Randy California (born
Randy Craig Wolfe;
February 20, 1951 –
January 2, 1997) was a
guitarist, singer and
songwriter and one of the original members of the rock group
Spirit, formed in
1967.
Randy was born into a musical family in
Los Angeles, and spent his early years studying varied styles at the family's
Hollywood nightclub, the
Ash Grove. He was fifteen years old when they moved to
New York and he met
Jimi Hendrix in 1966. He played in Hendrix's band
Jimmy James & the Blue Flames that summer. The stage name "Randy California" was given to him by Hendrix to distinguish him from another Randy in the band (who Hendrix dubbed "Randy Texas"). When Hendrix was invited to come to
England by
Chas Chandler, Randy was not allowed to go (by his parents) and so missed out on what became the
Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Together with his stepfather
Ed Cassidy, California founded the band Spirit in 1967 and wrote their biggest hit, 1968's "I Got a Line on You". Spirit's other big hit was "Nature's Way." The band's music still stands as a unique sound mixing ethereal notes, hard beats, and a satirical view of the world. It has been said that
Jimmy Page plagiarized Randy's guitar part from "Taurus" when he wrote
Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' although this is denied by Page. The fact that Zeppelin opened on the road for Spirit for a while has fueled the controversy.
Randy California left Spirit in 1971 to begin a solo career, but periodically returned to various reincarnations of the group over the years until he was lost in the ocean
January 2, 1997 while rescuing his twelve-year-old son from a
rip current near their home at
Molokai, Hawaii. 
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