David Coverdale up to me and said, 'Please keep the band together.' David played me the album that Tommy did with Billy Cobham. We liked his playing on it and invited Tommy to audition.'" The band released one studio album with Bolin, "Come Taste the Band" in 1975. The album was less successful than previous records, and at the end of the tour in March 1976, Coverdale reportedly walked off in tears and handed in his resignation, to which he was told there was no band left to quit. The decision to disband Deep Purple had been made some time before the
David Coverdale to over 200,000 fans on his first trip to the United States at California Jam. In December 1974 "Burn" was followed-up by "Stormbringer", which also ranked at Gold album status in the US and the UK. The funk and soul influences of the previous record were even more prominent here, and this was one of the reasons why guitarist Ritchie Blackmore left the band in June 1975. Rather than disbanding, Coverdale was instrumental in persuading the band to continue with American guitarist Tommy Bolin (of Billy Cobham and The James Gang fame). As Jon Lord put it, "David Coverdale came