With Blackmore's departure, Purple had to fill the vacancy urgently. The band announced a replacement: American Tommy Bolin. Before Bolin was recruited, Clem Clempson (Colosseum, Humble Pie), Zal Cleminson (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band), Mick Ronson (The Spiders From Mars) and Rory Gallagher were considered. There are at least two versions of the Bolin recruitment story: Coverdale claims to have been the one who suggested auditioning Bolin. "He walked in, thin as a rake, his hair coloured green, yellow and blue with feathers in it. Slinking along beside him was this stunning Hawaiian girl in a crochet dress with nothing on underneath. He plugged into four Marshall 100-watt stacks and...the job was his." But in an interview published by "Melody Maker" in June 1975, Bolin claimed that he came to the audition following a recommendation from Blackmore. Bolin had been a member of many late-1960s bands – Denny & The Triumphs, American Standard, and Zephyr, which released three albums from 1969 to 1972. Before he joined Deep Purple, Bolin's best-known recordings had been made as a session musician on Billy Cobham's 1973 jazz fusion album "Spectrum", and as lead guitarist on two post-Joe Walsh James Gang albums: "Bang" (1973) and "Miami" (1974). He had also played with Dr. John, Albert King, the Good Rats, Moxy and Alphonse Mouzon, and was busy working on his first solo album, "Teaser", when he accepted the invitation to join Deep Purple.