Tommy Bolin
Encyclopedia
Thomas Richard "Tommy" Bolin (August 1, 1951, Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....

 - December 4, 1976) was an American-born guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

ist who played with Zephyr
Zephyr (band)
Zephyr was a blues-based hard rock band formed in 1969 in Boulder, Colorado by guitarist Tommy Bolin, keyboardist John Faris, David Givens on bass guitar, Robbie Chamberlin on drums and Candy Givens on vocals. Although the charismatic performances by Candy Givens were originally the focal point for...

 (from 1969 to 1971), The James Gang (from 1973 through 1974), and Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...

 (from 1975 to 1976), in addition to doing solo work. He was found dead on December 4, 1976, at the age of 25, from a heroin overdose in Miami, Florida (the day after opening a show for Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...

).

Musical career

Tommy Bolin began playing in bands around Sioux City as a youth before moving to Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...

, 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
Zephyr (band)
Zephyr was a blues-based hard rock band formed in 1969 in Boulder, Colorado by guitarist Tommy Bolin, keyboardist John Faris, David Givens on bass guitar, Robbie Chamberlin on drums and Candy Givens on vocals. Although the charismatic performances by Candy Givens were originally the focal point for...

. This band included Bolin on guitar, David Givens on bass, and Givens' wife Candy Givens on vocals. The band had begun to do larger venues, opening for more established acts such as Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

. 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.

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 recordings have been released posthumously. He also played on Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham
William C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....

's Spectrum album, which included Bolin on guitar, Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham
William C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....

 of Mahavishnu Orchestra on drums, Leland Sklar
Leland Sklar
Leland "Lee" Bruce Sklar is an American musician, singer-songwriter and film score composer. A prominent bass guitarist, Sklar has contributed to thousands of albums as a session musician...

 on bass and Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s...

 (also of Mahavishnu Orchestra) on keyboards and synthesizers.

1973 found him as Domenic Troiano's
Domenic Troiano
Domenic Troiano was a Canadian rock guitarist, most notable for his contributions to Mandala, The James Gang, The Guess Who and as a solo artist.-History:...

 replacement, who had replaced Joe Walsh, in the James Gang
James Gang
The James Gang was a rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. Though the band was not a huge commercial success, except in the Northeast Ohio area, the fame garnered by guitarist Joe Walsh has since made the group more notable.- History :...

. He had two records with this band: Bang!
Bang (James Gang album)
Bang is the sixth studio album by James Gang, released in 1973. This is the first James Gang album featuring lead guitarist Tommy Bolin after Domenic Troiano left the band.-Reception:...

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 including Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon is a well-known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO of Tenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts...

's album Mind Transplant
Mind Transplant
Mind Transplant is the third album by American jazz drummer Alphonse Mouzon recorded in 1974 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...

. He also toured with Carmine Appice
Carmine Appice
Carmine Appice is an American rock drummer of Italian background and is the older brother of drummer Vinny Appice by 12 years. He received a classical music training and was influenced by the jazz drumming of Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa early on...

, Moxy
Moxy (band)
Moxy was a Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1974, from previous members of the rock group, Leigh Ashford — which included singer Douglas "Buzz" Shearman Earl Johnson , Bill Wade Moxy was a Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Toronto, Ontario in...

 and The Good Rats
The Good Rats
The Good Rats are a rock band from Long Island, New York. Their music mixes elements of rock with blues and pop. Although they have had some success both nationally and internationally, it's on their native Long Island that they have always been best known....

.

Bolin signed with Nemperor records to record a solo album. Bolin decided to do his own vocals on this album as well. Session players on this record included David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...

, David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...

, Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s...

, Stanley Sheldon
Stanley Sheldon
Stanley Sheldon is a bass guitar player best known for his work with Peter Frampton. He is notable as an early adopter of the fretless bass for rock music....

, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....

  and Glenn Hughes. During the recording of this album, he was contacted to replace Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...

 in Deep Purple.

In the start of 1975, Bolin contributed some studio guitar assistance to Canadian band Moxy
Moxy (band)
Moxy was a Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1974, from previous members of the rock group, Leigh Ashford — which included singer Douglas "Buzz" Shearman Earl Johnson , Bill Wade Moxy was a Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Toronto, Ontario in...

 during the recording of their debut album. Later in 1975 saw the release of Bolin's first solo record, Teaser, on the Nemperor label. After Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple, the band had a meeting and discussed whether to disband or try and find a replacement, and chose the second option. David Coverdale had been listening to the Billy Cobham LP (Spectrum). He decided he wanted Tommy in Deep Purple, and invited him over for a jam. Tommy showed up thin as a rail with his girlfriend in tow wearing a see through mesh mini-skirt. He plugged in to 4 Marshall amps and jammed with the band for 4 hours. The job was his. The band then relocated to Munich, Germany, to begin work in Come Taste the Band
Come Taste the Band
Come Taste the Band is the tenth studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple originally released in October 1975. The album was co-produced and engineered by the band and longtime associate Martin Birch...

. Bolin and Coverdale co-wrote the entire CD, except for tracks "This Time Around" and "Owed to G", which is a tribute to George Gershwin. Come Taste the Band was released in late 75, and a Japanese tour ensued.

In 2001, This Time Around: Live in Tokyo 1975
This Time Around: Live in Tokyo
This Time Around: Live in Tokyo is a live album from Deep Purple. After the band's demise in 1976, a live album called Last Concert in Japan was released in 1977. It was compiled from shows the band did in Tokyo in December 1975...

was released.

After Deep Purple disbanded in March, 1976, Bolin was back on the road with his solo band with plans for a second solo record. The band had a rotating cast of players which included Narada Michael Walden, Mark Stein, Norma Jean Bell, Reggie McBride, Jimmy Haslip, Max Carl Gronenthal and eventually Bolin's younger brother Johnnie Bolin on drums.

By 1976, CBS signed Bolin and he began to record Private Eyes
Private Eyes (Tommy Bolin album)
Private Eyes is the second solo album by guitarist Tommy Bolin. This was Bolin's last album, as he died of a drug overdose while on the promotional tour, opening for Jeff Beck.- Track listing :#"Bustin' Out for Rosey" - 4:24...

, his second and last solo record.

In 2010, several well known artists gathered to create a tribute album titled Mister Bolin’s Late Night Revival, a compilation of 17 previously unreleased tracks written by the guitar legend. The CD includes works by HiFi Superstar
HiFi Superstar
HiFi Superstar is a Chicago, Illinois based rock band known for their 70's look and original music.Lead singer and song writer Mike Paterson began playing with drummer Glenn Mikes in the 80's hair band Little Venus, opening for such bands as Enuff Z'Nuff and Lillian Axe, before forming the band...

, Doogie White
Doogie White
Doogie White , is a Scottish rock vocalist, who has sung for Midnight Blue, Rainbow, Cornerstone, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis and Rata Blanca...

, Eric Martin, Troy Luccketta
Troy Luccketta
Troy Luccketta , born October 5, 1959. in Lodi, California, is the drummer of hard rock/heavy metal band Tesla, who achieved popularity in the mid- to late-1980s.- Biography :...

, Jeff Pilson
Jeff Pilson
Jeff Pilson is an American bass guitarist, best known for his stint in the heavy metal band Dokken...

, Randy Jackson, Rex Carroll
Rex Carroll
Rex Carroll is a guitarist and known for his work in the Christian metal band Whitecross. Rex Carroll is also the leader and guitarist of other bands like Fierce Heart, King James and The Rex Carroll Band. He also filled in and did all the guitar work on Eden's 1994 album "Fan The Flame". In...

, Rachel Barton
Rachel Barton Pine
Rachel Barton Pine is a violinist from Chicago. Considered a child prodigy at the violin, she started playing at the age of 3 and a half. She played at many renowned venues as a child and teenager...

, Derek St. Holmes
Derek St. Holmes
Derek St. Holmes is an American musician best known as the vocalist and rhythm guitar player for Ted Nugent's successful early solo career.-Early years:...

, Kimberley Dahme
Kimberley Dahme
Kimberley Dahme is a rock/country music singer, songwriter who is best known as a member of the rock band Boston.She has produced several country solo Music CDs....

, and The 77’s
The 77s
The 77s are an American rock band consisting of Michael Roe on vocals/guitar, Mark Harmon on bass, and Bruce Spencer on drums.-Scratch Band:...

. A percentage of the proceeds from this project will benefit the Jackson Recovery Centers.

Producer Greg Hampton
Greg Hampton
Greg Hampton is a producer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, who has worked on such albums as Alice Cooper's Along Came a Spider, Tommy Bolin's Whips and Roses, and Lita Ford's Wicked Wonderland. Hampton has also appeared as the member of several groups over the years, including Science Faxtion ,...

, who has previously worked on such archival Bolin releases as Whips and Roses
Whips and Roses
Whips and Roses is a collection of previously unreleased material from the 1975 rock album Teaser by Tommy Bolin. It features newly discovered takes from songs found on Teaser as well as several instrumental jams heard for the first time on this album.-Previously Released:Several songs on Whips and...

 is currently co-producing (with Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...

 leader Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes is an American rock and blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Haynes is best known for his work as long time guitarist with The Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a guitarist for David Allan Coe and The Dickey...

) a star-studded tribute to Bolin - title and release date TBA.

Death

Bolin's tour for Private Eyes was his last. In his last concert dates, he opened for Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...

 and Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...

. However, his final show, in which he opened for Jeff Beck on December 3, 1976, encored with a rendition of "Post Toastee." He also posed for a photo with Jeff Beck after the show.

Bolin died of a drug overdose on December 4, 1976, in Miami, Florida. His remains are buried in Calvary Cemetery, Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....

.

In 1999, Bolin's former Deep Purple bandmate and good friend Glenn Hughes, embarked on a 4-5 city tribute tour in Texas. Bolin's brother, Johnnie (of Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970s with ten charting albums released in that decade...

) played drums, and Rocky Athas and Craig Erickson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...

) played guitar as they performed a roster of Bolin's songs.

Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...

 currently makes a Tommy Bolin tribute guitar, based on one of Tommy's favourites, being modeled as a superstrat, with 3 single coil pickups and a maple neck/fingerboard. It has a special inlay at the 12th fret, as well as a graphic modeled after his album Teaser on the body.

Solo

  • Teaser (1975)
    • Whips and Roses
      Whips and Roses
      Whips and Roses is a collection of previously unreleased material from the 1975 rock album Teaser by Tommy Bolin. It features newly discovered takes from songs found on Teaser as well as several instrumental jams heard for the first time on this album.-Previously Released:Several songs on Whips and...

       I & II
      (2006) : Teaser outtakes
  • Private Eyes
    Private Eyes (Tommy Bolin album)
    Private Eyes is the second solo album by guitarist Tommy Bolin. This was Bolin's last album, as he died of a drug overdose while on the promotional tour, opening for Jeff Beck.- Track listing :#"Bustin' Out for Rosey" - 4:24...

    (1976)
  • The Bottom Shelf (1997)
  • Snapshot (1999)
  • Naked (2000)
  • Naked II (2002)
  • After Hours: The Glen Holly Jams - Volume 1 (2004)
  • Teaser Deluxe (2011)
  • Fever
    Fever
    Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...


Live albums

  • Live at Ebbets Field 1974 (1997)
  • Live at Ebbets Field 1976 (1997)
  • Live at Northern Lights Recording Studio (1997)
  • First Time Live (2000)
  • Live 9/19/76 (2001)
  • Live in Miami at Jai Alai: The Final Show (2002)
  • Alive on Long Island (2003)
  • Albany 9/20/76 (2004)
  • Live at the Jet Bar (2004)

Compilations

  • From the Archives, Vol. 1 (1996) Vol. 2 (1998) : demo archive
  • The Ultimate: The Best of Tommy Bolin (1989)
  • Come Taste the Man (1999)
  • The Ultimate Redux (2008)

with Zephyr

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

with Energy

  • The Energy Radio Broadcasts 1972 (1998)
  • Energy
    Energy (album)
    -Personnel:* Jesse Michaels - lead vocals, backing vocals on track 12* Lint - guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on track 12* Matt McCall - bass, backing vocals* Dave Mello - drums, backing vocals* Paul Bae - saxophone* Pat Mello - backing vocals...

    (1999)
  • Tommy Bolin & Energy, Live in Boulder / Sioux City 1972 (2003)

with James Gang

  • Bang
    Bang (James Gang album)
    Bang is the sixth studio album by James Gang, released in 1973. This is the first James Gang album featuring lead guitarist Tommy Bolin after Domenic Troiano left the band.-Reception:...

    (1973)
  • Miami (1974)

with Billy Cobham

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

with Alphonse Mouzon

  • Mind Transplant
    Mind Transplant
    Mind Transplant is the third album by American jazz drummer Alphonse Mouzon recorded in 1974 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...

    (1975)
  • Tommy Bolin & Alphonse Mouzon Fusion Jam (1999)

Live albums

  • Last Concert in Japan
    Last Concert in Japan
    Last Concert in Japan is an album by Deep Purple released in March 1977.It records the last Japanese concert of the Mark IV-lineup with Tommy Bolin.This album was recorded on 15 December 1975 at the Tokyo Budokan....

    (1977)
  • King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Deep Purple in Concert
    King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Deep Purple in Concert
    King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Deep Purple in Concert is a live album taken from a Deep Purple performance originally broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour, released in July 1995. The album was released in the U.K. under the title On the Wings of a Russian Foxbat...

    (1995)
  • On the Wings of a Russian Foxbat - Live in California '76 (1995)
  • Days May Come and Days May Go
    Days May Come and Days May Go
    - Days May Come:The 1975 Rehearsals,Volume 1 :Days May Come and Days May Go: The 1975 California Rehearsals is a compilation album by Deep Purple, released in 2000 ....

    (The California Rehearsals Volume 1) (2000)
  • 1420 Beachwood Drive (The California Rehearsals Volume 2) (2000)
  • Deep Purple: Extended Versions
    Deep Purple: Extended Versions
    Deep Purple: Extended Versions is a live album by British hard rock band Deep Purple, recorded in early 1976 but not released until 2000. It contains concert material featuring the Mark IV line-up with Tommy Bolin...

    (2000)
  • This Time Around: Live in Tokyo
    This Time Around: Live in Tokyo
    This Time Around: Live in Tokyo is a live album from Deep Purple. After the band's demise in 1976, a live album called Last Concert in Japan was released in 1977. It was compiled from shows the band did in Tokyo in December 1975...

    (2001)

External links

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