Terry John Bozzio, a virtuoso drummer of unparalleled skill, was born on December 27, 1950, to Italian-American parents in the vibrant city of San Francisco, California. As a young boy, Terry's fascination with the drums began at the tender age of six, when he started playing on makeshift sets, laying the foundation for a lifelong passion.
Inspired by the iconic appearance of the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show," Terry begged his father for drum lessons at the age of thirteen, marking the beginning of his formal training. Throughout the 1960s, Terry played in various garage rock bands, including Blue Glass Radio, The Yarde, and Tamalpais Mountain Boys, honing his skills and developing his unique style.
Terry's academic pursuits took him to Sir Francis Drake High School and College of Marin, where he majored in music. Following graduation, he went on to play drums for productions of the rock musicals "Godspell" and "Walking in My Time," as well as performed with various local jazz groups.
In 1975, Terry joined the illustrious Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, playing drums on ten albums, including "Bongo Fury," "Joe's Garage," and "Baby Snakes." He also appeared in the latter rock concert documentary of the same name. Terry's tenure with Zappa came to an end in 1978.
In 1980, Terry co-founded the innovative New Wave band Missing Persons, alongside lead singer Dale Bozzio, whom he would later marry in 1979. Missing Persons went on to record three albums and achieve significant commercial success, with the songs "Words" and "Destination Unknown" almost cracking the Top 40 before the band disbanded in 1986.
After Missing Persons, Terry collaborated with an impressive array of musical artists, including Robbie Robertson, Gary Wright, Frank Zappa's son Dweezil, Paul Hyde, Herbie Hancock, Richard Marx, Jeff Beck, Duran Duran, Billy Sheehan, Steve Vai, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among many others.
In the summer of 2005, Terry filled in for drummer Dave Lombardo in Fantomas for the group's European tour. More recently, he worked with the nu metal band Korn on their eighth album. Terry's innovative approach to rock drumming has led to the creation of the melodic ostinato for the drum set and orchestral compositions on the drum set by playing polyrhythms and metric modulations.
As a respected clinician, Terry performs regular drum clinics across the country, sharing his expertise with fellow drummers. His contributions to the world of music have been recognized with his induction into Guitar Center's RockWalk in Hollywood on January 17, 2007.
Today, Terry Bozzio resides in Austin, Texas, with his second wife, Ev Kvamme, and son, Raanen.
