The guitarist Lemmy thought got “even better” after death
The late Motörhead leader Lemmy lived a life more extraordinary than your average rock great. Yet, in some ways, it was ordinary in the extreme, too.
He lived a twisting saga that saw him befriend and rub shoulders with a lengthy list of icons, the tales he had to tell rank among some of the most fascinating in the genre. Yet, he was also pretty content rustling up a fry-up in his humble abode and settling down on the sofa with a drink and the TV. It was a life of extremes.
Whether it be working as Jimi Hendrix’s roadie, helping conceive space rock in Hawkwind, or kicking off the speed metal subgenre with Motörhead, Lemmy covered more bases than most in his time. This, fuelled by a distinctive character, produced many moments of greatness that are inextricable from rock ‘n’ roll lore.
It was also the way that Lemmy told his stories that made him so revered. Usually recounted while clutching a cigarette and glass of whiskey perched at a bar, his natural presence and rather colourful personality created an extensive mythos that rivals even that of his old boss, the great Jimi Hendrix.
From trashing Radiohead and Coldplay by questioning their status as rock bands and decrying them as “sub-emo”, and smearing the Rolling Stones as soft mummies’ boys to bluntly maintaining that The Who should have broken up in 1978 after the death of drummer Keith Moon, Lemmy was never afraid to voice his opinion. This controversial propensity made for a host of great reading.
He also once even named the guitar hero who got “even better” after his death. Although this is incomprehensible at face value, Lemmy then offered insight into how heroes who die before their time become more coveted in death than in life. The man in question is Randy Rhoads, the first lead guitarist of Ozzy Osbourne’s solo career, who delivered stellar moments such as ‘Crazy Train’ and ‘Mr. Crowley’, and helped lay the blueprint for contemporary metal playing.
Regarding his old friend, Lemmy told Goldmine in 2011, “He was really a good guy. I never could get over how incredibly little he was. Randy had small hands. Boy, could he play guitar. He became an even better guitar player after he died.” Though he might have had small hands for a guitarist, this never held him back and actually helped him when it came to his speed across the fret.
But Lemmy had a rather more curious interpretation of his assets, explaining, “It is a well-known mystery that guitar players suddenly get better once they are dead. Buddy Holly was the first. Stevie Ray Vaughan is known by a lot more people than had ever heard of him when he was alive.” You might call that callous if Lemmy hadn’t been such good friends with Rhoads to begin with.
Tragically, Randy Rhoads’ life was cut short in a plane crash in 1982, leaving a void in the world of music that could never be filled. However, his legacy continues to reverberate through generations of guitarists who continue to be inspired by his unparalleled skill, innovative spirit, and enduring influence on the evolution of heavy metal guitar playing.
As the late, great Ozzy Osbourne said to the guitarist who helped to reinvent his career, “When I heard him play, I said, ‘I don’t know if I’m smoking some serious stuff or this guy’s better than any guy I’ve ever heard.’ He was great. He was kind of like a gift from God.”
Ozzy humbly continued, “His demeanour was kind of cool. He wasn’t flashy. Everybody back then was copying Jimi Hendrix. And then I found out that he was a teacher in his mother’s music school, which is a big plus for me because he had a lot of patience.”
And perhaps that’s why he keeps getting better, too. While many might still be trying to copy Hendrix (and failing), Rhoads remains another one-off, his uniqueness made clear by the fact that nobody has sounded like him since.
