Quiet Riot

Quiet Riot is my favourite Glam Metal band after Van Halen. Their songs are uplifting and filled with humour, not to mention Randy is an amazing musician.
They are an American Heavy Metal band, formed in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. Initially, its name was “Mach 1”; then it was switched to “Little Women”, and from 1975 onwards, it became “Quiet Riot”.
The name was inspired by a conversation between Rick Parfitt, from the British band Status Quo, and the vocalist Kevin Dubrow and the first suggested the name “Quite Right”, but due to Parfitt’s British accent, DuBrow heard “Quiet Riot”.

Quiet Riot is one of the most important Heavy Metal from the 80s. The band was included in the list of “100 Hard Rock Bands of All Time” made by the VH1 television channel, placed at 100° position. They were also the first Heavy Metal band to place an album at the top of the Billboard 200 (EUA).

The original lineup included guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Kelly Garni, vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth.

In 1979, Garni left the band and, consequently, frustrated by Garni’s departure. Randy Rhoads got discouraged and didn’t believe the band could get anywhere with so many conflicts, which contributed to his departure from Quiet Riot late in 1979. DuBrow, Sarzo and Forsyth decided to continue with guitarist Greg Leon.
After Rhoads left, the band was renamed Dubrow, a decision made by the singer himself and well-accepted by the other members.

In 1979, Rhoads tried to take over as guitarist in Ozzy Osbourne’s new band, who had just left Black Sabbath to try his hand at a solo career. Rhoads eventually got the job. Rumour has it that he was hired without any audition because, according to Ozzy, he already “felt like part of the band”.Although Eddie Van Halen influenced most Heavy Metal guitarists of the 1980s, Randy Rhoads was one of the few to create his style, incorporating classical music into his playing.

In 1981, Rudy Sarzo was invited to play bass for Ozzy Osbourne during the Blizzard of Ozz Tour, who invited him on Randy Rhoads’ recommendation.

Rhoads recorded two albums with Ozzy Osbourne, this being the last of his career, which had a tragic outcome.

On 19 March 1982, the guitarist was involved in a plane crash caused recklessly by Ozzy Osbourne’s pilot. The driver and pilot, Andrew Aycock, had a licence to fly – expired then – and invited Rhoads to take a few laps in the plane. Aycock began to fly low over the band’s bus, parked near the landing site. During the “prank”, one of the aeroplane’s wings collided with the vehicle’s roof. He lost control of the aircraft, which crashed and exploded, killing them both. Randy Rhoads died at the age of 25.
His death shocked all the band members and fans.

However, Ozzy wasn’t the only friend devastated by Rhoads’ death. Lead singer Kevin DuBrow dedicated the song “Thunderbird” to his great friend and former bandmate. The song was to be released on Quiet Riot’s next album, which had yet to be reorganised. DuBrow had written most of the lyrics before Rhoads’ passing but added a final verse after the tragic plane crash that took his friend.

After the tragedy, DuBrow started using the name “Quiet Riot”. At that point, the band was joined by bassist Chuck Wright, guitarist Carlos Cavazo and drummer Frankie Banali, who had been together since Sarzo’s departure in 1981, this time under contract with Pasha Records in Hollywood, already working on studio recordings.

After more than two years working together, composing and recording, Quiet Riot was helped by producer Spencer Proffer to get a contract with CBS Records. The band’s first album was released on March 11, 1983.

Their third studio album, Metal Health, was finally released, this time worldwide. This was Quiet Riot’s debut in their home country and North America. Metal Health stormed the US charts. Its explosive success impressed all the band members more than their critics and fans.

The track “Metal Health”, which gives voice to headbanger culture, was released as the album’s first single and reached 31st position on the “Billboard Hot 100”, due to its appearance in the film “Footloose”, whose soundtrack was nominated for Grammy. The music video for “Metal Health” beat “Synchronicity” by The Police and stayed number one on MTV for a week.

Its second single, “Cum On Feel the Noize”, a classic by the British band Slade, remained at number five on the Billboard for two weeks, making it the first Heavy Metal song to enter the top 5, with no other song to date had occupied a better position. The music video was massively played on MTV, which was crucial to the band’s popularity.

The success of “Cum On Feel the Noize” and “Metal Health” helped propel Quiet Riot to the top of the US album chart. Metal Health remained #1 for six weeks, beating Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. This fact made it the first Heavy Metal album to top the Billboard chart. The album sold over 6 million copies in the United States and went triple platinum in Canada.

Regarding the most recent activity of the band, after = several changes in its lineup and brief break-ups, Quiet Riot continued to record and faded with the death of DuBrow in 2007, caused by an overdose of cocaine. Frankie Banali tried to revive the band in 2010, but in 2020, Frankie died after a long battle against pancreatic cancer.
The current singer is vocalist Jizzy Pearl, bassist Chuck Wright and guitarist Alex Grossi. After eight years without any new work, the band released a new studio album in 2014, titled “10”, which was the first by the new formation since the death of Kevin DuBrow. The band launched an album in 2019 called “Hollywood Cowboys”.

Discography

Studio Albums

“Quiet Riot” (1978)
“Quiet Riot II “(1978)
“Metal Health” (1983)
“Condition Critical” (1984)
“QR III” (1986)
“QR” (1988)
“Terrified” (1993)
“Down to the Bone” (1995)
“Alive and Well “(1999)
“Guilty Pleasures” (2001)
“Rehab” (2006)
“Quiet Riot 10 “(2014)
“Road Rage” (2017)

Singles

“Suicidal Show” (1975)
“It’s Not So Funny” (1977)
“Killer Girls” (1978)
“Metal Health” (1983)
“Cum On Feel the Noize” (1983)
“Slick Black Cadillac” (1983)
“Bad Boy” (1984)
“Mama Weer All Crazee Now” (1984)
“Party All Night” (1984)
“Winners Take All” (1984)
“The Wild and the Young” (1986)
“Twilight Hotel” (1986)
“Stay with Me Tonight” (1988)
“Itchycoo Park” (1993)
“Little Angel” (1993)