Terry Bozzio is an American drummer, born in California, and known for having performed with the likes of Frank Zappa. Bozzio started playing at the young age of 6, where he played improvised drums. After watching a performance of The Beatles at the age of 13, he went on to take drum lessons after begging his father. During Bozzio’s teens in the 1960s, he played for a variety of bands including Jungle Mountain Boys, Blue Grass Radio, and The Yarde. He eventually obtained a music scholarship through high school, which allowed him to continue his studies at the College of Marin. This is where Bozzio really studied drums in depth and expanded his drumming skills tremendously.
In the 1970s, Bozzio was playing in rock musicals and jazz groups. It was in the mid-1970s that he began recording and performing with Frank Zappa, leading to one of Bozzio’s first real streaks of fame. Bozzio being a prominent technical musician, he was able to perform Zappa’s The Black Page, which basically consisted of one page containing a large number of notes. It is known to be more than extremely difficult to perform. When it comes to drum ensembles, Bozzio’s is quite unique and consists of a tremendously high number of drums. Many drum kits used by band drummers tend to be only a fraction of the size (in quantity).
In 1977, Bozzio toured and recorded with The Brecker Brothers. He was always good friends with guitarist Barry Finnerty in the band. And it wasn’t long before Bozzio joined Grupo 87, a band that managed to land a record deal with CBS after a successful audition. Bozzio actually auditioned for the well-known Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, but he didn’t make the lineup. In 1979, he was in a band called UK, where he proceeded to take part in some recordings, but eventually went on to form one of the bands for which he is particularly known: Missing Persons.
Missing Persons was formed by Bozzio and featured Dale Bozzio as the lead singer (his wife at the time), along with Warren Caccurullo (former Zappa guide). The band continued to record albums such as Spring Session M and Color In Your Life, and toured the United States and Europe. They managed to generate good publicity while appearing on radio and television. The band broke up in 1986, and it was around this time that Bozzio’s wife, Dale, divorced him. Bozzio went on to form a solo band with Andy Taylor of Duran Duran. He played many sessions with a wide variety of musicians, from Gary Wright to Herbie Hancock.
Bozzio has done a lot of solo work since the late 1980s and married Ev Kvamme in 1986. Their son, Raanen Bozzio, was born in 1990. Bozzio, in more recent years, has had notable roles alongside his solo career. , as a drummer for the popular metal band Korn.