“The producer said, ‘If you guys can deliver a strong performance of Cum On Feel The Noize, you’ve got a deal'”: How a ’70s glam rock anthem was the key for Randy Rhoads’ old band going all the way to No.1

These days, Rudy Sarzo finds himself in a Last of the Mohicans situation within the ranks of hard rock band Quiet Riot.

On a nightly basis he plays the band’s ’80s hits Cum On Feel The Noize and Metal Health, but sadly – as is all too common these days – he’s the only remaining member from the classic Quiet Riot line-up that recorded those songs back in the day.

Singer Kevin DuBrow died in 2007 and drummer Frankie Banali passed away in 2020, while guitarist Carlos Cavazo currently plays with two other bands that were active in the ’80s, King Kobra and Hurricane.

Bassist Sarzo first joined Quiet Riot in the late ’70s when Randy Rhoads was the band’s guitar player. He then joined Rhoads in Ozzy Osbourne’s band but returned to Quiet Riot after Rhoads’ death in 1982.

Sarzo tells MusicRadar that it was Kevin DuBrow who pulled him back into Quiet Riot – and producer Spencer Proffer who turned the band into a huge success.

He explains: “I was still a member of Ozzy’s band when I was asked by Kevin if I wanted to come down and record one song, Thunderbird, as a tribute to Randy – and for a possible record deal.

“At that time the band was still called DuBrow, and a deal was hanging in the balance – based on whether the band could deliver a strong version of Cum On Feel The Noize.”

Back in 1973, Cum On Feel The Noize had been a No.1 hit in the UK for glam rock heroes Slade. The song was written by Slade’s singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea.

Slade - Cum On Feel The Noize [Remaster] 1973 - YouTube

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But Slade’s version had not been a hit in the US – and Spencer Proffer saw this as a major opportunity for Quiet Riot.

“Spencer who owned the record label, Pasha,” Sarzo says. “And he said to us, ‘If you guys can deliver a strong performance of Cum On Feel The Noize, you’ve got a deal.’

“That’s what he wanted that out of the band. So all of the other songs were really just to fill up the record. Spencer didn’t really care about Metal Health or anything else. He only cared about Cum On Feel The Noize."

“Nobody was trying to reach any goals, except for, like, ‘I hope we sell enough records to hopefully make a second record!’ That was basically it.

“So we got in there, we cut our version of Cum On Feel The Noize and we made the best record we could.”

Spencer Proffer’s instincts were proved right when Quiet Riot’s rowdy rendition of Cum On Feel The Noize blasted to No.5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1983.

Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel The Noize (Video Version) - YouTube

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Even more amazingly, the parent album Metal Health shot to No.1 – knocking The Police’s Synchronicity off the top spot.

In the years that followed it was frequently stated that Metal Health was the first heavy metal album to top the US chart.

In 2015 drummer drummer Frankie Banali insisted that the band never made that claim.

“We weren't the ones that were hailing ourselves in that way at all,” he said, “although I do like the sound of it!”

He added: “I don't think that the term ‘Heavy Metal’ was used for Led Zeppelin, although I could be wrong.”

Sadly for Quiet Riot, the success of Metal Health was never to be repeated.

As Rudy Sarzo now reflects: “There’s only so much room at the top. There’s only one number one.

“Music in itself is not competitive – it’s an art form. But the music business – record labels, management, agents, and whatever else – is competitive. And whenever any band or artist starts getting onto that, it just becomes very different. I think that happened with and to Quiet Riot.”

Sarzo also offers some words in memory of Kevin Dubrow, whose outsized personality made him a polarising figure.

“Kevin was great to hang out with and to be a roommate with,” Sarzo recalls. “I actually woke up on Kevin DuBrow’s floor the day I auditioned for Ozzy because I didn’t have a bed! Kevin was kind, generous and funny. He was great.

“But living in LA can be a bit dangerous, you know? He went through that. And it’s such a cliché, but once you become successful in LA people will want to take shortcuts to try and live the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle without actually working for it.

“They want to live that lifestyle by association, living like a rock star. To do that, you hang out with one, and there has to be some kind of compromise, like, ‘If you give me something, you can hang out with me.’

“That happened a lot, and Kevin was definitely not the first or the only one to be a part of that. Unfortunately, that’s the way it went.”