane burst into flames.
I am perhaps revealing a little too much about myself, but I once had one of "those" dreams about Randy. It made me sad when I woke up, not so much because I knew I'd never have him for my significant other or any such thing as that, but because it made me acutely aware that he was dead, and he shouldn't be dead. It made me feel very sad for his family. I wasn't a mother yet at that point, I was only eighteen, so thank the Powers that Be that I wasn't a mother. But I remember feeling sad for Randy's mother and knowing that the worst thing in the world would be to lose one's child.
Randy Rhoads will always be one of my favorite musicians, and his death will remain on the top of my list of tragedies caused by the stupidity of other people.
