UAWIL #236: Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

The Ugly American Werewolf in London Rock Podcast · Jun 5, 2025 · 1h 6m

Ritchie Blackmore is known as a guitar legend and as one of the more mercurial figures in rock. The Rock N Roll Hall Of Famer rose to power with Deep Purple and unleashed some of the most classic, hard rock riffs on the world, including the simple and ever-present Smoke On The Water. But Ritchie was known to be aloof, distant from his bandmates and would often fly into critical rages about their performance. After the departure of Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, he was dissatisfied with the musical direction of the band. However, once he saw a diminutive American singer opening for Purple in a…