View source for Terry Bozzio

{{short description|American drummer (born 1950)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{blp sources|date=March 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Terry Bozzio
| image             = Terry Bozzio.jpg
| caption           = Bozzio performing in 2006
| image_upright     = 1.2
| landscape         = yes
| birth_name        = Terry John Bozzio
| alias             = Ted Bozzio
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1950|12|27}}
| birth_place       = [[San Francisco, California]], U.S.
| instrument        = {{hlist|Drums|vocals}}
| genre             = {{Flatlist|
*[[Rock music|Rock]]
*[[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]]
*[[jazz]]
*[[Jazz fusion|fusion]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1105792/a/Group+87.htm|title=Group 87 CD Album|publisher=Cduniverse.com|date=November 21, 2000|access-date=October 6, 2011}}</ref> 
*[[synthpop]]
<!-- Bozzio has played many different styles. Too many to list here. Rock covers it and sub-genres are detailed in the main article -->}}
| occupation        = Musician
| years_active      = {{start date|1972}}–present
| past_member_of    = [[Frank Zappa]] band<br />[[U.K. (band)|U.K.]]<br />[[Missing Persons (band)|Missing Persons]]<br />[[HoBoLeMa]]<br />
| associated_acts   = Polytown, [[The Knack]], [[Fantômas (band)|Fantômas]], [[Debbie Harry]], [[Korn]]
| website           = {{URL|terrybozzio.com}}
}}

'''Terry John Bozzio''' (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with [[Missing Persons (band)|Missing Persons]], [[U.K. (band)|U.K.]], and [[Frank Zappa]].<ref name="allmusic1">{{cite web|last=Prato|first=Greg|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p58692|pure_url=yes}}|title=Terry Bozzio|publisher=AllMusic|date=December 27, 1950|access-date=October 6, 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/modern-drummers-readers-poll-archive/#_ |title= Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive, 1979–2014|work=[[Modern Drummer]]|access-date=August 10, 2015}}</ref>

== Biography ==

Terry Bozzio was born on December 27, 1950 in [[San Francisco, California]]. He started at age 6 playing makeshift drum sets. At the age of 13 he saw [[the Beatles]]' premiere performance on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]''<ref name="allmusic1" /> and begged his father for drum lessons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Terry_Bozzio.html|title=Drummerworld biodata|publisher=Drummerworld.com|access-date=October 6, 2011}}</ref> He cited [[Carmine Appice]], [[Mitch Mitchell]] and [[Ginger Baker]] as early influences,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://musicguy247.typepad.com/my-blog/2014/06/terry-bozzio-an-interview-with-the-world-class-drummer-formally-with-frank-zappa-and-missing-persons.html|title=Terry Bozzio - An interview with the world class drummer who has worked with Frank Zappa, Missing Persons and many others.|publisher=musicguy247.typepad.com |date= 2014-06-25|accessdate=2015-03-31}}</ref> and [[Elvin Jones]], [[Tony Williams (drummer)|Tony Williams]], and [[Eric Gravatt]] as later influences.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1981-11 Terry Bozzio: Burnin' |url=https://www.afka.net/Articles/1981-11_Modern_Drummer.htm |access-date=2025-11-15 |website=www.afka.net}}</ref> 

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]]'' and ''Walking in my Time''. He began playing in local jazz groups with [[Mike Nock]], [[Art Lande]], [[Azteca (band)|Azteca]], [[Eddie Henderson (musician)|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 toured with [[Frank Zappa]] between April 1975 and February 1978<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zappa Line-ups 1975-April 1978 |url=https://fzpomd.net/lineups/lineup5.html |access-date=9 April 2025 |website=Zappateers}}</ref> and appeared as a drummer and vocalist on a number of Zappa's albums, including ''[[Bongo Fury]]'' (1975), ''[[Zoot Allures]]'' (1976), ''[[Zappa in New York]]'' (1976), ''[[Sheik Yerbouti]]'' (1979) and ''[[Thing-Fish]]'' (1984), and in the concert movie ''[[Baby Snakes]]'' (1979). Bozzio's vocals were prominently featured on a number of Zappa songs, including "Punky's Whips", "Tryin' to Grow a Chin" and "Dong Work for Yuda", making him a key element of the distinctive sound of Zappa's late-1970s work. During live performances of the song [[Titties & Beer]] between 1976 and 1978, Bozzio would play the character of The Devil, donning a mask and arguing with Zappa's character on stage.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ulrich |first=Charles |title=The Big Note: A Guide to the Recordings of Frank Zappa |publisher=New Star Books Ltd. |year=2018 |isbn=978-1554201464 |edition=1st |location=Canada |publication-date=11 March 2018 |pages=694-695 |language=en}}</ref> Bozzio was also the drummer for whom Zappa wrote [[The Black Page]], originally a solo piece for drums, which became one of the signature compositions of Zappa's career.<ref name=":0" />

In 1977, he joined The [[Brecker Brothers]] with longtime San Francisco friend and guitarist [[Barry Finnerty]]. With The Brecker Brothers, Bozzio toured and recorded the live album ''[[Heavy Metal Be-Bop]]'' (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]].

