Diary of a Madman is undeniably Ozzy Osbourne’s greatest musical accomplishment, and out shines all of his nine studio releases thus far. Diary was released on November 7, 1981, and then re-issued on August 22, 1995, to only yet again see an additional release as an altered version in 2002. Regrettably Diary would be the last album that would feature the renowned guitarist Randy Rhoads before his untimely death in 1982.

The band line up that was initially noted on Diary included the following musicians, bassist Rudy Sarzo, drummer Tommy Aldridge, and guitarist Randy Rhoads. All three musicians were originally given credit, as well as pictured on the inner sleeve upon the primary release of Diary of a Madman. However in all actual fact, it was bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake who performed all bass and drum parts on the original release of Diary of a Madman. Paradoxically they were not given credit for their contributions, and as noted in a 2005 interview with Daisley, even though Don Airey is credited for having played keyboards on this record, it was in fact a musician named Johnny Cook who recorded the keyboard parts, as Airey was unavailable at the time of recording. The album features several songs with acoustic intros, including "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll", "S.A.T.O.", "Tonight", and the albums self titled track.

The RIAA certified Diary of a Madman Gold (500,000 units sold) on January 04 1982 Platinum (1 million units sold) on May 10 1982, Multi-platinum (2) (2 million units, known unofficially as Double Platinum) on August 11 1992 and MP (3) (3 million units, known unofficially as Triple Platinum) on October 26 1994

With the 2002 altered version of Diary being released, it was scorned by many fans due to its replacement of the original bass and drum tracks by Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake. Osbourne's 90s touring band (drummer Mike Bordin and bassist Robert Trujillo) replaced Daisley's and Kerslake's original instrumentations. Fans and critics generally felt the move was dishonest and resulted in a far inferior product. In 1986 Daisley and Kerslake had pressed charges against Osbourne, eventually winning songwriting credits on Diary of a Madman. Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon, said in a press conference that "because of Daisley and Kerslake's abusive and unjust behavior, Ozzy wanted to remove them from these recordings. We turned a negative into a positive by adding a fresh sound to the original albums. Fans tended to disagree: the reissue credits didn't highlight the fact that the parts had been re-recorded yet it was obvious to those who knew the original issue that something had been altered. Some pressings do, however, clearly state in "Reissue Credits" that both Mike Bordin and Robert Trujillo replaced the original drummer and bassist respectively. Daisley and Kerslake deny the allegations of "abusive behavior" and continue to battle for royalties owed them for their work on Diary of a Madman.

Track listing:

All songs written by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley, and Lee Kerslake except where noted

"Over the Mountain"
"Flying High Again"
"You Can't Kill Rock and Roll" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley
"Believer" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley)
"Little Dolls"
"Tonight
"S.A.T.O."
"Diary of a Madman"
“Bonus Track” (2002 Remaster)
"I Don't Know (Live)" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley)

Credits:

Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals, Producer, Harmony Vocals
Randy Rhoads – Guitar, Producer
Bob Daisley – Bass, Gong, Producer, Harmony Vocals
Lee Kerslake – Percussion, Drums, Bells, Tympani
Max Norman – Engineer
Johnny Cook – Keyboards

Additional information regarding Randy’s Death:

On March 19, 1982, the band was headed to a festival in Orlando, Florida, and after driving much of the night, they stopped at the house of Jerry Calhoun, the bus company's owner, in Leesburg, Florida. The driver, Andrew Ayc**k, took Rhoads and hairdresser Rachel Youngblood on a flight in a Beechcraft Bonanza he had taken without permission. Apparently, during the flight, an attempt was made to "buzz" the tour bus where the other band members were sleeping. They succeeded three times but the fourth time it went horribly wrong. The right wing clipped the right side of the tour bus by accident, leading to the crash of the plane into Calhoun's nearby mansion, completely destroying its front. Nobody in the mansion was hurt. Rhoads, age 25, was killed instantly, as were Ayc**k, 36, and Youngblood, 58. It was later determined in an autopsy that Ayc**k had a trace of cocaine in his system at the time; Rhoads' toxicology test revealed no illicit drugs.
Randy's funeral was held at the First Lutheran Church in Burbank, CA, which he attended as a child. He was interred at Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernardino, California where his grandparents are also buried. At the time, Randy's mother was living in Burbank. The Rhoads family and many fans gather there on the anniversary of his death as well as his birthday to pay tribute and celebrate his life.

Daisley and Kerslake lawsuit follow up.

In 2003 a Los Angeles Federal Appeals Court unanimously upheld the dismissal of the lawsuit brought by former session musicians Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake. The lawsuit, filed against Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne in 1998, had sought royalties and credits on Ozzy's classic studio albums, Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman. The lawsuit was dismissed this last year by the United States District Court in Los Angeles, and this week the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal, ruling that Ozzy does not owe any royalties or credit to the former session musicians, who were let go in 1981. Since their initial release twenty-three years ago, these two classic Ozzy records have sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

Ozzy Osbourne stated:"The truth always prevails."

Orin Snyder, the attorney for Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, stated: "This decision is a complete vindication of Ozzy and Sharon and confirms what we have been saying all long - that this worthless lawsuit was a waste of the courts' precious time.”

In 2005 Ozzy Osbourne Fan Files Lawsuit Over 'Remastered' Classics.

Anthony Wester said he hoped to hear remastered versions of OZZY OSBOURNE's "Blizzard of Ozz" and "Diary of a Madman" albums.

Instead, he's a mad fan who says he and others were blindsided by a blizzard of deceitful acts by Sony Entertainment and Epic Records. In a lawsuit filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court, the Downstate man is demanding compensation for himself and anyone else who bought "remastered" versions of the Osbourne classics because the original drummer and bassist on the albums were replaced.

The CDs, released in 2002, were marketed as crisp updates of the originals, with no mention that the sounds of bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake were cut out and replaced by Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin. Loyal fans of Osbourne ridiculed the move, which came after Daisley and Kerslake filed lawsuits in a dispute over unpaid royalties from the original albums.

Fans claim there's "a noticeable difference" in the changed rhythm sections on the original and remastered albums, while Wester says the change "forever alter[ed] and stain[ed] the legacy" of the originals, as the new version "bears little relation to the original."

A Sony spokesman could not be reached. Wester did not return a call to his Belleville-area home. Wester's Chicago attorney, Ben Barnow, said "consumers are supposed to get what they paid for. ... For a product as treasured as these albums, to change the ingredient is to change the product."

Barnow wants class-action status for the suit. He hopes to recover damages on behalf of anyone who felt deceived after listening to the 2002 version of the albums.

Other class-action efforts have been filed here against rock bands LIMP BIZKIT and CREED, who concert goers said put on shows not worthy of the price of admission. But in this case, a fan says he was duped by a record company trying to remake classic albums. Bordin, who once played with FAITH NO MORE, and Trujillo, now with METALLICA, were hired to re-record Daisley's and Kerslake's parts on albums that have sold more than 10 million copies since their original releases in 1980 and 1981. A year after the updated CDs were released, judges dismissed the suit brought by Daisley and Kerslake. Since their performances were cut from the 2002 remastered CDs, they can't seek royalties from those.