Guitar Legends: Ritchie Blackmore

 When it comes to famed names in guitar, one name sometimes pops to the front of the line, depending on what kind of music you're in to. That name tends to be Ritchie Blackmore if you're in to hard rock or even metal. Or it tends to be Rory Gallagher or other names, depending on your taste in music or who inspires you. A lot of things tend to represent this intensely private man. All black clothing. A love of the medieval. Fender Stratocasters. His iconic hat, known by some as a "pilgrim" hat

When it comes to guitar legends, Ritchie Blackmore seems, by some, to get less recognition than Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Both are good in their own rights. They both play hard rock, but with different playing styles. Rory Gallagher is also said to be a legendary name as well. Can't forget him. While these two initial guitarists have a lot in common, from age to the instrument they play to the never ending list of axe slingers they've inspired, one thing that differs between them are the paths they take. Ritchie has gone in all sorts of directions, from the strange pop rock of the late 50s, early 60s to hard rock with Deep Purple and early Rainbow to more radio-friendly Rainbow to medieval melodies with Blackmore's Night. Blackmore is often compared to Page more than usual, only because of them being roughly the same age and in almost the same type of music

Early Days

-Like Page, Ritchie, who went by Ricky or Blackie in the early days, started out doing session work. He's been playing guitar since he 11 or 12. He actually pestered his dad for a guitar and his father even told him "If you don't learn this guitar, I'm going to wrap it 'round your head", only because he knew of his youngest son's easily bored habit. He lived around the corner from "Big" Jim Sullivan and often took lessons from him. Jim told him to use all of his fingers, including his thumbs, despite Ritchie telling him that his classical guitar teacher told him not to. Jim said "your thumb is a digit. You can play with that." Ritchie pursued the guitar because of then legend Tommy Steele

-When he got older, that is to say, 15, he started playing professionally with bands. He started out working for Joe Meek, with his backing band The Outlaws. As his talents grew, whispers started coming up about the 15 year old from Heston who could play breakneck fast guitar, despite being originally from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. In this band was also Chas Hodges of Chas & Dave. He played guitar as backup to German singer Heinz on the single "Just Like Eddie". Of course, one more thing Blackmore had in common with Page is the work he had done with "Screaming" Lord Sutch, who would often change costumes more than anything.

-As time went on, his talents grew and in 1967, he joined or rather formed a band called Roundabout. This band would eventually morph into the hard rock legend Deep Purple, named after an old Nino Temple song Blackmore's grandmother played on the piano. Despite the fact Blackmore simply played guitar and only guitar, the primary songwriter was keyboardist Jon Lord. Of course, the initial 1967 lineup, known as Mark I, was radically different than that of Mark II and so on. The initial lineup featured Blackmore on guitar, Rod Evans on vocals, Nick Simper on bass, Jon Lord on keyboard, Ian Paice on drums. The first three Deep Purple albums-Shades of Deep Purple, The Book of Taliesyn, Deep Purple are deeply rooted in psychedelic rock, art rock, what was then popular at the time. They were radically different compared to the explosive debut album of Led Zeppelin. One song that brought fame to the fledgling Purple was their electrified cover of the Joe South written, Billy Joe Royal-performed "Hush".

Mark I Lineup. L-R: Rod Evans, Jon Lord, Ritchie Blackmore, Nick Simper, Ian Paice

-One of the earliest guitars that Blackmore used was a Framus guitar early in his teens, which he upgraded to a Hofner Club 50. It was only into the early days of Purple that he upgraded to a red Gibson ES335. It was inspired by people such as Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, US blues legend Shuggie Otis. In an interview, Blackmore mentioned the influence Jeff Beck had on him. "When Shapes of Things came out in 1966, everybody went "Oh my God! Who is that...and why is he playing this Indian stuff? It shouldn't be allowed." It was just too good."

