Tommy Bolin
Latest about Tommy Bolin

After Deep Purple decided not to hire him after Ritchie Blackmore's departure, Clem Clempson almost formed a wild supergroup with Glenn Hughes and David Bowie
By Phil Weller published
The Colosseum and Humble Pie guitarist was in with a shot at joining the band –but says Tommy Bolin got the gig for one specific reason

Glenn Hughes recalls meeting Tommy Bolin at his tense Deep Purple audition
By Janelle Borg published
Glenn Hughes might not be on the best of terms with Deep Purple, but he fondly remembers his friendship with guitarist Tommy Bolin

“Tommy Bolin said, ‘Joe Walsh quit the James Gang. He wants to start a new band, and I told him you’re the guy’”: Kenny Passarelli has played with rock royalty, but it’s his recordings with Bolin that would “blow you away” – if he could let you hear them
By Andrew Daly published
He’s been lucky enough to get a gig with Elton John with no audition, and unlucky enough to miss a gig with Foreigner after killing an audition… the Joe Walsh and Hall & Oates bassist has had a truly remarkable session career

“The quest to acquire this instrument resulted in the greatest guitar safari of my life”: Joe Bonamassa shows you why he loves his legendary Bolin ’Burst, and shares his favorite licks to play on the iconic Les Paul
By Joe Bonamassa published
The blues maestro puts the fabled 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard through its paces in this exclusive lesson

“That long-haired hippie’s got the word ‘f**k’ on his guitar!” Tommy Bolin’s 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard has one of the most checkered histories of any ’Burst – watch the late guitar hero play it live on TV with his pre-Deep Purple band, Zephyr
By Jackson Maxwell published
With an American flag pickguard and a made-for-a-Tele Bigsby tremolo, this guitar – which now belongs to Joe Bonamassa, via a straight-from-the-movies cash transaction with its mysterious former owner – is far from your average ’Burst

“I made a deal, paid him in cash, and he died two months later. His last text to his daughter was, ‘I buried the money in the desert’”: Joe Bonamassa tells the story of the strangest guitar deal he ever did
By Matt Parker published
The Bolin ’Burst is famed for its association with Deep Purple guitarist Tommy Bolin – but its route to Bonamassa was considerably less direct
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