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EXPLAINED: Tommy bolin | Rare Historical Photos

“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

The Bolin ’Burst is famed for its association with Deep Purple guitarist Tommy Bolin – but its route to Bonamassa was considerably less direct

Guitar World

“I couldn’t believe he was a guitar player”: Ritchie Blackmore says most guitarists aren’t nice people – but names one player who bucks the trend

Blackmore reserves particularly high praise for one of his Deep Purple successors

Guitar World

“Having Tommy Bolin play on my songs was a compliment, but artistically it ruined it for me. It led to a lot of conflict”: Moxy’s Earl Johnson lost control of his band as they tracked their debut album. After decades away, he might have got it back

The Canadian hot riffer explains how he was edged out of playing solos on his own songs, how it broke down his partnership with his singer, and why he’s still chasing his Led Zeppelin-style vision

Guitar World

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“I was afraid. The idea of being unable to sing and perform was horrifying. All the things you take for granted suddenly taken away from you. It was a very troubling time in my life”: An epic interview with rock legend and Whitesnake star David Coverdale

The highs and lows of an extraordinary career

MusicRadar

“I was with Ozzy nine months and it didn’t end in a good break-up”: Drum legend Carmine Appice on getting high with Jimi Hendrix, falling out with Ozzy Osbourne and the late guitar hero he spoke to just before he died

Drum legend Carmine Appice has been in the business for 60 years – and he’s crossed paths with everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Dave Grohl

Louder

“You can turn an Epiphone into the Tommy Bolin Burst!”: Seymour Duncan expands Joe Bonamassa signature pickup range with a humbucker set based on the PAFs from his 1960 ‘Bolin Burst’ Les Paul Standard

Like JoBo says, got a cheap Les Paul? Give it a high-end power-up with a pair of replica humbuckers from his iconic Bolin Burst, fresh out the custom shop – and the first 500 sets come signed

MusicRadar

“It really is a special set”: Joe Bonamassa’s newest signature pickups are inspired by his Bolin ’Burst – the infamous Les Paul he acquired under extraordinary circumstances

The original pickups found in the famed Gibson that was once played by Tommy Bolin have been recreated in great detail

Guitar World

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“We went back to the castle, went down to the dungeon where we were set up, figured out what key we were gonna play in – and then Blackmore came up with that riff!”: Glenn Hughes recalls his magical time with Deep Purple in the ’70s

“I’m very proud of everything that I did with that band," he says

MusicRadar

“I don’t want people to be upset with me because I don’t mention Ritchie”: Glenn Hughes has worked with some of guitar’s all-time greats – now he’s named the best he’s ever played with

The rock legend has revealed how he’s split the difference between two superlative players to claim the top spot

Guitar World

“Him coming to my house at 3am and blowing my mind was incredible”: Ex-Deep Purple legend Glenn Hughes reveals the best guitarist he’s ever worked with – and it’s not Ritchie Blackmore

Look away, Blackmore fans

Louder

“At some point in time, we may have to get our head around the fact that these things we trade will be worth absolutely nothing”: Joe Bonamassa on the one thing you should never do when buying a guitar

Bonamassa says there are certain parameters a guitar should meet – and clear ones to be avoided

Guitar World

“I believe Tommy had lots of songs which were exactly what the band needed. And his style was more akin to Ritchie’s than mine”: Clem Clempson on the return of Colosseum, jamming with Jack Bruce, and that time he auditioned for Deep Purple

Clempson looks back on an epic career that has seen him replace Peter Frampton in Humble Pie, nearly replace Ritchie Blackmore, and tells us he's having more fun than ever with Colosseum

Guitar World

"We wrote a song based on a riff I had. The idea was to be Mahavishnu Orchestra with vocals": 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

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

Guitar World

“What you hear on Stratus is pretty much the first take. Tommy Bolin's guitar playing is some of the best that ever was”: Legendary sideman Lee Sklar reveals the studio secrets behind his incredible career

The legendary bassist looks back at five decades of studio work on hit songs by James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Phil Collins, and many more

Guitar World

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Louder

"I was lying in bed at about three in the morning when an axe smashed through my door": Deep Purple’s 25 maddest moments

Life in Deep Purple has never been dull

Louder

“John Wayne said: ‘My daughter would be so happy to get your autographs.’ So David Coverdale and I signed his cowboy boots”: Glenn Hughes’ wild tales of Ritchie Blackmore, David Bowie, Phil Lynott and The Duke

Bowie, Blackmore, Richard Burton and Linda Blair – Glenn Hughes has crossed paths with them all

Louder

“I had a meltdown. Cocaine psychosis took over – it’s a form of paranoid schizophrenia”: How Deep Purple split from Ritchie Blackmore and made a funky masterpiece in Come Taste The Band

Ritchie Blackmore was out, US hotshot Tommy Bolin was in and Deep Purple’s Mk IV line-up were about to make the most under-rated album of their career

Guitar World

“Bowie drove me down to the audition to meet Tommy… I saw this guy with green and purple hair”: Glenn Hughes recalls meeting Tommy Bolin at his tense Deep Purple audition

Glenn Hughes might not be on the best of terms with Deep Purple, but he fondly remembers his friendship with guitarist Tommy Bolin

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Louder

"The five of us wrote that song together in the castle’s crypt… it felt magical": Glenn Hughes' six favourite Deep Purple songs

Six personal favourites from Deep Purple's other bass player

Guitar World

“It’s nothing crazy, but I have some weird, oddball sounds if needed”: Alex Skolnick reveals what’s on his pedalboard

Come take a look and see what the jazz phenom and Testament lead guitarist has on his 'board, and find out which pedal gives him “Tommy Bolin and Eddie Van Halen” vibes

Louder

“We were the original bearded pirates. Nobody gave us a chance”: the epic story of how Whitesnake became the greatest blues rock band of the early 80s

Before MTV and hair metal, Whitesnake were the greatest blues rock band of the early 80s

Guitar World

“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

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

Louder

“I’m so fortunate not to have died. I’ve overdosed, been pistol-whipped, shot at, stabbed, run over in a car... and I’m still here”: Glenn Hughes, The Voice of Rock, has lived the lives of 10 men, and he's not finished yet

Glenn Hughes, The Voice of Rock, looks back upon a lifetime of fabulous, and sometimes terrifying, rock 'n' roll adventures

Louder

10 guitar heroes who should be much better known, by Joe Bonamassa

Joe Bonamassa's definitive guide to the guitar heroes who don't get the credit they deserve

Guitar World

“It’s the most money I’ve ever paid for a guitar in my life: over $400,000. But what’s a Flying V worth? It’s worth what someone’s willing to pay for it”: Joe Bonamassa opens the gates to Nerdville and shows off the most prized guitars in his collection

Bonamassa welcomes us to Nerdville to share the stories behind some of his favorite guitars, including a mint ’58 Flying V, Tommy Bolin’s mythical 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard and a tuxedo ES-355 that might, just might, be the only one in existence

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