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. (More from Wikipedia)
A noted guitar prodigy, Randy Craig Wolfe of Spirit was given his moniker at age 15 by none other than Jimi Hendrix (before Jimi started using that spelling); when they played together in 1966 in one of Hendrix's early bands, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, Jimi called him "Randy California" in order to distinguish him from Randy Palmer who was also in the band.
Spirit was recently in the news when they won the first round in a long-simmering controversy with Led Zeppelin. The two bands had toured together during Led Zep's first tour, and Randy California had long claimed that the opening chords for "Stairway to Heaven" were lifted from their 1968 instrumental song "Taurus".
Reportedly for lack of funds, a copyright infringement lawsuit was not filed until May 2014 (by Randy Craig Wolfe's heirs); and on October 21, 2014, the Judge in the case denied the request by Led Zeppelin's attorneys to dismiss the case.
(November 2014)
