Randy Castillo
| Randy Castillo | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Randolpho Francisco Castillo |
| Born |
December 18, 1950 Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Died | March 26, 2002 (aged 51) |
| Genres | Heavy metal, hard rock, glam metal |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, Drummer |
| Instruments | Drums,Percussion, Trumpet, Vocals |
| Years active | 1980–2002 |
| Labels | Epic, Mötley, Mercury, Star Licks Productions |
| Associated acts | Lita Ford, Ozzy Osbourne, Red Square Black, Mötley Crüe, The Mud, Vince Neil Band, The Offenders, USSA, Bret Michaels |
| Website | www |
Randolpho Francisco "Randy" Castillo (December 18, 1950 – March 26, 2002) was best known as Ozzy Osbourne's drummer during the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, and later as drummer for Mötley Crüe, from 1999 to his death in 2002.
Randolpho Francisco Castillo was born to a Spanish/French/Native American mother, Margaret, and Native American/Hispanic father Frank (Kiko). He was one of five children, and his sisters, Frances, Marilyn, Phyllis and Christine, all play music. His first band experience was at West Mesa High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, playing in the jazz band, orchestra and marching band. He wrote the high school cadence that is still being used to this day. He played trumpet for a short time then realized his passion was the drums. He decided he wanted a drum kit instead, especially after seeing The Beatles play on The Ed Sullivan Show in early February 1964. However, his father refused to buy him one, thinking he would only lose interest, as he had already done with the trumpet.
When he was 18, Castillo played in a band called The Tabbs, who wore mustard coloured Nehru jackets on stage. On 18 June 1970, exactly three months before Jimi Hendrix died, he snuck into one of Hendrix's concerts and hid under the stage to get a closer look. After leaving The Tabbs, he then played with The Mudd and began heavy drug use, including mescaline, peyote and heroin. The band's lead singer, Tommy G, died of kidney failure, which Castillo blamed on Tommy's addiction to heroin. This caused him to shy away from using the drug again.
He joined his first rock band, The Wumblies (originally called Cottonmouth), in the late '70s and he moved to Espanola where they predominantly played covers of songs by Yes, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull at as many gigs as possible, including high school proms. He first experienced life on the road with The Wumblies as they toured around America, playing four 45-minute sets per night in clubs. Castillo became an instant drumming icon in all cities toured. The band moved to Denver, Colorado where they fell apart in 1980; a year later, his father Frank died at age 51.
In 1980, Castillo recorded an LP with a band called The Offenders. The band also featured Randy Rand of Autograph and Glenn Sherba of Badfinger.
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