TOMMY BOLIN Book Author To Guest On 'Electric Ballroom'

Tune in to the "Electric Ballroom" radio show with hosts Aimee Kristi and Keith Roth on WRAT on Sunday, February 1 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern for an interview with Greg Prato, author of the new book "Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story" — which is said to be the first book to focus entirely on the life story of guitarist Tommy Bolin.

You can listen to the program live on 95.9 WRAT FM in the New York/New Jersey area or via the Internet at www.wrat.com (hit "Listen Live").

To many, Tommy Bolin was the legitimate heir to Jimi Hendrix's rock guitar throne. Stints with the JAMES GANG and DEEP PURPLE — as well as solo albums and a groundbreaking release with jazz-rocker Billy Cobham — certainly proved that the adulation was rightly deserved. And with a techno-color fashion sense, he certainly stood out from the pack. Only one problem, Tommy had a death-defying drug addiction, which ultimately would lead to a premature and tragic end — before he was able to truly take his standing among the elite musicians of the world.

A longtime fan of Tommy's music, Greg conducted interviews with such renowned rock names as David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Eddie Kramer, Carmine Appice, Jan Hammer, Martin Barre, Jimmy Haslip, Mark Stein, Prairie Prince, Dale Peters, Jim Fox, Alphonse Mouzon, Kenny Passarelli, Henry Paul, Narada Michael Walden, Reggie McBride, and Otis Taylor, as well as Tommy's brother, Johnnie Bolin (among countless others),for the book.

While it will obviously appeal to fans of Tommy Bolin, this 252-page paperback book (whose title comes from a phrase that keyboardist Jan Hammer once said to describe Tommy's guitar playing) will also be of interest to fans of classic rock in general, as large portions of the book focus on DEEP PURPLE, the JAMES GANG, and Billy Cobham, while you'll find additional stories that involve LED ZEPPELIN, Jeff Beck, JETHRO TULL, the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, the TUBES, MOXY, the OUTLAWS, and Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios, among others. You'll also get the inside scoop on such classic Tommy-related releases as Billy Cobham's "Spectrum", the JAMES GANG's "Bang" and "Miami", and DEEP PURPLE's "Come Taste the Band", plus Tommy's two cult classic solo albums, "Teaser" and "Private Eyes". Additionally, new information is gathered around the events that led to Tommy's tragic passing in 1976, after a show in Miami with Jeff Beck.

"Touched by Magic" is available through www.lulu.com for $19.98 (U.S.),and there is a sample chapter to read at the site (the chapter is titled "Moxy/Teaser/Deep Purple").