After [[Bill Bruford]] and [[Allan Holdsworth]] departed from the band [[U.K. (band)|U.K.]] in late 1978, Bozzio joined [[Eddie Jobson]] and [[John Wetton]] to continue U.K. as a trio. The trio recorded ''[[Danger Money]]'' (1979) and a live album ''[[Night After Night (U.K. album)|Night After Night]]'' (1979) and toured the U.S. and Canada twice (supporting the popular progressive rock band [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]]), and in Europe and Japan.

=== 1980s ===

After [[U.K. (band)|U.K.]] disbanded in early 1980, Bozzio, ex-Zappa guitarist [[Warren Cuccurullo]] and then-wife and vocalist [[Dale Bozzio]] founded the band [[Missing Persons (band)|Missing Persons]]. Missing Persons released the albums ''[[Spring Session M]]'' (which went Gold), ''[[Rhyme & Reason (Missing Persons album)|Rhyme & Reason]],'' and ''[[Color in Your Life]].''

After Missing Persons broke up in 1986, Bozzio joined ex-[[Duran Duran]] guitarist [[Andy Taylor (guitarist)|Andy Taylor]]'s solo band. He also played on sessions with [[Robbie Robertson]], [[Gary Wright]], [[Don Dokken]], [[XYZ (US band)|XYZ]], [[Paul Hyde]], [[Herbie Hancock]], [[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 (Sérgio Mendes album)|Confetti]]'' by Sergio Mendes in 1984.

=== 1990s ===
Between 1990 and 1995, Bozzio developed [[ostinato]]-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 (musician)|Hugh Burns]] 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]]'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 ===
{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Terry Bozzio Fantomas Quart Festival 2005.jpg
| image2 = TreyBozzioWithFantomasMontreaux2005.jpg
| footer = Bozzio performing with [[Fantômas (band)|Fantômas]] in 2005
| total_width = 240
}}

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockwalk.com/inductees/inductee.cfm?id=172|title=Guitar Center's Hollywood Rockwalk|publisher=Rockwalk.com|access-date=October 6, 2011}}</ref> He worked with the [[nu metal]] band [[Korn]] on [[Untitled Korn album|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 (band)|Slipknot]] and later [[Ray Luzier]].

==Personal life==
His son and stepdaughter are also drummers: the latter, Marina, is a former member of the band [[Aldious]].<ref>{{cite web|title=【ライブレポート】アルディアス、ニューアルバムのリリースを発表|language=ja|work=barks.jp|url=http://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000120578|date=October 13, 2015|access-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref>

== 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 ===
{{div-col}}
* ''[[Bongo Fury]]'' (October 1975), US No.&nbsp;66
* ''[[Zoot Allures]]'' (October 1976), US No.&nbsp;71
* ''[[Zappa in New York]]'' (March 1977), US No.&nbsp;57
* ''[[Studio Tan]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Sleep Dirt]]'' (January 1979), US No.&nbsp;175
* ''[[Sheik Yerbouti]]'' (March 1979), US No.&nbsp;21
* ''[[Joe's Garage]]'' (September 1979), US No.&nbsp;27 (vocals only)
* ''[[Orchestral Favorites]]'' (1979)
* ''[[Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar]]'' (May 1981)
* ''[[Baby Snakes (soundtrack)|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]]'' (July 1991)
* ''[[You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5]]'' (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 (album)|Hammersmith Odeon]]'' (November 2010)
* ''[[Baby Snakes (soundtrack)|Baby Snakes: The Compleat Soundtrack]]'' (December 2012)
* ''[[Joe's Camouflage]]'' (2013)
* ''[[Halloween 77]]'' (October 2017)
* ''Zappa in New York 40th Anniversary'' (March 2019)
* ''Zappa ’75: Zagreb / Ljubljana'' (October 2022)
{{div-col-end}}

=== Missing Persons ===
* ''Missing Persons EP'' (1980) No.&nbsp;46 US
* ''[[Spring Session M]]'' (1982) No.&nbsp;17 US
* ''[[Rhyme & Reason (Missing Persons album)|Rhyme & Reason]]'' (1984) No.&nbsp;43 US
* ''[[Color in Your Life]]'' (1986) No.&nbsp;88 US
* ''[[Late Nights Early Days]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Lost Tracks (Missing Persons album)|Lost Tracks]]'' (2002)

