Tommy Bolin RIP

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"In the begininning all you wanted

was the calm before the storm

If the bluebird plays the eagle,

he finds his song will turn to stone."



Deep Purple- Dealer (the only vocal sung by Tommy Bolin on the CTTB LP)



RIP Tommy- we love you. Tommy died December 4 1976 of multiple drug
intoxication in Miami FL, after opening up for The Jeff Beck Group.



Although it is rumoured that his manager and others were present at the
time he became unconscious, no physician was summoned for fear of
adverse publicity.

Please use this thread to celebrate Tommy's music, and not to discredit him in any way or compare him to any other musician. Thank you.

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For resources, concert reviews, Archive CD's and history- go here:

http://www.tbolin.com/catalog/index.html

Tommy Bolin was the greatest guitar player who ever lived.

Michael

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Tommy Bolin began playing in bands around Sioux City as a youth
before moving to Boulder Colorado in his late teens. He had played in a
band called American Standard before joining Ethereal Zephyr, a band
named after a train that ran between Denver and Chicago. When record
companies became interested, the name was shortened to Zephyr.
This band included Bolin on guitar, David Givens on bass, and Givens'
wife Candice on vocals. The band had begun to do larger venues, opening
for more established acts such as Led Zeppelin. Their second album, entitled Going Back to Colorado,
featured a new drummer, Bobby Berge, who would pop up from time to time
in musician credits in album liner notes from Bolin's later projects.

After this record, he decided to move on to more progressive
projects. In 1972 Bolin, at the age of 20, formed the fusion
jazz-rock-blues band Energy. While the band never released an album
during Bolin's lifetime, several posthumous releases have demonstrated
the band's power and Bolin's artistic vision. He also played on Billy Cobham's Spectrum album, which included Bolin on Guitar, Billy Cobham of Mahavishnu Orchestra on drums, Leland Sklar on bass and Jan Hammer (also of Mahavishnu Orchestra)
on keyboards and synthesizers. This was a fusion-powerhouse line up
that resulted in a most impressive album that showcased Bolin's playing
at his creative peak.

1973 found him as Joe Walsh's replacement in the James Gang. He had two records with this band: Bang! in 1973 and Miami in 1974.

After the Miami tour, Bolin wanted out of the James Gang. He
went on to do session work for numerous rock bands and also with a
number of Jazz artists. Bolin is featured, for example, on Alphonse
Mouzon's (of Weather Report) album Mind Transplant.

Bolin signed with Nemperor records to record a solo album. His main
idea was to bring in a vast array of musicians drawn from all the
session players he had known. With the encouragement of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, Bolin decided to do his own vocals on this album as well. Session players on this record included David Sanborn, Jan Hammer, Stanley Sheldon, Phil Collins (of Genesis) and Glenn Hughes (of Deep Purple), to name a few. During the recording of this album, he was contacted to replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple.

In the start of 1975 Bolin contributed some studio guitar assistance to Canadian band Moxy during the recording of their debut album, with the original vinyl Lp for Moxy I being especially sought-after by die-hard Bolin fans.Tommy Bolin Archives Then later in 1975 saw the release of Bolin's first and highly anticipated solo record, Teaser (on the Nemperor label), and Deep Purple's Come Taste the Band (on the Purple label). The Deep Purple world tour that followed allowed Tommy to showcase one song per night from Teaser. During this period, it had become apparent that he had a heroin addiction. A bad fix before a show in Japan left his left arm partially paralyzed for a brief period. Erratic shows became the norm for this lineup and their singer, David Coverdale, walked off the stage after a show in Liverpool, and Deep Purple was no more.

Bolin was back on the road with his solo band and planning a second
solo record. The band had a rotating cast of players which included
Norma Jean Bell (formerly of Frank Zappa's
band) on saxophone and eventually Tommy's older brother Johnny Bolin on
drums. After top brass from Nemperor witnessed Bolin (while highly
intoxicated) falling off the stage during a performance, he was
summarily dropped from that label.

This proved to be something of a blessing in disguise when CBS signed him shortly afterwards. In 1976 he began to record Private Eyes,
his second solo record. This album was to be a double album, but
financial woes cut down on this project and a single album was
released. The album is a decent effort, considering the level of his
difficulties with substance abuse when he made it.

Bolin's tour for Private Eyes proved to be his last. The cost
of keeping a band on the road and his heavy drug addiction forced him
into being a supporting act. In his last concert dates, he opened for Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck.
His last tour was marred with technical problems and unreliable
performances. However, his legendary final show, in which he opened for
Jeff Beck on December 3, 1976, encored with a barnburning rendition of
"Post Toastee". He posed for a photo with Jeff Beck after the show. In
one account of his last hours, Bolin was found unconscious shortly
following the show. The management, who by some reports did not want
any more negative publicity about the tour, had him taken to his room
with his girlfriend to look after him. (In other accounts, his death
followed a night of hard partying that had involved beer, champagne,
cocaine and finally, heroin.) By morning, Bolin's health had become
worse. His girlfriend feared for his life and called for an ambulance.
When paramedics arrived, Tommy Bolin was pronounced dead. He was 25
years old.

In 1999, Glenn Hughes (of Trapeze and Deep Purple) did a 4-5 city tribute tour in Texas, with Tommy's brother Johnny (of Black Oak Arkansas) on drums, playing Tommy's songs.

[edit] Discography (With Others)

Zephyr:

• Zephyr (1969)
• Going Back to Colorado (1971)
• Live at Art's Bar and Grill (1996)

James Gang:

• Bang (1973)
• Miami (1974)

Billy Cobham:

• Spectrum (1973)
• Rudiments: The Billy Cobham Anthology (2004)
• Love Child. The Spectrum Sessions (2002)

Alphonse Mouzon:

• Mind Transplant (1975)
• Tommy Bolin & Alphonse Mouzon Fusion Jam (Rehearsals 1974) (1999)

Moxy

• Moxy (1975)

Deep Purple:

• Come Taste the Band (1975)
• Last Concert in Japan (1977/1978)
• King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Deep Purple in Concert (1995)
• On the Wings of a Russian Foxbat - Live in California '76 (1995)
• Days May and Days May Go (Come Taste the Band rehearsals) (2000)
• 1420 Beachwood Drive (California Rehearsals Volume 2) (2000)
• This Time Around: Live in Tokyo (2001)

[edit] Solo Discography

LPs:

• Teaser (1975)
• Private Eyes (1976)
• From the Archives, Vol. 1 (1996)
• The Bottom Shelf (1996)
• From the Archives, Vol. 2 (1997)
• Energy (1999)
• Snapshot (1999)
• Naked (2000)
• Naked (2002)
• After Hours: The Glen Holly Jams - Volume 1 (2004)
• Whips and Roses (2006)

Live:

• Live at Ebbets Field 1974 (1996)
• Live at Ebbets Field 1976 (1996)
• Live at Northern Lights Recording Studio (1996)
• The Energy Radio Broadcasts (1998)
• First Time Live (2000)
• Live 9/19/76 (2001)
• Live in Miami at Jai Alai: The Final Show (2002)
• Alive on Long Island (2003)
• Tommy Bolin and Energy Live (2003)
• Albany 9/20/76 (2004)
• Live at the Jet Bar (2004)

Compilations:

• The Ultimate: The Best of Tommy Bolin (1989)
• Come Taste the Man (1999)

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DIAMOND TEASER (EXCERPTS)

CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 2005

By Greg Prato (Submitted by Greg Prato)

Tommy

Bolin played guitar with some of the biggest names in 70s rock. With a

fiery and technical style, he helped bridge the gap between the Jimi

Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen generations. He had the looks and the

talent, but also a deadly drug addiction. Classic Rock takes a look at the tragic career of a guitar great, through bandmates, friends, and family.

The

early 1970s was a great time for guitar heroes. Ritchie Blackmore,

Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and their peers were at he top of their game,

but most adhered to a style rooted in the blues. Moreover, in the wake

of Jimi Hendrix's death, almost all the six-strong gods came from

England.

American

Tommy Bolin, a native of Sioux City, Iowa, was a notable exception.

Best described as the David Bowie of the guitar, Bolin jumped from one

playing style to the next making each one his own, before quickly

discarding it for the next.

Glenn Hughes,

Bolin's one-time bandmate in Deep Purple, agrees with this assessment.

Tommy was different, wasnt he? He had a very South American-flavored,

Brazilian, reggae-ish way of playing guitar:, it wasnt European. It

was be-boppy, it was jazz, it was everything Deep Purple werent. He

was a genius.

Born on August 1, 1951,

Tommy Bolin discovered rock n roll via Elvis Presley, and got his

first guitar when he was 10. Although he did time with such bands as

Denny & the Triumphs, Patch of Blue, and the Velairs, he became

increasingly fed up with the going-nowhere local music scene. He told

his parents he was relocating to the then-musical hotbed of Denver,

Colorado.

As Bolin's brother, Johnnie,

recalls: Mom and dad were behind him 100%. I mean, to let a kid go

hitchhike to Denver at 15, its not like they didnt care, but he said,

Thats what I really want to do. And my mom didnt like the fact that

they kept throwing him out of school because of his long hair.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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Tommy Bolin Band on stage at Winterland, San Francisco. The lineup would have been Norma Jean Bell (from Zappa's Mothers) on sax, Tommy center stage, Reggie McBride on bass, Narada Michael Walden drums (later of Jeff Beck's band), and not shown Mark Stein keys and flute.

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Tommy with Deep Purple, the front line was Glenn Hughes bass vocals (from Trapeze), David Coverdale Vocals, and Tommy guitars.

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Tommy Bolin playing with Deep Purple

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James Gang MK III with Tommy far right. Tommy wrote most of and played on MIAMI and BAND- both BRILLIANT albums.

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I hope Triceratops joins us with his Tommy story. I think it was the Nazareth/Deep Purple show that he saw.

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cover for The Ultimate 2-CD boxed set chronicling Tommy's recording career. Has rare tracks with Moxy, Tommy Bolin Band, demos and more.

[oldbuckster]

R.I.P. TOMMY..............Another great Guitarist in God's Band............May your Demons be Gone, Brother......................

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I've long said- play this one at my funeral

WILD DOGS

(bolin/tesar)



This baggage handcuffed to my wrists

I drag it everywhere i go

Sometimes i fight you with my fists

But if i knew which way was home



Before the karma cut me loose

Would bring me whisky and my water

Sometimes i get the blues

Though i know i shouldnt oughta

Thats where i`d go



Run down ghost trail, no chance of love

No sign of life, just wild dogs howlin in the night

Oh, that's what i like



Before the karma cut me free

Im sick of my own company

Sometimes i miss the boat

Most times i miss my home

Thats where i`d go

If i new which way was home



Run down ghost trail, no chance of love

No sign of life

Just wild dogs howlin' in the night



Hear `em howl...

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Teaser- by Tommy Bolin

That woman's got a smile

Put you in a trance

And just one look at her

Makes you wanna dance



Those rockin' rosy lips

Only passify

Just a hint of ruthlessness

Sparkling in her eye



She's a teaser and she's got no heart at all

She's a teaser and she'll tempt you 'til you fall

Yeah she'll tempt you 'til you fall



She'll talk to you in riddles

That have no sense or rhyme

And if you ask her what she means

She says, she don't got the time



She's a teaser, and she's got no heart at all

She's a teaser, and she'll tempt you 'til you fall

She's a teaser, and she's got no heart at all

Yeah she'll tempt you 'til you fall



She's a teaser, and she's got no heart at all

She's a teaser, and she'll tempt you 'til you fall

She's a teaser, and she's got no heart at all

She's a teaser, and she'll tempt you 'til you fall

[johnyholiday]

,

[Big Piney]

I got to see Tommy with the James Gang in 1973 or 1974. I'm thinkin it was January. Excuse the absence of a specific date because it was "the 70's" OK!!! I know this for certain though. Mannfred Mann and the Earth Band and James Gang played in Boulder, Co one night and it was a very good show. Tommy was from Boulder and the place was packed. He rocked out that night. That was my only time to see him though. He was one helluva guitar player. Another one of those shooting stars that shone so bright but for so short of a time.

[kaiser SET say]

Brother Brother we the Wild Dogs salute you[]

Jammin' to disc 2 of that fine Ultimate set brother Colt fixed me up with[]

[Parrot]

I'm casually selling some of my brother's LPs, at about the rate of 10 a year. I've got here Bolin's "Private Eyes" and "Teaser" on vinyl, both in NM. I'll sell the pair for $5 shipped. He's promised to give me 10% for my trouble, so please help me out.

[klipsch4life]

Parrot

I will take them. You have a PM.

Kevin

[Parrot]

I knew I should have asked $5.25!

[klipsch4life]

I won't pay more than $5.50! [:#]

KG