Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with
Missing Persons and
Frank Zappa.
He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missing Persons. Bozzio has been a prolific sideman, playing on numerous releases by other artists since the mid-1970s. He was inducted into the ''
Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1997. His son and stepdaughter are also drummers with the latter, Marina, being a member of the band
Aldious.
Biography
Terry Bozzio was born on December 27, 1950, in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. He started at age 6 playing makeshift drum sets. At the age of 13 he saw
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
' premiere performance 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 ...
''
and begged his father for drum lessons.
In 1968, Bozzio graduated from
Sir Francis Drake High School in
San Anselmo, California, where he received a music scholarship award, and later went on to the
College of Marin. During this time he studied concurrently with Chuck Brown on the drum set and Lloyd Davis and Roland Kohloff on a percussion and timpani scholarship. He also played Bartok-Dahl-Cowell & Baroque chamber ensembles with the Marin and Napa County Symphonies.
1970s
In 1972, Bozzio played in the rock musicals ''
Godspell
''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hy ...
'' and ''Walking in my Time''. He began playing in local jazz groups with
Mike Nock,
Art Lande
Art Lande is an American musician who was born in New York City, United States, on 5 February 1947.
Born in New York, Lande began piano at age 4. He attended Williams College and moved to San Francisco in 1969. In 1973 he recorded '' Red Lanta,' ...
,
Azteca,
Eddie Henderson,
Woody Shaw,
Julian Priester,
Eric Gravatt,
Billy Higgins,
Andy Narell and
Mel Martin. He became a regular in the Monday Night Jim Dukey Big Band at San Francisco's
Great American Music Hall.
Bozzio recorded and toured with
Frank Zappa beginning in 1975, and appeared, also as a vocalist, on a number of Zappa's most successful albums, including ''
Zoot Allures'' (1976), ''
Zappa in New York'' (1976), ''
Sheik Yerbouti'' (1979) and ''
Thing-Fish'' (1984), and in the concert movie ''
Baby Snakes'' (1979) (which includes him singing lead on a portion of the song "Punky's Whips"). Bozzio became a staple of Zappa's live act, not only because of his drumming capability but also by playing the role of the Devil in the song
Titties & Beer. The song called for Bozzio to don a devil mask and argued with Zappa's protagonist character, hurling insults at each other throughout.
In 1977, he joined The
Brecker Brothers
The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael and Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers attended Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pennsyl ...
with longtime San Francisco friend and guitarist
Barry Finnerty. With The Brecker Brothers, Bozzio toured and recorded the live album ''
Heavy Metal Be-Bop
''Heavy Metal Be-Bop'' is a live album by the American jazz fusion group, the Brecker Brothers that was released by Arista Records in 1978. The album also includes the studio track "East River", which reached No. 34 in the UK singles chart in Nove ...
'' (1978). Shortly after, he was dismissed by Zappa and joined Group 87 with
Mark Isham, Peter Maunu,
Patrick O'Hearn and
Peter Wolf. The group auditioned for and was signed to a record deal with
CBS but Bozzio declined membership and then auditioned unsuccessfully for
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or s ...
.
After
Bill Bruford and
Allan Holdsworth departed from the band
U.K. in late 1978, Bozzio joined
Eddie Jobson and
John Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s.
Wetton was the singer and p ...
to continue U.K. as a trio. The trio recorded ''
Danger Money
''Danger Money'' is the second and final studio album by the progressive rock supergroup U.K., featuring John Wetton, Eddie Jobson and Terry Bozzio. It was released by E.G. Records / Polydor in March 1979. Early versions of "The Only Thing She ...
'' (1979) and a live album ''
Night After Night'' (1979) and toured the U.S. and Canada twice (supporting the popular progressive rock band
Jethro Tull), and in Europe and Japan.
1980s
After
U.K. disbanded in early 1980, Bozzio, ex-Zappa guitarist
Warren Cuccurullo and then-wife and vocalist
Dale Bozzio founded the band
Missing Persons. Missing Persons released the albums ''
Spring Session M'' (which went Gold), ''
Rhyme & Reason,'' and ''
Color in Your Life.''
After Missing Persons broke up in 1986, Bozzio joined ex-
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band wen ...
guitarist
Andy Taylor's solo band. He also played on sessions with
Robbie Robertson,
Gary Wright,
Don Dokken
Donald Maynard Dokken (born June 29, 1953) is an American singer and musician. He's best known for being the lead singer, occasional guitarist, and founder of the glam metal band Dokken. He is known for his vibrato-laden, melodic vocal style wh ...
