Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot) | 75 and Just Getting Started: A Lifetime of Money Lessons in Rock episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 3, 2026 · 56 MIN

Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot) | 75 and Just Getting Started: A Lifetime of Money Lessons in Rock

from Backstage Money

What does fifty years in rock and roll actually teach you about money?Rudy Sarzo was born in Havana, spent part of his childhood in Miami and New Jersey, and has spent the better part of five decades on and around the Sunset Strip. He's played bass with Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, and Dio, and is still touring with Quiet Riot today at 75. Rudy walks through how he ran out of money in LA in the late 1970s, moved to New Jersey to earn enough to get back, and got the call from Kevin DuBrow that landed him in Quiet Riot the same day he returned. A few years later, a connection that traced back to a chance meeting with Randy Rhoads led to the audition call that put him in Ozzy Osbourne's band.He also gets honest about the money side most musicians never hear about. He talks about the era when the business was completely opaque, when artists never saw how the industry actually worked and had to trust a business manager on faith, and the moment his wife took over the family's finances entirely. He explains why he sees music as a calling rather than a paycheck, and closes with the most direct piece of advice in the whole conversation: hold onto your money, because life is only going to get more expensive.If you're a working musician trying to figure out the money side of a career that doesn't look anything like a normal job, this is a rare, honest look at what that looks like across five decades, from a guy who is still, by his own words, "just getting started."If this helped you think differently about the money side of your career, share it with another musician who needs to hear it.Rudy SarzoInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarzo.rudyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialrudysarzoX: https://x.com/rudysarzoSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1mNKYdtelIG1hO58kEjdUQQuiet Riot: https://quietriot.bandBackstage MoneyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/backstagemoneyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/backstagemoneyListen: https://backstagemoney.captivate.fm/listenFree guide for musicians: https://1024wealth.com/music

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 3, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot) | 75 and Just Getting Started: A Lifetime of Money Lessons in Rock

0:00 56:45

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Backstage Money?

This episode is 56 minutes long.

When was this Backstage Money episode published?

This episode was published on September 3, 2026.

Can I download this Backstage Money episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!