Randy Rhoads' Quiet Riot Gibson Les Paul has gone up for auction with an upper sale estimate of $200,000. The 1974 build was played on stage during his pre-Ozzy days, and can also be spotted on the back of Quiet Riot's 1977 self-titled debut album.
The all-black Les Paul, listed on the auction website Gotta Have Rock and Roll, features a maple-topped mahogany body, a mahogany neck, and an Indian rosewood fretboard with trapezoid inlays. It has the serial number 101797 and shows clear signs of where Rhoads weathered the guitar on stages and in the studio.
Intriguingly, however, the guitar didn't actually belong to Rhoads. It was originally bought by Paul Raskin, the brother of Jodi Raskin, Rhoads' then-girlfriend and later fiancée, and was frequently loaned out to the fast-rising virtuoso.
The auctioneer also states it's believed to be the first time that a Rhoads-played guitar has been made available to the public. There was a long-lost Rhoads prototype that surfaced a few years back, but that particular guitar was mistakenly sold to the public at NAMM.
“This instrument bears a clear indication of its historical significance,” says Gotta Have Rock and Roll.
Rhoads had formed Quiet Riot at the age of 16. The group's live shows, with Rhoads' talents at the forefront, established them as one of the most popular acts on the L.A. circuit in the late '70s. But his time in the band was marked with tension, which came to a head in a drunken fight, during which shots were fired.
He was soon snapped up by Ozzy Osbourne, who was looking to launch a solo career following his dismissal from Black Sabbath. Bassist Bob Daisley says he had a premonition about Rhoads' impending greatness after his Ozzy audition, and the rest, as they say, was history.
The Les Paul is expected to sell for around $200,000. The auction is running online until August 8th, 2025.
Head to Gotta Have Rock and Roll for more.
