When Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1974, there were internal discussions about whether the group could continue without their talisman guitarist. The story goes that David Coverdale, who had joined the band one year earlier, had been listening to Billy Cobham’s Spectrum at the time, which featured Tommy Bolin’s talents. But he wasn’t the only name in contention.
Clem Clempson, who had journeyed from jazz-rock wizards Colosseum to Humble Pie, where he replaced the outgoing Peter Frampton, was the other clear frontrunner. He even jammed with the band before Bolin got his chance, and though he quickly established a fruitful rapport with Glenn Hughes, he was ultimately overlooked.
“We had fun jamming for a couple of days and just hanging out,” he tells Guitar World of his audition experience.
“Although I think everyone enjoyed the playing we did together, it was clear that they didn’t just need a guitar player to replace Ritchie; they needed someone who could also fill Ritchie’s role as the main songwriter in the group,” he continues. “I definitely didn’t see myself as being the right man for the job in that respect.”
Bolin, conversely, had the songwriting skills the band needed, even if some may argue Clempson had more fiery chops. When Bolin joined, he’d co-write seven of Come Taste the Band’s nine tracks.
Before that, he’d proven an innovator. His wild, Echoplex-powered solo on Spectrum cut Quadrant 4 became a core influence for Steve Stevens’ now-iconic, toy ray gun-utilizing Rebel Yell solo. Looking back, Clemson understands the band’s decision.
“I believe Tommy had lots of songs which were exactly what the band needed,” he says. “And his style was more akin to Ritchie’s than mine. I was never into heavy rock as such. For me, there’s a subtle difference between Humble Pie and bands like Zeppelin, Purple, and Black Sabbath.”
Though his audition wasn’t successful, the guitarist didn’t feel his time was wasted. In fact, he has fond memories of the experience, which nearly spawned another project entirely – the thought of which will have ’70s rock fans salivating.
“One of the highlights was spending a very late night with Glenn Hughes and David Bowie,” he reminisces. “We wrote a song based on a riff I had, and made plans for a new band, the idea was to be Mahavishnu Orchestra with vocals.”
Bowie would stick around for Bolin’s audition shortly after, as Glenn Hughes recalled last year, playing the role of chauffeur. The bassist felt immediately drawn to the band’s soon-to-be new guitarist.
“On his (Tommy’s) audition, (David) Bowie drove me down to the audition to meet Tommy, and I walked up to Tommy, I saw this guy with green and purple hair,” he says. “I whispered in his ear, ‘If you don’t get the gig, you’re coming back to my house tonight.’
“And he got the gig and he stayed at my house for three months. He moved in with me, and we became best friends. We wrote Gettin’ Tighter the first week together at my studio and look, I can talk about guitar-playing friends all day, but Tommy’s in my top three friends and guitar players.”
Bolin’s only album with the band received a mixed response from the fan base and at live shows, with many disgruntled that his solos were a stylistic far cry from Blackmore’s – not to mention the excessive drug use throughout the group.
The line-up disbanded in 1976. Bolin would go on to record and release a second solo album, Private Eyeslater that year but, while on tour with Jeff Beck and Peter Frampton, tragically died of an overdose. The last photo taken of him sees him sitting alongside Jeff Beck.
The story goes that Beck told him to take care of himself when they parted ways, with Bolin responding, “I’ve been taking care of myself my whole life. Don’t worry about me. I’m going to be around for a long time.”
His beloved Les Paul is now in the hands of Joe Bonamassa, who had to conduct a séance with the late virtuoso to get his permission. To this day, Bonamassa says it is one of the strangest guy purchases he’s ever made.
Guitar World‘s full interview with Clem Clempson will be published in the coming weeks.
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