Founder and soul of Spirit, guitarist Randy California could have been the equal of Jimi Hendrix or Jimi Page. In fact, he played with Jimi Hendrix in The Blue Flames before the latter left for England, where Randy California was unable to follow him due to his young age (fifteen). Randy California then formed Spirit, with whom he released the psychedelic blues rock monuments Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (1970) and Spirit of '76 (1975). Parallel to his career with Spirit, Randy California released solo albums of fluctuating inspiration. His first album, Kapt. Kopter and the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds in 1972 is often seen as a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Randy California died by drowning in 1997, while most of his recordings are available in the four-CD box set The Euro-American Years, 1979-1983, released in 2007.