=== U.K. ===
* ''[[Danger Money]]'' (1979) (Replaced Bill Bruford)
* ''[[Night After Night (U.K. album)|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 (album)|My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Shampoohorn]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Automatic (Dweezil Zappa album)|Automatic]]'' (2000)

=== Other ===
{{div-col}}
* 1974: ''Born to Love You'' Luis Gasca
* 1977: ''[[Deceptive Bends]]'' [[10CC]]
* 1978: ''[[Heavy Metal Be-Bop]]'' [[Brecker Brothers]]
* 1980: ''Only love can sustain'' [[Luis Alberto Spinetta]]
* 1980: ''Group 87'' Group 87
* 1986: ''Andy Taylor'' [[Andy Taylor (guitarist)|Andy Taylor]]
* 1987: ''[[Robbie Robertson (album)|Robbie Robertson]]'' [[Robbie Robertson]]
* 1988: ''[[Castalia (album)|Castalia]]'' [[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 (guitarist)|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 (album)|Mark Isham]]'' [[Mark Isham]]
* 1991: ''[[Beckology]]'' [[Jeff Beck]]
* 1991: ''In Your Face'' [[Earl Slick]]
* 1991: ''[[Rush Street (Richard Marx album)|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 (album)|Sex and Religion]]'' [[Steve Vai]]
* 1994: ''Big Bang: In the Beginning Was a Drum'' Compilation
* 1994: ''[[Hide Your Face]]'' [[Hide (musician)|hide]]
* 1994: ''Polytown'' Polytown
* 1995: ''First Signs of Life'' [[Gary Wright]]
* 1995: ''[[Thank You (Duran Duran album)|Thank You]]'' [[Duran Duran]]
* 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]]'' [[Explorers Club (band)|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 album)|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]]
* 2001: ''[[Feeding the Wheel]]'' [[Jordan Rudess]]
* 2002: ''Big Delta'' [[Omar & The Howlers]]
* 2002: ''[[Delete and Roll]]'' [[BPM (band)|Bozzio Preinfalk & Machacek]] (BPM)
* 2002: ''Queen of the Damned Soundtrack'' [[Jonathan Davis]], [[Richard Gibbs]]
* 2002: ''[[Raising the Mammoth]]'' [[Explorers Club (band)|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 (album)|Sic]]'' [[Alex Machacek]]
* 2007: ''[[Untitled Korn album|Untitled]]'' [[Korn]]
* 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]] (Reunion CD)
{{div-col-end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.terrybozzio.com/ Terry Bozzio – Official site]
* [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Terry-Bozzio-Official/327746222189 Terry Bozzio – Official Facebook]
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW45CZGn9M90L_6lwvSdxtA/videos Terry Bozzio – Official YouTube]
* [https://twitter.com/terrybozzio Terry Bozzio – Official Twitter]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090721162137/http://www.drumchannel.com/library/2966/artist.aspx Terry Bozzio on Drum Channel]
* [http://www.sabian.com/english/artists/artists_setups.cfm?artistsId=6632 Terry Bozzio : Sabian Cymbals – Artist Set-up] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016084450/http://www.sabian.com/english/artists/artists_setups.cfm?artistsId=6632 |date=October 16, 2007 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061102222342/http://www.dwdrums.com/artists/default.asp Drum Workshop site, artists section : Contains an illustration of Terry Bozzio and other drummers' drum kits]
* [http://www.behindthedrums.com/TerryBozzio.htm Terry Bozzio's Discography and Equipment List at BehindTheDrums]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160624185825/https://podsodcast.com/2016/01/20/em22/ Career Retrospective Interview from January 2016 with Pods & Sods]}}
* {{discogs artist|Terry Bozzio}}
* {{imdb name|0102557}}

{{Fantômas}}
{{U.K.}}
{{Missing Persons}}
{{Explorers Club}}
{{Steve Stevens}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bozzio, Terry}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:American rock drummers]]
[[Category:Missing Persons (band) members]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Drummers from San Francisco]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:American new wave musicians]]
[[Category:American session musicians]]
[[Category:American tambourine players]]
[[Category:20th-century American drummers]]
[[Category:American male drummers]]
[[Category:Explorers Club (band) members]]
[[Category:U.K. (band) members]]
[[Category:Bozzio Levin Stevens members]]
[[Category:The Knack members]]
[[Category:The Mothers of Invention members]]
[[Category:Magna Carta Records artists]]
[[Category:HoBoLeMa members]]
[[Category:Fantômas (band) members]]
[[Category:Archie Williams High School alumni]]