When you’ve been a legendary guitarist for over 30 years, you receive certain perks. That was certainly the case in 2021 for Tom Morello. Not only was he “instrumental in getting Randy Rhoads into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” but he was also one of only a handful of people to hold his guitar. The iconic guitarist died in a plane accident on March 19, 1982, at only 25. Despite Rhoads dying so early in his career, he’s among the most influential guitarists of all time.
Each year, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame launches an exhibit featuring items from that year’s inductees. In 2021, the exhibit featured Dave Grohl’s 1068 transparent Lucite Dan Armstrong Ampeg Guitar, Carol King’s black Baldwin Acrosonic spinet piano, Todd Rundgren’s embroidered purple suit from 1978, Billy Preston’s Casio Voice Arranger VA-10, and more legendary items. Among those, the exhibit featured Randy Rhoads’ asymmetrical white Jackson-Rhoads Concorde Guitar.
In an October 2026 interview with Classic Rock, Morello discussed the one thing we weren’t allowed to do with this legendary guitar. “His sister, who’s lovely, is very protective of all the stuff. It’s sealed away somewhere in a secret vault, and no one knows where it is. I’d asked her if I could see it, and she said, ‘Nobody sees it.’ You gotta respect that.”
“But then she texts me one day and says, ‘Randy’s guitar is on its way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and it’s going to be at my house this afternoon if you’d like to come by and see it.’ But I was away on tour, so I couldn’t go.” But this wouldn’t be Morello’s only chance to see the guitar up close.
‘The Strap Had Smoke From 1982 Left in It’
Morello goes on to explain, “Cut to about a year later, and she texts me saying the guitar is at her house that afternoon, on its way back from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and now, would I like to go see it? His mom didn’t want anyone else to ever play it again, but I got to hold it. That was pretty emotional for me. The crazy thing was that the leather guitar strap still smelled of cigarette smoke. He was performing up until the day he died, so the strap had smoke from 1982 left in it.”
It makes you wonder if Rhoads was truly the last person to ever play this iconic instrument. If Tom Morello can’t even get the pass, who does?
Photo by Didier Messens/Redferns
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