The Incomparable Tommy Bolin
by Ken Thompson - August 2022
Who was Tommy Bolin? A world-class guitar genius and cautionary tale.
Bolin came up in Sioux City, Iowa, and began the guitar at age 15. He was entirely self-taught by playing along to songs on the radio.
During his late teens, he moved to Boulder Colorado. He worked in regional bands such as Zephyr where his talents progressed but also ran smack dab into the dark side of the business. In these early bands, Bolin was persuaded to be paid in Cocaine and honed a serious drug habit that would haunt him for life.
In 1973 Bolin earned his big break and took over lead guitar duties in the James Gang, Joe Walsh’s previous role. He took part in two albums, Bang and Miami.
Picture a 20-year-old self-styled prodigy, between James Gang albums, embarking on a project with Drummer Billy Cobham, who was venturing fresh from stints with Miles Davis and John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu orchestra. Recall, that the kid never had a lesson.
In 1973, at Electric Lady Studios, with virtuosos Jan Hammer and Leland Sklar, the four recorded the classic jazz-fusion album Spectrum, in just three days. Largely improvised, each tune was done in one-two takes, with little to no overdubs and minimal mixing. Fire up your favorite streaming app and hear Bolin go off on “Quadrant Four”, and prepare to be impressed.
Bolin then resumed with the James Gang but left for Deep Purple on Jon Lord’s invitation after being blown away by Spectrum. He recorded and toured with Deep Purple, but went deeper into drug compulsion, surrounded by addicts. The band delivered uneven performances and their fans, accustomed to Richie Blackmore, never accepted Bolin.
Bolin took the solo road, recording two excellent albums, Teaser, and Private Eyes, and proceeded to tour opening for Jeff Beck and Peter Frampton.
He hit Portland, Oregon on October 30, 1976, scheduled to open two shows for Rush.
Portland KGON DJ Iris Harrison had been impressed by his talent, interviewed him on-air, and accompanied him at his performance. “You know a junkie when you see one,” she said. Bolin was barely able to make it to the stage for the first performance, “ But when he got onstage everything came together like magic, and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.” He delivered the goods like a star, earning an encore, but wasn’t able to do the second show. He was clearly near the end.
On December 3, 1976, Bolin preceded Jeff Beck in Miami. Later that night he was found dead due to a lethal cocktail of narcotics and alcohol. He was an amazing and underrated talent, who sadly failed to launch, and left us tragically and way too young.
