Red Baron

Tommy Bolin (electric guitar), Jan Hammer (piano, electric piano, Moog synthesizer), Lee Sklar (electric bass) and Billy Cobham (drums). From the album Spectrum (1973) by Billy Cobham.

In 1973 Bolin participated in Spectrum by Billy Cobham, former drummer of renowned jazz fusion group Mahavishnu Orquestra, in which his enthusiasm illuminates four of its tracks. During 1974 and 1975 he worked as a studio musician in Los Angeles, collaborating in rock and jazz fusion albums, such as Mind Transplant (1975) by Alphonso Mouzon, former drummer of well-known jazz fusion band Weather Report. He also toured playing rock with New York’s The Good Rats and drummer Carmine Appice group. In 1975 he was invited by Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band Moxy to join them in their first album Moxy, in which Bolin makes solos on six of the eight themes.

Also in 1975 he signed with Nemperor Records and released with studio musicians who would later become stars his debut as a leader Teaser, in which he presents his different musical aspects as a result of his previous membership to bands of several genres. However, while recording it, he received a call from the famous rock group Deep Purple, as guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had left. Singer Ritchie Blackmore had listened to Spectrum and liked the way he played, and after a long jam session with the band as a test, he was admitted. For Bolin this was a challenge because while recording his album in Los Angeles he had to travel frequently to Munich (Germany) to play in Deep Purple’s Come Taste The Band (1975).

In this album he coauthored six of the nine songs and it was published a month earlier than his. This harmed him because while he was doing Deep Purple’s album presentation tour, he couldn’t promote his own. The tour was a disaster. To begin with, although the album temporarily revived the band, it was criticized for sounding too funky. In addition, the group’s followers were accustomed to Blackmore and Bolin’s style was very different. He was addicted to heroin and singer and electric bassist Glenn Huges to cocaine. As a result, the audience wasn’t satisfied because their interpretations were not very good and some concerts had to be canceled, until the tour was suspended after the band’s arrival to Liverpool, where Bolin had a fight with some fans.