Died On This Date (December 4, 1976) Tommy Bolin / Rock Guitar Great

Tommy Bolin
August 1, 1951 – December 4, 1976

tommy_bolinTommy Bolin was an up-and-coming rock guitarist in his early 20s when he got the call to play  in the post-Joe Walsh James Gang.  Up until that point, he had be playing around with various musicians in the Denver area, most prominently, in a band called Zephyr.  After two albums with the James Gang, Bang! and Miami, Bolin left to do session work.  In 1975, Bolin recorded his first solo album which found him backed with by a stellar line up of musicians.  That list included Phil Collins, Glenn Hughes, David Sanborn and Jan Hammer.  It was around that time that he got the call to join yet another band, Deep Purple.  The end of 1975 found the release of both Bolin’s first album, Teaser, and his Deep Purple album, Come Taste the Band.  Bolin soon hit the road with Deep Purple, but reports began surfacing that his growing dependency on heroin was hindering his guitar playing.  Following the Deep Purple tour, Bolin went to work on his second album, Private Eyes.    What followed was a tour that found him opening for Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck.  On December 3, 1976, Tommy Bolin performed one last show in front of Beck.   The next morning, his lifeless body was found in his hotel room.  Cause of death was presumed to be the result of heavy drug and alcohol usage causing his throat muscles to close up, thereby suffocating him.  He was just 25.

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Private Eyes - Tommy Bolin

Died On This Date (September 21, 1987) Jaco Pastorius / Influential Jazz Bassist

John “Jaco” Pastorius
December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987

One of the most influential bassists of all time, Jaco Pastorius was arguably the greatest modern jazz bass player of all time.  Regarded as a gifted athlete growing up, Pastorius began to focus on his second love, music following a football injury to his wrist at the age of 13.  At the time he was playing to drums, but the injury was bad enough that he had to give up the sticks and find another instrument to excel at.  It was then that he picked up the bass.  As he developed, his interests began to lean toward jazz and R&B.    He began playing with then-unknown Pat Metheny, with whom he made his first recordings.  He got is break in 1975 when Bobby Colomby, then of Blood, Sweat & Tears helped him get a deal with CBS Records who released his self-titled solo debut in 1976.  With a stellar cast that included David Sanborn, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, many consider Jaco Pastorius to be the best bass album ever recorded.  Shortly thereafter, Pastorius was invited by Joe Zawunil to join the great fusion band, Weather Report.  Though his contributions to Weather Report were undeniable, his tenure with the band was rocky at time due to his increasing abuse of alcohol coupled with his then undiagnosed bipolar disorder.  He parted ways with the band in 1981 and continued his downward spiral.  Although diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982, and receiving treatment for it, things weren’t getting much better.  By mid ’80s he was living on the streets of New York City and in 1986, he moved down to Florida where he continued to be homeless.  On September 11, 1987, Pastorius was kicked out of a Santana concert after sneaking up on stage.  He found his way to a local club and after being refused entry, he became violent and confrontational with the bouncer.  A fight ensued during which Pastorius sustained head injuries severe enough to require a visit to a hospital where he soon fell into a coma.  He died ten days later at the age of 35.  The bouncer at the club later served eight months in prison for manslaughter.

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Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius