Randolpho Francisco Castillo (December 18, 1950 – March 26, 2002) was an American musician. He was

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

's drummer during the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, and later as drummer for

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

, from 1999 to his death in 2002.

Early life

Castillo was born in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. He was inspired to take up the drums after seeing

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

perform on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' in 1964. Randy's first rock band in Albuquerque was a hard rock cover band, "The Wumblies," which later moved to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado before breaking up in 1980. Randy Castillo was a mixed-race

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

Native American.

Career

In 1984, Castillo was hired to play drums for

Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an English-born American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal solo ...

and was featured on her ''

Dancin' on the Edge ''Dancin' on the Edge'' is second solo album by English/American rock musician Lita Ford. It was her final release with Mercury Records, as she departed to sign with RCA Records in 1987. The album was a moderate commercial success, reaching No. ...

'' album. Ford introduced Castillo to her boyfriend,

bassist

Nikki Sixx Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a me ...

, and Nikki’s bandmate

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...

. Shortly after the “Dancin’ on the Edge” tour, Lee called Castillo from a party he was at with Ozzy Osbourne and told him Ozzy was looking for a new drummer. Despite being unable to audition right away due to a broken leg he suffered while skiing, Castillo was hired by Osbourne a couple months later and ended up staying with the Ozzy Osbourne band for ten years, recording five albums with Ozzy during that time: ''

The Ultimate Sin ''The Ultimate Sin'' is the fourth solo studio album by British heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 10 February 1986, and was remastered and re-issued on compact disc on 22 August 1995. It is the second and last of Osbourne' ...

'' (1986), '' No Rest for the Wicked'' (1988), ''

Just Say Ozzy ''Just Say Ozzy'' is a live EP by Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on March 17, 1990 and was remastered on August 22, 1995. Overview The sleeve states that ''Just Say Ozzy'' was recorded at London's Brixton Academy in November 1989. However, no ...

'' (1990), ''

No More Tears ''No More Tears'' is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. Released on 17 September 1991, the album charted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. ''No Mo ...

'' (1991), and a double-disc live album, ''

Live & Loud ''Live & Loud'' is a live album recorded by the former Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne, released on 28 June 1993. At the time, it was to be Osbourne's final album following Osbourne's final tour before retiring, aptly titled "No More Tours ...

'' (1993). After recording Ozzy's live album in 1993, he joined the short-lived Bone Angels, followed by

Red Square Black Red Square Black was a band formed by Mark Binder of Los Angeles. The band was an innovative force in the early 1990s playing the Los Angeles club scene. They melded metal, industrial sequencing and pop sensibilities. All songs were written and ...

. Castillo also briefly returned to Osbourne's band in 1995 for a tour, and played drums on several tribute albums during this time. He played with

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

on a cover of

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's "Welcome To My Nightmare" on the Alice Cooper tribute album "Welcome To The Nightmare (An All Star Tribute To Alice Cooper) " and performed all drumming duties on a star-studded

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

tribute album titled ''Leppardmania''. The album featured

John Corabi John Corabi (born April 26, 1959) is an American hard rock singer and guitarist. He was the frontman of The Scream during 1989 and the frontman of Mötley Crüe between 1992 and 1996 during original frontman Vince Neil's hiatus from the band. ...

( Angora,

The Scream ''The Scream'' is a composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch's work, including ...

Paul Shortino Paul Shortino (born May 14, 1953) is an American rock singer and musician who has sung for Rough Cutt/The Cutt, Quiet Riot, Bad Boyz, and Shortino. He briefly recorded with J.K. Northrup as the duo, Shortino/Northrup. He has also recorded as a ...

(

Rough Cutt Rough Cutt is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles who released two studio albums on Warner Bros. Records in the mid-1980s. Rough Cutt never achieved the commercial success enjoyed by many other Los Angeles bands of that time but vari ...

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew F ...

Kevin DuBrow Kevin Mark DuBrow (October 29, 1955 – November 19, 2007) was an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot from 1975 until 1987, and again from 1993 until his death in 2007. Early life, photography ...

