Tommy Bolin

Tommy Bolin jamming with Lynyrd Skynyrd 9/26/1976 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He wasn’t on the bill, but he had connected with the band and they invited him to come to the show to jam. 

Jimi Hendrix died this day 56 years ago in London. It was a tragedy felt deeply by Tommy Bolin who was in New York City working on the GOING BACK TO COLORADO Zephyr album at Jimi Hendrix‘s Electric Lady Studios.

Tommy Bolin’s artistic DNA was deeply intertwined with the spirit and sonic revolution of Jimi Hendrix. For Bolin, Hendrix wasn't just an influence; he was a catalytic North Star who defined what the electric guitar could achieve.
Here is how that profound inspiration manifested throughout Bolin's life, his move to Denver, and his musical journey:

The 1967 Denver Arrival and "Purple Haze"
When Bolin moved to Denver in the autumn of 1967 as a teenager, he carried little more than his guitar and an already ferocious command of his instrument. Arriving in the Mile High City with a killer rendition of Purple Haze was more than just playing a cover—it was his entry ticket into the local music scene. At a time when Hendrix's debut album Are You Experienced was reshaping rock music in real-time, Bolin used Hendrix’s template to showcase his own raw, boundary-pushing potential. Playing Purple Haze allowed him to immediately turn heads among local Denver musicians, signaling that a fierce new talent had arrived.

Channeling the Hendrix Blueprint
Bolin mirrored Hendrix in several defining ways that set him apart from conventional guitarists of the 1960s and 1970s:

Genre-Blending Freedom: Just like Hendrix effortlessly bridged blues, rock, psychedelia, and funk, Bolin refused to stay in a single musical box. He absorbed Hendrix's fearless approach to genre-crossing, later blending hard rock with jazz-fusion, Latin rhythms, and soul.

Sonic Exploration: Bolin studied how Hendrix manipulated amp feedback, distortion, and the whammy bar to turn the guitar into an expressive, textural soundscape. He approached his own tone with a similar experimental zeal.

Honoring the Legacy on Liner Notes
Bolin’s reverence for Hendrix wasn't something he kept quiet; he proudly wore his influences on his sleeve. Bolin explicitly credited and tipped his hat to Hendrix in his album liner notes, ensuring listeners understood the lineage of sound he was working within. He viewed himself as part of that same musical continuum—pushing the electric guitar into uncharted, virtuosic territory.

Tommy Bolin at Electric Lady Studios during the recording of GOING BACK TO COLORADO 

Around late 1970 and early 1971, Zephyr was at Jimi Hendrix’s newly opened Electric Lady Studios in New York City tracking their second album, Going Back to Colorado, produced and engineered by Eddie Kramer.

At the time, Neal Preston was only about 18 or 19 years old, just starting to make a name for himself in rock photography. Kramer gave him access to the sessions, where Preston captured some of his earliest professional studio work.

Preston pulled a rare frame directly from his personal archives with the caption:

“Here’s an advance Xmas present to all the Tommy Bolin fans: A once upon a time never-before-seen 1971 shot of Tommy during a recording session for Zephyr at Electric Lady Studios.”

THE REAL STORY OF WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT : The currently still active Tommy Bolin display at the Sioux City Public Museum. 11 large scale canvas art prints. No AI was used in the creating of this gift I made for the museum.

Lynn Everett with the late Johnnie Bolin - Johnnie is so missed

THE REAL STORY: Tommy and Ringo!
This was the album Ringo Starr was recording in Cherokee Studio A while Tommy was in the smaller studio B tracking Private Eyes in a quick five day schedule. Dennis McKay related that that Thursday Bobby Berge was in the hospital and they were in need of somebody to come make sure the session could happen that day. (See my new mini documentary on Private Eyes right here) Dennis encouraged Tommy to call to Studio A on the intercom phone line and ask Ringo. He did and Ringo answered, and according to Dennis, he was noticeably intoxicated, and he declined the opportunity. Remember, it was the middle of the 1970s.

That was for SOMEDAY WILL BRING OUR LOVE HOME. So then they asked Mark Stein if he could reach out to Carmine Appice and have him come in and that’s what happened.

Ringo got completely clean in 1988 and he’s still going as strong as humanly possible.

Tommy Bolin caught in a moment of unguarded amusement. Leaning forward with his hand drawn up to cover an easy, knowing grin, his gaze drifts just off-camera as if reacting to someone across the table. Direct, warm flash lighting cuts through a deep, shadowy background to illuminate the fine textures of his face—the crinkle around his dark eyes, a small glint on a silver hoop earring, and the bold brass and silver rings adorning his fingers. His long, tousled hair falls freely over his shoulders, framing an earthy mix of patterns: a fine-striped sleeve, a layered neckline, and wristbands that speak quietly to a relaxed, natural rock-and-roll style. It feels less like a staged musician's headshot and more like a stolen glance at a friend mid-conversation, radiating warmth, charm, and understated charisma.

THE REAL STORY DEEP PURPLE WITH TOMMY BOLINMARK IV- STUDIO SHOOT)
Photographer: Fin Costello
When:
Summer 1975 (June/July 1975, shortly after Tommy Bolin officially joined Deep Purple Mark IV to rehearse and prepare for Come Taste the Band)
Where:
London, England (shot at Costello’s studio during the band’s initial UK press and promotional photo sessions for the new lineup)