J O H N N I E
B O L I N
LONGTIME BLACK OAK ARKANSAS DRUMMER
BROTHER OF LEGENDARY GUITARIST
T O M M Y
B O L I N
EXCLUSIVE ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS
Johnnie Bolin grew up in the Midwest in the 50's. His Father, Richard Bolin, worked at a packing plant and Mother, Barbara, worked at the hospital. They had busy full-time jobs not related to music, so hardly the parents to raise three boys that made music all their lives. Johnnie’s oldest brother, Tommy, was a guitarist, Johnnie a Drummer, and his younger brother, Rick (Pudge), was a singer. They all started playing in bands after getting their first musical instruments and then performed at high schools, ballrooms, street dances, etc. Tommy left school and moved to Denver at age 16. He got in a recording band and was on American Bandstand at age 18. He went on to play with concert bands -- James Gang and, one of the biggest rock bands of the 70's, Deep Purple. Johnnie somewhat followed his path at the time. He continued to play around the Midwest and got a big break joining Tommy’s band in ‘76, playing Mile High Stadium in Denver changing his life forever. Johnnie tragically lost his brother later that year but continued on. He moved to California, Miami, NYC, and, eventually, settled in Minneapolis. At that time, he accepted a job with Black Oak Arkansas and traveled worldwide for the next 30 years. Playing, recording, and traveling were and are Johnnie’s life. Today he’s back in his hometown of Sioux City, Iowa... and still beating the “skins" after all these years.
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Johnnie Bolin
and Tommy Bolin
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