Randy California
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Randy California (born Randy Craig Wolfe; February 20, 1951 – January 2, 1997) was a guitarist, singer and songwriter and one of the original members of the rock group Spirit, formed in 1967.
Randy was born into a musical family in Los Angeles, and spent his early years studying varied styles at the family's Hollywood nightclub, the Ash Grove. He was fifteen years old when they moved to New York and he met Jimi Hendrix in 1966. He played in Hendrix's band Jimmy James & the Blue Flames that summer. The stage name "Randy California" was given to him by Hendrix to distinguish him from another Randy in the band (who Hendrix dubbed "Randy Texas"). When Hendrix was invited to come to England by Chas Chandler, Randy was not allowed to go (by his parents) and so missed out on what became the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Together with his stepfather Ed Cassidy, California founded the band Spirit in 1967 and wrote their biggest hit, 1968's "I Got a Line on You". The band's music still stands as a unique sound mixing ethereal notes, hard beats, and a satirical view of the world.
Randy California left Spirit in 1971 to begin a solo career, but periodically returned to various reincarnations of the group over the years until he was lost in the ocean January 2, 1997 while rescuing his twelve-year-old son from a rip current near their home at Molokai, Hawaii.
[edit] Solo albums
- Kapt Kopter And The (Fabulous) Twirly Birds (1972)
- Euro-American (1982)
- Restless (1985)
- Shattered Dreams (1986)
[edit] Videotaped performances
- "Night of the Guitar", Hammersmith Odeon, London, November 26, 1988 CD: (IRSD-83000)
[edit] External links
- Journeying to Potato Land - KyndMusic April 2006
Bio [1]
- Jewsrock.org Allegation that Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven comes from a Randy California riff