,
XYZ,
Paul Hyde,
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...
,
Dweezil Zappa, and
Richard Marx.
During this time, Bozzio began touring as a clinician/solo drummer and recorded ''Solo Drums,'' which was his first instructional video for Warner Brothers. He joined
Mick Jagger and
Jeff Beck for the video "Throwaway", and teamed up with Beck and keyboardist
Tony Hymas to co-write/produce and perform on the Grammy Award-winning album ''
Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop''. The album was promoted on ''The
Arsenio Hall Show'', which was Jeff Beck's first-ever live appearance on American television.
He also featured on the album ''
Confetti'' by Sergio Mendes in 1984.
1990s
Between 1990 and 1995, Bozzio developed
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...
-based drum solo compositions and recorded his second instructional video Melodic Drumming and the Ostinato Volumes 1, 2, and 3, as well as Solo Drum Music Volumes 1 & 2 on CD. He also joined
Tony Hymas,
Tony Coe, and
Hugh Burns
Hugh Burns (born 13 December 1965) is a Scottish former professional football player who is best known for his time with Rangers and Kilmarnock.
Club career
Burns began his career with Cambuslang Rangers before joining Rangers. Whilst at I ...
to form the band Lonely Bears and record The Lonely Bears, Injustice, and The Bears are Running, while living in Paris, France. He also formed the band Polytown with
David Torn and
Mick Karn. In 1993 Terry joined
T. M. Stevens and
Devin Townsend on
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...
's ''
Sex & Religion'' album.
From 1995 to 2002, Bozzio did tours of the US, Australia, Canada & Europe as a solo drum artist as well as recording two solo CDs: Drawing the Circle and Chamberworks. He was inducted into the ''
Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1997. With bassist and
Chapman Stick player
Tony Levin and guitarist
Steve Stevens, he formed the group
Bozzio Levin Stevens, which released two albums: ''Black Light Syndrome'' in 1997, and ''Situation Dangerous'' in 2000.
2000s
In 2001, he teamed up with
Chad Wackerman to produce the Duets video and Alternative Duets CDs. Bozzio won the Clinician of the Year award twice as well as Drum Magazine's Drummer of the Year and Best Clinician. Internationally, he received Slagwerkkrant Magazine's (Netherlands) and Player Magazine's (Japan) Best Drummer Award.
Bozzio was inducted into Guitar Center's RockWalk in Hollywood on January 17, 2007.
He worked with the
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu m ...
band
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream.
Originally formed in 1993 b ...
on
their eighth studio album after the departure of their drummer
David Silveria. He was scheduled to play on the road with the band during the
Family Values Tour, but he left and was replaced by
Joey Jordison of
Slipknot and later
Ray Luzier.
Selected discography
Solo
* ''Solo Drum Music I'' (1992)
* ''Solo Drum Music II'' (1992)
* ''Drawing the Circle'' (1998)
* ''Chamber Works'' (1998)
* ''Solos & Duets'' (with Chad Wackerman) (2001)
* ''Nine Short Films'' (with Billy Sheehan) (2002)
* ''Chamber Works'' (2005, with Metropole Orchestra)
* ''Prime Cuts'' (2005)
* ''Four from Ten Twenty Nine'' (2008)
* ''Seven Nights in Japan'' (2008)
* ''Melodic Drumming & the Ostinato v.1. 2. 3. DVD'' (2011)
* ''Terry Bozzio Live Performance & Seminar'' 2 Disc DVD (rec. 2003) (2011)
* ''Terry Bozzio Live in Japan 2007 菩慈音'' (2012)
* ''Musical Solo Drumming DVD English w/ Japanese subtitles'' (2012)
* Terry Bozzio – Composer Series / 4CD + Blu-ray + Blu-ray (Audio-only) + Bonus DVD (2015)
* Terry Bozzio – Reality & Simple Moments Compilation CD (2017)
Frank Zappa
* ''
Bongo Fury'' (October 1975), US No. 66
* ''
Zoot Allures'' (October 1976), US No. 71
* ''
Zappa in New York'' (March 1977), US No. 57
* ''
Studio Tan'' (1978)
* ''
Sleep Dirt'' (January 1979), US No. 175
* ''
Sheik Yerbouti'' (March 1979), US No. 21
* ''
Joe's Garage'' (September 1979), US No. 27 (vocals only)
* ''
Orchestral Favorites'' (1979)
* ''
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar'' (May 1981)
* ''
Baby Snakes'' (March 1983)
* ''
Thing-Fish'' (November 1984)
* ''
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1'' (May 1988)
* ''
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3'' (November 1989)
* ''
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4
''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4'' is a two-CD set of live recordings by Frank Zappa, recorded between 1969 and 1988, and released in 1991.
Track listing
All tracks written by Frank Zappa, except where noted.
Personnel
Musici ...
'' (July 1991)
* ''
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5'' is a double compact disc collection of live recordings (except for "German Lunch" and "My Guitar" which are studio recordings) by Frank Zappa. Disc one comprises performances by The Mothers of Invent ...
'' (July 1992)
* ''
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6'' (July 1992)
* ''
Läther'' (September 1996)
* ''
Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute'' (October 1996)
* ''
The Lost Episodes'' (1996)
* ''
FZ:OZ'' (August 2002)
* ''
QuAUDIOPHILIAc'' (September 2004)
* ''
Trance-Fusion'' (October 2006)
* ''
One Shot Deal'' (June 2008)
* ''
Joe's Menage'' (October 2008)
* ''
Philly '76'' (December 2009)
* ''
Hammersmith Odeon'' (November 2010)
* ''
Baby Snakes: The Compleat Soundtrack'' (December 2012)
* ''Halloween 77: The Palladium, NYC'' (October 2017)
* ''Zappa in New York 40th Anniversary'' (March 2019)
* ''Zappa ’75: Zagreb / Ljubljana'' (October 2022)
Missing Persons
* ''Missing Persons EP'' (1980) No. 46 US
* ''
Spring Session M'' (1982) No. 17 US
* ''
Rhyme & Reason'' (1984) No. 43 US
* ''
Color in Your Life'' (1986) No. 88 US
* ''
Late Nights Early Days
''Late Nights Early Days'' is a live album by American new wave band Missing Persons, released in 1997. Identified as an "important document of '80s pop" by AllMusic reviewer Tom Schulte, the album features a 1981 live concert, as well as a previ ...
'' (1999)
* ''
Lost Tracks'' (2002)
U.K.
* ''
Danger Money
''Danger Money'' is the second and final studio album by the progressive rock supergroup U.K., featuring John Wetton, Eddie Jobson and Terry Bozzio. It was released by E.G. Records / Polydor in March 1979. Early versions of "The Only Thing She ...
'' (1979) (Replaced Bill Bruford)
* ''
Night After Night'' (1979, Live)
Dweezil Zappa
* ''Back to the Beach Soundtrack (Wipe Out)'' with Herbie Hancock (1987)
* ''
My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama'' (1988)
* ''
Shampoohorn'' (1994)
* ''
Automatic
Automatic may refer to:
Music Bands
* Automatic (band), Australian rock band
* Automatic (American band), American rock band
* The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band
Albums
* ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 electronic rock ...
'' (2000)
Other
* 1974: ''Born to Love You'' Luis Gasca
* 1977: ''
Deceptive Bends
''Deceptive Bends'' is the fifth studio album by rock band 10cc, released in 1977.
History
The band started recording sessions for the fifth album in late summer of 1976 with the song "People in Love", at that time referred to as "Voodoo Boogi ...
''
10CC
* 1978: ''
Heavy Metal Be-Bop
''Heavy Metal Be-Bop'' is a live album by the American jazz fusion group, the Brecker Brothers that was released by Arista Records in 1978. The album also includes the studio track "East River", which reached No. 34 in the UK singles chart in Nove ...
''
Brecker Brothers
The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael and Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers attended Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pennsyl ...
* 1980: ''Only love can sustain''
Luis Alberto Spinetta
* 1980: ''Group 87'' Group 87
* 1986: ''Andy Taylor''
Andy Taylor
* 1987: ''
Robbie Robertson''
Robbie Robertson
* 1988: ''
Castalia
Castalia ( grc, Κασταλία), in Greek mythology, was a naiad- nymph, a daughter of Achelous who inhabited the Castalian spring in Delphi. In older traditions, Castalian spring already existed by the time Apollo came to Delphi searching ...
''
Mark Isham
* 1988: ''Rivers Gonna Rise''
Patrick O'Hearn
* 1988: ''Who I Am''
Gary Wright
* 1989: ''
Def, Dumb and Blonde''
Deborah Harry
* 1989: ''El Dorado''
Patrick O'Hearn
* 1989: ''How Long''
Michael Thompson
* 1989: ''
Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop''
Jeff Beck &
Tony Hymas
* 1989: ''Twins Soundtrack''
Jeff Beck
* 1990: ''Girlfriend from Hell'' Jorgenson
* 1990: ''
Mark Isham''
Mark Isham
* 1991: ''
Beckology
''Beckology'' by guitarist Jeff Beck was released in 1991 as a 3 CD career retrospective. Beckology covers the work of a guitarist widely acknowledged as one of the most influential and gifted exponents of the electric guitar, from early days w ...
''
Jeff Beck
* 1991: ''In Your Face''
Earl Slick
* 1991: ''
Rush Street''
Richard Marx
* 1992: ''Retrograde Planet''
Zazen
* 1992: ''Vol. Pour Sydney'' Lonely Bears
* 1992: ''White Sands Soundtrack''
Patrick O'Hearn
* 1993: ''
Sex and Religion''
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...
* 1994: ''Big Bang: In the Beginning Was a Drum'' Compilation
* 1994: ''
Hide Your Face''
hide
* 1994: ''Polytown'' Polytown
* 1995: ''First Signs of Life''
Gary Wright
* 1995: ''
Thank You''
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band wen ...
* 1995: ''Trust''
Patrick O'Hearn
* 1997: ''
Black Light Syndrome''
Bozzio Levin Stevens
* 1997: ''Dream Castles'' Sly
* 1997: ''Something with a Pulse''
Mark Craney & Friends
* 1998: ''
Age of Impact''
Explorer's Club
* 1998: ''Best of the Lonely Bears'' Lonely Bears
* 1998: ''Proof: The Very Best of the Knack''
The Knack
* 1998: ''
Zoom''
The Knack
* 1999: ''Lonely Bears'' Lonely Bears
* 2000: ''Injustice'' Lonely Bears
* 2000: ''
Situation Dangerous''
Bozzio Levin Stevens
* 2000: ''The Bears are Running'' Lonely Bears
* 2001: ''Compression''
Billy Sheehan
William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playin ...
* 2001: ''
Feeding the Wheel
''Feeding the Wheel'' is the fifth of many albums by keyboardist Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater and Dixie Dregs fame. Many other musicians perform on tracks on this album including Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa, Missing Persons), Steve Morse (Dixie ...
''
Jordan Rudess
* 2002: ''Big Delta''
Omar & The Howlers
* 2002: ''
Delete and Roll''
Bozzio Preinfalk & Machacek (BPM)
* 2002: ''Queen of the Damned Soundtrack''
Jonathan Davis,
Richard Gibbs
* 2002: ''
Raising the Mammoth
''Raising the Mammoth'' is Explorers Club's second album, released in 2002. It features appearances by former Kansas members Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren, former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Terry Bozzio. The album was mixed ...
''
Explorers Club
* 2003: ''Bozzio – Mastelotto'' with
Pat Mastelotto
* 2004: ''Alamo Soundtrack''
Carter Burwell
* 2004: ''Boogie Man''
Omar & The Howlers
* 2004: ''Drum Nation, Vol. 1'' Various Artists
* 2005: ''Two Sides of If''
Vivian Campbell
* 2006: ''
Sic''
Alex Machacek
* 2007: ''
Untitled''
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream.
Originally formed in 1993 b ...
* 2008: ''Live with the Tosca Strings'' DVD (2008)
* 2012: ''Efrainization'' Terry Bozzio/
Alex Acuna/Efrain Toro DVD
* 2016: ''Heavy Metal Be-Bop Band Tour in Japan'14''
Brecker Brothers
The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael and Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers attended Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pennsyl ...
(Reunion CD)
References
External links
Terry Bozzio – Official siteTerry Bozzio – Official FacebookTerry Bozzio – Official YouTubeTerry Bozzio – Official TwitterTerry Bozzio on Drum ChannelTerry Bozzio : Sabian Cymbals – Artist Set-upDrum Workshop site, artists section : Contains an illustration of Terry Bozzio and other drummers' drum kits*
ttps://podsodcast.com/2016/01/20/em22/ Career Retrospective Interview from January 2016 with Pods & Sods
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bozzio, Terry
1950 births
American rock drummers
Missing Persons (band) members
Living people
Drummers from San Francisco
Grammy Award winners
American new wave musicians
American session musicians
Tambourine players
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Explorers Club (band) members
U.K. (band) members
Bozzio Levin Stevens members
The Knack members
The Mothers of Invention members
Magna Carta Records artists
HoBoLeMa members
Fantômas (band) members