Steve Morse discusses Tommy Bolin’s contributions to Deep Purple and reveals what Ian Paice had to say about him.
While Ritchie Blackmore will always be the guitarist best identified with Deep Purple, having contributed the iconic riffs and solos to timeless rock hits like “Smoke on the Water,” “Black Night,” and “Highway Star,” other guitarists have also come through the Rainbow.
As an example, consider Steve Morse, the longest-serving six-string player for Purple, Tommy Bolin, who first replaced Blackmore, and Simon McBride, who succeeded Morse.
Just prior to the start of the Dixie Dregs’ current reunion tour, Steve Morse spoke with Ultimate Guitar about his thoughts on Purple’s brief “Tommy Bolin era,” which spanned just 1975 and 1976, as well as a single
“I was a big Tommy Bolin fan,” Morse admitted. “Because of the band Zephyr that he was in before.” Prior to joining Purple, the Sioux City, Iowa native Bolin first emerged as a member of the Colorado blues rock band, Zephyr, and appeared on two albums, 1969’s self-titled debut and 1971’s “Going Back to Colorado.” Additionally, the band played on bills with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.
After Zephyr, Bolin made a name for himself with his fiery guitar work on Billy Cobham’s jazz-fusion classic, 1973’s Spectrum. He also joined the James Gang for two underrated albums, 1973’s Bang and 1974’s Miami.
And once Blackmore exited Purple in early 1975 to launch Rainbow, David Coverdale remembered Bolin’s name from the “Spectrum” album. A tryout was soon arranged, and Bolin got the gig.
And it turned out that Morse agreed with the assessment of a former Purple bandmate concerning Bolin’s work with Purple. “As far as the stuff with Purple, I sort of agree with Ian Paice’s summary… That he was brilliant in the studio, and live, he could get distracted because they were doing more substances back in those days. But I like Tommy Bolin’s style. Just a wonderful vibe guy. And I was lucky enough to be able to play on his tribute album [2012’s ‘Great Gypsy Soul’].”
Bolin, who also issued a pair of solo albums during his lifetime, 1975’s “Teaser” and 1976’s “Private Eyes,” would tragically die on December 4, 1976 in Miami just hours after performing on a bill with Jeff Beck, from a drug overdose at the age of 25.
