Rainbow (rock band)

History

In 1973, Ritchie Blackmore oversaw a major lineup change in Deep Purple, swapping Ian Gillan and Roger Glover for David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. The new members wanted to bring their own musical ideas into the group, but some of those ideas clashed with Blackmore's preferences. While working on the 1974 album Stormbringer, Blackmore wanted to record a song called "Black Sheep of the Family," written by Steve Hammond, but the rest of the band said no.

During the tour that followed, Deep Purple was supported by the American band Elf. Blackmore was particularly taken with Elf's singer, Ronnie James Dio. Still determined to cut his own version of "Black Sheep of the Family," Blackmore decided to record it as a single, bringing in four members of Elf: Dio, bassist Craig Gruber, drummer Gary Driscoll, and keyboardist Mickey Lee Soule. Those recording sessions went so well that they started working on a full album, with Blackmore and Dio writing original songs together.

The resulting record, titled Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, was cut between February and March 1975 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. The band's name came from the Rainbow Bar and Grill in West Hollywood, California.

The music drew partly from classical influences, as Blackmore had taken up the cello to help him build more interesting chord progressions. Dio's lyrics leaned on medieval themes and imagery. Dio had a strong, flexible voice that could handle both hard rock and softer ballads. Blackmore said that hearing Dio sing gave him shivers down his spine. Even though Dio never played an instrument on any Rainbow album, he is listed as a co-writer and arranger with Blackmore, and he wrote all the lyrics. The two also shared a similar sense of humor. Dio later said the band was his chance to show what he could do, and he often thanked Blackmore for giving him that opportunity.

After the positive experience of recording with Dio, Blackmore decided to leave Deep Purple. He played his final show with them in Paris in April 1975, and his departure was made public on June 21. When Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow came out in September 1975, it got good reviews and landed in the top 20 in the UK and the top 30 in the US.