Tom Morello Finally Got to Hold Randy Rhoads’ Legendary Guitar
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello recently had the chance to experience a monumental moment in metal history, getting to hold the legendary Flying V-inspired Jackson Concorde guitar once played by the late Randy Rhoads.
While the instrument has previously been displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum, actual access to the guitar is heavily guarded. Morello, who famously inducted Rhoads into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame via the Musical Excellence Award in 2021, spoke to Classic Rock about his rare encounter with the historic instrument.
Inside the Vault and Holding History
According to Morello, Rhoads’ sister is fiercely protective of her late brother’s gear. “It’s sealed away somewhere in a secret vault, and no one knows where it is,” Morello explained. When he originally asked to see it, he was told nobody gets to see the instrument.
Plans eventually changed when Rhoads’ sister texted the guitarist to let him know the instrument was stopping by her house on its way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though Morello missed that initial window due to tour dates. A year later, on the guitar’s return trip from the museum, she reached out again.
“I got to hold it,” Morello shared. “That was pretty emotional for me. The crazy thing was that the leather guitar strap still smelled of cigarette smoke. He was performing up until the day he died, so the strap had smoke from 1982 left in it.”
A Lifelong Inspiration
Morello’s reverence for Rhoads runs deep. The guitarist has previously recalled starting a “Headbanger’s Table” at Harvard while practicing up to eight hours a day with a poster of Rhoads on the wall. He even named his first son Rhoads in honor of the late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist, whose tragic 1982 death left a massive impact on the young musician.
“What’s interesting is, when I stopped trying to sound like Randy Rhoads and realized that what I loved about him was that he had a sound that was completely unique and was a representation of him as an artist, that’s what inspired me to find my own unique voice as an artist,” Morello said.
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