Randy California: The forgotten protégé of Jimi Hendrix and his tragic death
Several musicians over the years have not received the credit they deserved and have been swept away with the wind to be forgotten. One such artist is the unbelievably named Randy California, the protégé guitarist whose talent was recognised by the great Jimi Hendrix.
Randy California was born Randy Craig Wolfe in 1951 in Los Angeles into a music-loving Jewish family. He learned several styles of guitar playing in his youth and regularly frequented the Los Angeles folk club his parents ran, the Ash Grove.
At 15, Wolfe moved with his mother and new stepfather, Ed Cassidy, to New York City as Cassidy, a musician himself, had a string of jazz concerts to play in 1966. At Manny’s Music in New York, a young Wolfe would meet the legendary Jimi Hendrix.
In fact, Wolfe would play in Hendrix’s band that summer. Hendrix would also adorn Wolfe with the stage name Randy California, seeing as another Randy in the band, subsequently named Randy Texas. However, when Hendrix’s band were invited to play in England, California’s parents refused that he went and insisted that he finish high school.
Eventually, California would form the band Spirit with his stepfather Cassidy along with Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes. Spirit’s career never truly got off the ground as much as their contemporaries had, although they did release several albums to a positive reception.
There had also been copyright concerns involving California and Led Zeppelin, a group that has been part of a number of plagiarism claims. Jimmy Page allegedly stole the guitar riff for ‘Stairway to Heaven’ from California’s ‘Taurus’. However, in 2016, a trial that examined audio recordings from both songs determined that Plant had not copied California’s tune.
California’s death is a complete and utter heroic tragedy, perhaps something from the ancient verses. In 1997, California’s 12-year-old son, Quinn, had been swimming near his mother’s home in Molokai, Hawaii. A rip current suddenly came in and began to sweep Quinn away.
California noticed the tragedy ensuing and dove into the water to save his son. He successfully managed to push Quinn to safety but, in doing so, was caught up in a riptide himself. He was subsequently swept away, and his body was sadly never found.
California was evidently a magnificent guitarist, having been championed early on by none other than Jimi Hendrix and also being ripped off by another of the six-string icons, Jimmy Page.
Following his death, the Randy California Project was set up using California’s recording royalties to support underprivileged children in after-school music programs in Ventura County.
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