Tommy Bolin’s two biggest gigs in music came when he stepped into bands following the departure of star guitarists. The James Gang hired him in 1973 after Dominic Troiano’s stint in the group — Troiano himself had taken over when Joe Walsh left. Two years later, in 1975, Bolin stepped into the even bigger role of succeeding Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple.
In a new article for Ultimate-Guitar, , Bolin biographer Greg Prato says that although Bolin was expected to mimic his predecessors’ styles and electric guitar lines, his creative power pushed him to do more.
Prato recalls that in his book Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story, James Gang drummer Jim Fox called Walsh and Bolin “two of the greatest ever,” but noted that while Walsh had a range of interests beyond music, Bolin lived almost entirely for performing.
“Joe had a lot of things going on in his mind,” Fox told Prato for the book. “Tommy was music and pretty much nothing else. You want to put a smile on Tommy's face? Just put him on a stage.
I think one of the things that was really difficult for Tommy is that he was looked upon as ‘a replacement guitarist.’”
— David Coverdale
“Tommy was a guy that you could drive eleven hours, go up on a stage, play an overly long set, and Tommy couldn't wait to get to the local club afterward. ‘Come on, let's play, man!’”
But former Deep Purple singer David Coverdale said comparing Bolin and Blackmore was “unfair,” largely because of Bolin’s drug habits, which eventually led to his death from a heroin overdose on December 4, 1976.
“My disagreements at times with Ritchie Blackmore were more personality-based, and not alcohol- or drug-based,” he said. As for Bolin, “that was an uncomfortable spiral downward, I felt.
“I think one of the things that was really difficult for Tommy is that he was looked upon as ‘a replacement guitarist.’ Y’know, he replaced Joe Walsh in the James Gang. He told me people would shout out, ‘Joe!’ The more insensitive members of the audience.”
That only compounded the dislocation he felt in the James Gang. Speaking to Melody Maker in 1975 about his time in the group, Bolin said he never gelled with his bandmates.
I think I will be bringing out my own individuality with the band and bring some things out in them.”
— Tommy Bolin
“With the James Gang, it got kinda tedious playing the same things every night, and there was never close communication between us, on stage or off, and people in the audience could feel that.”
He was more upbeat about Deep Purple and his belief that he was a full-fledged member who could contribute creatively, not simply fill the shoes of a departed guitar star. In a 1975 interview with Creem shortly after joining the band, Bolin was enthusiastic about his role.
“I think I will be bringing out my own individuality with the band and bring some things out in them.”
At the time he joined Deep Purple, Bolin was just months away from releasing his debut solo album, Teaser. Instead of touring behind his own release, he recorded Come Taste the Band with Deep Purple and went on the road with them.
By July 1976 the group had broken up, and Bolin was deep into the heroin addiction that would claim his life at age 25.
Like Coverdale, Bolin’s Teaser drummer Narada Michael Walden eventually found the guitarist’s addiction too difficult to be around. Touring with Bolin months before his death, Walden said he decided to quit after a fateful performance at New York City’s Bottom Line.
“I loved Tommy,” Walden told Guitar Player. “But I couldn't be around the alcohol and drug thing too much, which wound up taking him out.”