(

), Joe Leste (

Bang Tango Bang Tango is an American hard rock band. The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1988 and was signed to MCA Records the same year. History Formation (1988) Initially the band was founded by guitarist Mark Knight and bassist Kyle Kyle in 19 ...

), and

Jani Lane Jani Lane (born John Kennedy Oswald; February 1, 1964 – August 11, 2011) was an American singer and the lead vocalist, frontman, lyricist and main songwriter for the glam metal band Warrant. From Hollywood, California, the band experienced su ...

( Warrant, solo artist), among others. Guitar and bass duties were handled by Jerry Dixon and

Erik Turner Erik Turner (born March 31, 1964) is best known as the rhythm guitarist in American glam metal band Warrant. Turner co-founded Warrant in Los Angeles, California in July 1984 with bassist Jerry Dixon. Turner was influenced by bands Led Zeppel ...

of Warrant, and

Tracii Guns Tracy Richard Irving Ulrich (born January 20, 1966), known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the Supergroup (music), supergroups named Brides of Destru ...

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. In 1999, after Lee had left Mötley Crüe, Sharon Osbourne called Castillo and suggested he join the band, which he did without audition. He'd previously briefly played with Vince Neil as a touring drummer for the

Vince Neil Band Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961), best known by the stage name Vince Neil, is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal music, heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from ...

, and was an old friend of the band. His only recording with the band, 2000's '' New Tattoo'', was somewhat of a return to the classic Mötley Crüe sound. However, fan reaction was mixed and the album was not as successful as the band was hoping it would be. Still, there was excitement over the upcoming tour due to the revival in interest of many '80s hard rock acts, and the band geared up for their "Maximum Rock" tour with thrash metal legends

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

and

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

Death

Several weeks before Mötley Crüe was set to tour the ''New Tattoo'' album, joining Megadeth and Anthrax on the Maximum Rock Tour, Castillo became ill while performing with his

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

side project ''Azul'' at the Cat Club in Hollywood. Immediately after the show Castillo took a cab to nearby

Cedars Sinai Hospital Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

where he collapsed as he was being admitted. The doctors discovered a

duodenal The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear, and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine ...

ulcer that had ruptured his stomach and performed emergency surgery that saved Castillo’s life. With Castillo out of action,

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

drummer

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filled in for the tour. In October 2000, while taking time off from Mötley Crüe to recover from his surgery, he discovered a small lump on his jaw and a month later, after it had grown to roughly the size of a golf ball, he sought treatment and was diagnosed with

squamous cell Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. It is a thin, continuous, protective layer of compactly packed cells with a little intercellula ...

carcinoma Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesodermal ...

, a common form of cancer that is not usually fatal if it is discovered early but can spread rapidly if left untreated. The cancer went into remission in mid-2001, and he was rumored to be rejoining Osbourne's solo band for that summer Ozzfest tour (along with

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

on bass), though these rumors were later revealed to be untrue. Within a few months the cancer returned but this time in a more aggressive and lethal way, and a few days after returning to the doctors, Castillo died on March 26, 2002 aged 51. During the final weeks of his life, Castillo had been working with ex-Ozzy Osbourne and

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

bassist Mike Inez on a new band and was in the process of hiring a singer.

Discography

The Mud

*''Mud on Mudd'' (1970 UNI Records) *''Mud'' (1971 UNI Records)

The Offenders

*''The Offenders'' (1980)

Lita Ford

*''

'' (1984)

Ozzy Osbourne

*''

'' (1986) *'' No Rest for the Wicked'' (1988) *''

'' (1990) *''

'' (1991) *''

'' (1993)

Red Square Black

*''

"EP"'' (1994)

Bret Michaels

*'' A Letter From Death Row'' (1998) (On Song "I'd Die For You")

Mötley Crüe

*'' New Tattoo'' (2000)

References

External links

Randy Castillo memorial siteRandy Castillo memorial site
at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

Randy Castillo Unofficial site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Randy 1950 births 2002 deaths American heavy metal drummers American heavy metal singers American people of Native American descent Burials in New Mexico Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from squamous cell carcinoma of skin Musicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico Mötley Crüe members Vince Neil Band members The Ozzy Osbourne Band members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers