| Tommy Bolin |
Article Index for Tommy |
Website Links For Tommy |
Information AboutTommy Bolin |
|
Tommy Bolin ( August 1 , 1951 - December 4 , 1976 ) was an American-born Guitarist with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971 ), The James Gang (from 1973 through 1974 ), and Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976 ). Tommy Bolin was born in . 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, Tommy decided to move on to more progressive projects. In 1972, Tommy 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 Tommy on Guitar, Billy 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, Tommy wanted out of the James Gang. He went on to do session work for numerous bands, like Canadian group Moxy and jazz musicians -- Bolin is featured, for example, in Alphonse Mouzon's (of Weather Report ) album ''Mind Transplant''. Tommy was signed by Nemperor records to record a solo album. Tommy's 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 , Tommy 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. 1975 saw the release of Bolin's first 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 Tommy had a dreadful Heroin problem. A bad fix before a show in Japan left his left arm partially paralyzed for a short spell. 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. Within weeks Bolin was back on the road touring with a solo band, and he began 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 Tommy (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. Tommy'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, Tommy 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, Tommy had taken a terrible turn for the 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. REFERENCES DISCOGRAPHY (WITH OTHERS) Zephyr:
James Gang: Billy Cobham:
Alphonse Mouzon:
Deep Purple:
SOLO DISCOGRAPHY LPs:
Live:
Compilations:
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|