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Terry Bozzio first got his start as the drummer for
Frank Zappa's backing band during the '70s, but would go on to become one of rock's most versatile session men, and form one of new wave's most visually exciting outfits,
Missing Persons, along with then-wife
Dale Bozzio. Born
Terry John Bozzio on December 27, 1950 in San Francisco, CA,
Bozzio began playing on makeshift drums at an early age, before taking formal lessons at the age of 13 (inspired by
the Beatles' infamous appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show). After playing in various local garage bands during the mid- to late '60s,
Bozzio majored in music while attending Sir Francis Drake High School and College of Marin as he studied timpani and various forms of percussion. By the early '70s,
Bozzio had landed gigs with such rock musicals as Godspell and Walking in My Time, in addition to playing in several jazz/fusion outfits and appearing on his first record -- backing trumpeter
Luis Gasca on his 1972 release, Born to Love You. 1975 saw
Bozzio catch his big career break, when he auditioned for and got a spot drumming for
Frank Zappa.
Bozzio's tenure with
Zappa lasted only three years, but the drummer was featured on ten albums and countless tours (
Bozzio also appeared in the
Zappa concert movie, Baby Snakes).
Bozzio also served as the inspiration for several
Zappa compositions during their time together, including "The Black Page" and "Punky's Whips." After leaving
Zappa in 1978,
Bozzio nearly landed spots with a pair of potentially interesting outfits -- a jazz supergroup called
Group 87 (consisting of bassist Patrick O'Hearn and keyboardist
Mark Isham, among others) and already-established hard rockers
Thin Lizzy. Unfortunately, both wound up not working out for
Bozzio (although he would play on
Group 87's self-titled debut recording a couple of years later). But
Bozzio didn't have to wait long to join his next project, as he got the thumbs up to join prog rockers
U.K. in 1979. The same year, he played on a pair of
U.K. albums, (Danger Money and Night After Night), plus their subsequent supporting tours. Up next for
Bozzio was a new wave project with his wife
Dale and former
Frank Zappa guitarist
Warren Cuccurullo called
Missing Persons. The group's space age sound and look turned heads right off the bat, as they enjoyed a pair of hit singles/videos ("Words" and "Destination Unknown"), as well as a gold-certified debut album, 1982's
Spring Session M. But the band (and
Bozzio's marriage) didn't last much longer, as
Missing Persons issued only two more albums before splitting up -- 1984's
Rhyme & Reason and 1986's
Color in Your Life. Subsequently,
Bozzio has focused primarily on either recording or touring with a wide variety of acclaimed artists, including
Robbie Robertson,
Gary Wright,
Don Dokken,
Paul Hyde,
Herbie Hancock,
Dweezil Zappa,
Richard Marx,
Jeff Beck,
Duran Duran,
Explorer's Club,
Billy Sheehan,
Steve Vai, and
Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others.
Bozzio also began performing clinics for fellow drummers across the country, in addition to issuing an instructional home video in 1992, Solo Drums. The late '90s saw the drummer issue albums as part of the all-star trio
Bozzio Levins Stevens (
Black Light Syndrome and
Situation Dangerous), plus collaborative albums with
Chad Wackerman (Solos & Duets, Vols. I & II), and solo releases (Drawing the Circle, Chamber Works, Solo Drum Music, Vols. I & II). 2001 saw
Terry rejoin
Missing Persons for a series of reunion concerts. ~ Greg Prato