Songwriters draw influence for words and music from any number of places. Ozzy Osbourne’s hit “Crazy Train” might be one of the few instances where a song’s lyrics were inspired by a faulty stomp box.
And that’s no small act of serendipity. After all, “Crazy Train” played a major role in Osborne’s career. Released in 1980 on his debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz“Crazy Train” was also his first solo single, and it was a huge success. Although the track reached a rather modest number 49 on the U.K. charts, “Crazy Train” hit number three on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, giving credibility to Osbourne’s solo career following his departure from Black Sabbath.
Just as significantly, the song established Randy Rhoads — Osbourne’s new guitarist and the song’s co-writer — as a sizable talent. From his menacing opening riff to his blazing solo, Rhoads makes “Crazy Train” a showcase for his guitar talents, employing hammer-ons, pull-offs, tapping, slides and more. Playing his 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom electric guitar through a Marshall Super Lead 100-watt head and cabinet, with an MXR Distortion+ pedal, Rhoads cut one of the defining tracks of his short career.
Apparently, his rig didn’t just power his performance — it also helped inspire the song’s title, according to bassist and lyricist Bob Daisley. As he explained recently on the Talk Louder Podcasthe and Rhoads were working on the guitarist’s “Crazy Train” riff when the inspiration struck.
“Randy had an effect pedal, and it sort of chugged a bit, even when he wasn’t using it,” Daisley says. “If it was switched on and it was going through his amp, it made almost like a train sort of sound. Or it reminded me of that anyway. I knew Randy was a fan of model trains, and so was I.
“And I said, ‘Randy, it sounds like a train, listen!’ It had a sort of psychedelic, kind of trippy thing about it. And I said, ‘It sounds like a crazy train.'”
The phrase would prove to be descriptive of more than Rhoads’ pedal. Daisley developed it into a vehicle for his message about a world going off the rails. By then Osbourne had already developed the song’s vocal melody line. It was just left for Daisley to write the lyrics.
“And so, I wrote the lyrics to ‘Crazy Train’ about world events and the threat of World War III, and how many people (were) living in countries that are opposing each other for what reason, for nothing. It doesn’t even make sense.”
While “Crazy Train” would prove important to both Osbourne’s and Rhoads’ careers, it was also a significant boost for Daisley. Just one year earlier he’d been out of work after being fired from Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. Connecting with Osbourne — who was in similar straits after getting sacked from Black Sabbath — was the chance of a lifetime. In short order, Daisley encouraged Ozzy to fire his guitarist and drummer and build a better backing band.
Which is how Rhoads came to join them. While Ozzy’s label, Jet Records, was skeptical of hiring the young unknown, Daisley told the Johnny Beane YouTube channel he knew almost immediately that Randy was destined for good things. “I had a premonition of, ‘One day, people will ask me what it was like to play with Randy Rhoads,’” he said. “I remember it like it was yesterday.”
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