Friday, January 11, 2008

Brush With Greatness


I'm in Tampa putting together the Tommy Bolin display for Dean Guitars to be seen next week at NAMM. On Tuesday I opened several boxes sent from Johnnie Bolin, the Hardrock Cafe, and some special friends like Andrea.

It's incredible to actually be able to see up-close the famous t-shirt, airbrushed by Prairie Prince with Tommy's image.



























Possibly even more famous is the red velvet suit that is seen in many photos of Tommy with Deep Purple and his own band. This is a true piece of rock history!

The gold record for Come Taste The Band, the album Tommy did with Deep Purple. Tommy totally transformed the iconic British powerhouse, and the result was a very "un-Purple" record that stunningly brought together his various rock, blues, and jazz influences. Unfortunately, it also partially eclipsed Bolin's debut solo album, Teaser (released the same year, and the best record ever!), which didn't receive proper tour support as Tommy became busy with Purple.


More to come....

3 comments:

Sandy Maudlin said...

Nick,
This is a fascinating part of history that I had no idea about. Thanks for the information and the fun way you present it. I really look forward to each of your posts. Keep it up.
Sandy

Anonymous said...

Hi Nick,
Deep Purple is a great icon of my youth. I think, in every band I played in we had some purple songs, still a fan of Roger Glover!!
I didn't know much about Bolin but I understand "Teaser" is an excellent album to start with....so time to start up the P2P.
thx, Rob

Nick said...

Sandy - yes it's a fascinating part of rock history as there are all kinds of legends and rumors surrounding Tommy's life (and death). At seventeen he was sharing the stage with Jimi Hendrix, and he was buried with Jimi's ring.....that's the kind of stuff that sends paroxysms of excitement through fans, aficionados, and rock history buffs. You could make a few wild movies based on his life, and have more left over for the sequels. I've heard rumors of a movie, that sure would be cool.

Rob - good to see you. DP was iconic for me too, and the fact I was/am a huge Blackmore fan made it difficult at first to understand the "new" Purple on CTTB. But then I did. Ritchie is a fabulous guitarist, and an icon himself, but Tommy was in another galaxy of musical genius. "Teaser" is my favorite album of all time, except when I'm in the mood for "Private Eyes." Roger Glover - I particularly like The Butterfly Ball album. Fantastic!!!