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Guitar virtuoso Tommy Bolin’s life played out almost like that of “Johnny” in Bad Company’s “Shooting Star”, except Tommy never had a number one record. He was too musically restless to remain in one band for long, and couldn’t resist the lure of drugs.
I was lucky to see Tommy twice--once in Denver when he was with Zephyr at a nightclub just before their first lp was released by the ABC 'Probe" label. I saw him also when he was with Deep Purple. That was around December of 1975 on the band's "Come Taste The Band' tour. Tommy was replacing a guitarist who certainly was no slouch---Richie Blackmore. Both were memorable performances. In between those bands he played in with the James Gang, replacing Joe Walsh. Those two lp's by the band (Bang and Miami) were done on Atco Records.
Check out Bolin's guitar work on jazz drummer Billy Cobham's Spectrum album, released on Atco in the summer of 1973. Awesome!
Found this thread while looking for something else.....I'm a huge Tommy Bolin fan. Unfortunately, I didn't come to know of him until 1978 so I never got to see him live. Even tho he was a Colorado fixture, I was still too young to even weasel my way into the 3.2 bars near Boulder & Evergreen where he may have played before going global. After I bought Teaser & Private Eyes, I got my hands on everything he had been a part of...Zephyr, James Gang, Deep Purple... anything I could find. I often think what his catalog of music could have been had drugs not taken him.
It would be hard to pick a favorite song, but Gypsy Soul is definitely in there. RIP, Tommy.
I do. Come and taste band is my 2nd favorite Deep Purple album after Stormbringer. I think Tommy was a great addition to Purple, and I loved the groovier and funkier direction they were going in.
I used to listen to a now-defunct classic rock station out of Memphis and I don’t recall them playing a Tommy Bolin song. I wonder if any of his songs got much airplay.
Here is a video of Tommy playing “Walk Away” with the post-Joe Walsh James Gang. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A7hnox9uvU
I was lucky to see Tommy twice--once in Denver when he was with Zephyr at a nightclub just before their first lp was released by the ABC 'Probe" label. I saw him also when he was with Deep Purple. That was around December of 1975 on the band's "Come Taste The Band' tour. Tommy was replacing a guitarist who certainly was no slouch---Richie Blackmore. Both were memorable performances. In between those bands he played in with the James Gang, replacing Joe Walsh. Those two lp's by the band (Bang and Miami) were done on Atco Records.
Check out Bolin's guitar work on jazz drummer Billy Cobham's Spectrum album, released on Atco in the summer of 1973. Awesome!
You sir, are a walking encyclopedia of music trivia. And that's a good thing
Guitar virtuoso Tommy Bolin’s life played out almost like that of “Johnny” in Bad Company’s “Shooting Star”, except Tommy never had a number one record. He was too musically restless to remain in one band for long, and couldn’t resist the lure of drugs.
This is very true.
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