10 Things You Didn’t Know about Rudy Sarzo
Rudy Sarzo is a Cuban American heavy metal/hard rock bassist. He has performed with many well-known hard rock and heavy metal artists over the years. Although he is a famous artist, some people do not know much about him. Here are ten things that you didn’t know about Rudy Sarzo.
1. Early life
Rudy Sarzo was born on November 18, 1950, in Havana Cuba. His real name is Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo. Sarzo didn’t live in Havana for long because he immigrated to the United States together with his parents when he was still a young boy in 1961. He was raised in Florida, together with his younger brother, Robert, who is also a musician.
2. Education
Rudy Sarzo attended Miami Dade College from 1969 to 1971, where he studied Mass Communication.
3. Marriage and family life
Rudy Sarzo is married to Rebecca Sarzo since 1984 but they have no children. According to Blabbermouth, Rudy and Rebecca Sarzo have a Yorkie whose name is Tory and Rudy says that it’s the center of their universe. They are really fond of it.
4. Music career
Rudy is a professional, performing, and recording artist, that has enjoyed a career in music for the last thirty-five years. He started his career in December 1978 when he joined Quiet Riot and stayed with the band until early 1981. Even though his picture is on the cover of Quiet Riot II’s 1978 album, Rudy did not perform on it. Instead, it was another artist performing but his picture still appears on their cover. He left Quiet Riot to join Ozzy Osbourne’s band. From March 1981 to September 1982, Rudy rose to fame as a bassist in Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath band. Rudy’s playing is heard quite clearly on “Speak of the Devil” and “Tribute” on Ozzy’s album. He was recruited to this band through a recommendation from Ozzy’s guitarist Randy Rhoads. Rudy Sarzo and Randy Rhoads had previously played together at Quiet Riot.
In 1981, Rudy was listed as the bassist of Ozzy Osbourne’s studio album Diary of a Madman, even though the bass was played by another person. As aforementioned, Randy and Rudy were close friends, and to begin with, it was Randy who recommended Rudy to Ozzy and we can also see them performing together. However, it was so unfortunate that they did not have to perform together for long because Randy died in a plane crash in 1982 when they were on a tour of “Diary of a Madman”. The death of Randy put him in a daze for quite some time. This tragic loss made Rudy disillusioned, and he decided to leave Ozzy Osbourne’s band and rejoin Quiet Riot. When Rudy returned to Quiet Riot, they were in the middle of recording Metal Health, which went on to become a platinum hit. Rudy’s return to Quiet Riot was at a time when the band was doing well musically, and they received many awards during this time.
Rudy Sarzo stayed with Quiet Riot until 1985 when he left after some rift between him and another band member. He became a member of the Whitesnake Band from 1987 to 1994 and recorded “slip of the tongue” a multi-platinum album. He went on worldwide tours performing this album. Rudy has performed again with the reunited Quiet Riot between 1997 and 2003. He has gone on worldwide tours with this band as a special guest supporting their “Alive and Well” CD and “Guilty Pleasure CD. According to Los Angeles Music Awards, in April of 2004, he joined the membership of a multi-platinum DIO heavy metal group and has since been touring the world with them. When Rudy is not touring with this DIO group. He plays with Blue Oyster Cult. Besides being involved with these great bands, Rudy Sarzo has also played in other bands such as Angel, Geoff Tate’s Queensryche, Yngwie Malmsteen, Devil City Angels, Gunzo, and Heart of a storm, as well as recording his own solo album. His career has seen him mingle with different famous people and they have made exceptional hard rock albums that are unforgettable.
5. He authored a book
In 2006 Rudy Sarzo wrote a book and its title was “Off the Rails”. The book is a biographical representation of his time with Ozzy Osbourne’s band. The book focuses on the memories he has about the influence that Randy Rhoads the guitarist had on him.
6. He is a 3D animator
Rudy is an avid 3D animator. When he is not on tour, he normally spends his time directing and co-producing 3D animations at Ocean Visual FX. He has shown his prowess in 3D animation in different tradeshows such as Sony Vegas demonstrating Acid, and many more. He has shown his prowess in computers and technical craftsmanship.
7. He is involved with charity
Rudy has supported various charity foundations such as the Rock School Scholarship Fund and Haiti Appeal for Emergency Girl School in 2011. He continues to contribute greatly to underprivileged people and those living in poverty.
8. His net worth
According to Info Famous People, Rudy Sarzo’s net worth is estimated to be sixteen million dollars at the age of seventy years. Most of his wealth has come from his thriving music career as a songwriter, musician, and Bassist. All his collaborations with other artists have gained him more wealth. He has managed to sell over thirty million copies. He is also an actor and this has also contributed to more of his wealth.
9. Awards Rudy Sarzo has received
Throughout his career, Rudy has received various awards such as “Award Winner Bassist (2007) from Hollywood FAME Awards. He has also received many awards from MTV for his many involvements with different artists where they have come up with award-winning albums.
10. He is a Legend
Rudy Sarzo has had a successful career as a solo artist, having successful albums such as “I wanna be somebody” (2016), “Ronnie James Dio This is” (2014), and “Footloose” (1984) among others. Even during the corona pandemic, he worked hard. However, but he misses being on a stage doing a live performance.
