May 20, 2021 | 1:47pm ET
The first electric guitar owned by the late Randy Rhoads was returned to his family over a year after it was stolen along with other memorabilia.
Thankfully, Rhoads’ 1963 Harmony Rocket and his boutique Marshall amp head have turned up. Both are now in the possession of his estate, with his sister, Kathy Rhoads D’Argenzio, sharing the news on Instagram.
Because the investigation is still ongoing, she couldn’t reveal exactly how the gear was returned, but Ozzy Osbourne had offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of his beloved guitarist’s priceless items.
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Rhoads D’Argenzio wrote:
“YES!!!! It’s OFFICIAL!!! …. And You heard it CORRECT!!!!! It’s BACK. It’s been a CRAZY ‘Randy week’ for sure…..but this is Beyond Awesome as well!!!!!!! I am so thankful for this …. No words. I CANNOT answer ANY Questions, as this is an ‘ON GOING INVESTIGATION’. So Don’t ask!!!! Wow!! Absolutely AMAZING!!!!! But trust me…I will ‘follow up’ when I can!! Thanks everyone for all your concerns and love. The Rhoads Family
Still missing items ……
Thank you to the North Hollywood Police Department!!!! (missing since November 2019)”.
The Musonia School of Music in North Hollywood — where Rhoads taught guitar — was robbed on Thanksgiving Night 2019. The thieves pilfered invaluable artifacts, from guitars to family photos. Even his mother Delores’ Depression-era trumpet went missing.
Soon after the news broke of the theft, two individuals found much of the stolen gear and memorabilia in a North Hollywood dumpster in early December 2019. The trumpet was among the recovered items, but as Rhoads D’Argenzio said, some items remain missing even after the latest developments.
Musonia was founded by Delores in 1948 to provide music education to youth and adults in the community. It’s also doubled as a Randy Rhoads museum since the guitarist’s tragic death in a plane crash on March 19th, 1982. His brother, Kelle Rhoads, would then take over as Musonia’s director following Delores’ passing at the age of 95 in November 2015.
In other good news, Rhoads will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when he posthumously receives the special Musical Excellence Award at the upcoming ceremony taking place October 30th in Cleveland.
Check out Rhoads D’Argenzio’s Instagram post with pictures of the returned items below.