Going Purple

-1970 saw the birth of the Mark II lineup of Deep Purple. Out went Nick Simper on bass and Rod Evans on vocals. In came Roger Glover on bass and Ian Gillan on vocals. Blackmore started to increase his control and lead of the band. Roger Glover mentioned "Ritchie wasn't just the guitar player, he was a brilliant innovator. Things he wrote defy description. Ritchie was phenomenal in what he was doing in the late 60s and early 70s. He was a magnetic, dynamic writer." Unfortunately, not everyone agreed. Tension started to build in the band with the band's first LP with Gillan, titled Concerto for Group and Orchestra. Jon Lord later remarked that this had upset Blackmore due to the focus being taken away from him

-As Blackmore later confirmed in an interview "That's true. We're a rock band. I couldn't understand why we kept playing with orchestras. I was impressed with what Zeppelin did, and I wanted to do that kind of stuff, and if it doesn't take off we'll go and play with orchestras the rest of our lives. So we did it, and it was Deep Purple In Rock.

-1970 also saw the birth of one of the band's more successful albums, In Rock. This album spawned songs that would inspire countless generations of musicians, who all thought that mastering "Smoke on the Water" meant you were going places on the guitar. This album produced some of Purple's best known songs, which are still played live today. But, no more would Blackmore be compared to Page. Blackmore would forever be known as the precise guitarist who could also play at breakneck speeds. His fast playing would inspire guitar "shredders" later on down the road. Gillan would later depart from the band as would bassist Roger Glover, only to be replaced by former Trapeze bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and a young unknown singer named David Coverdale. The two newbies' love of soul, funk started to seep into the band and Blackmore started to play what some would now call "neoclassical" metal

-He moved on from a Gibson ES335 to his now signature instrument- a Fender Stratocaster. This allowed him tons more flexibility to play as well as using the tremolo arm to no end.

Rainbow Rising

-1975, however, seen Blackmore becoming increasingly frustrated with Purple. David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes were funk/soul freaks and they allowed their love of this music to cloud their judgement. He started planning a side project with then Elf vocalist Ronnie James Dio. He had known the American vocalist from the days of Elf supporting Purple throughout much of 1972. After approaching Dio, the two formed a plan to form a new band. As for the name, Blackmore stated in an interview "It came from the Hollywood Bar & Grill, [the Rainbow on LA's Sunset Strip]. I was in there with Ronnie, getting drunk as usual, and said "What shall we call the band?" and just pointed to the sign."

-With Dio on vocals, they made three albums under the moniker Rainbow. Initially, the debut album was titled Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. But it was decided to change the name to simply Rainbow so it would not seem that the band members were simply following Blackmore. The first three Rainbow albums were said to be the most complex and even thought-provoking albums. You can almost picture Medieval culture while listening to some of them. As time went on, Blackmore's guitar playing got more intense, more aggressive. For proof, listen to "Kill the King" from Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, "Man on the Silver Mountain" from Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and even the title track to Long Live Rock 'n' Roll. Of course, it can't be forgotten that Dio's love of dungeons and dragons also managed to get into the songs. For proof, check out "Stargazer", "Catch the Rainbow"

-Some would even call "Stargazer" Blackmore's attempt at Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir". But, despite Blackmore's "no orchestra" attitude, he was certainly fine using the Munich Philharmonic on "Stargazer". His solos tended to be inspired by a scale called a Phyrgian scale, usually used in Indian rags, Egyptian music and flamnco music. In an interview, Blackmore stated "It's amazing how many guitarists use the same old lines. They never dare touch Arabic or Turkish scales."

-The "classic" lineup of Rainbow soon dissolved. Dio left in 1979 only to join Black Sabbath on vocals in 1980. Bassist Jimmy Bain was fired; drummer Cozy Powell stayed until 1980. Blackmore still ran the band until 1984. It was in 1979 when he decided to go more radio-friendly. He brought in vocalist Graham Bonnet, whose raspy voice would bring the band awareness on American radio. Bassist Jimmy Bain revealed in an interview "He was perturbed that he wasn't being played on the radio." With singer Graham Bonnet and eventually Joe Lynn Turner, this band would get radio airplay once and for all.  Some of the more popular tracks to come out of the Graham Bonnet/Joe Lynn Turner era include "Since You've Been Been Gone, "I Surrender", "Street of Dreams", "All Night Long" and more. Of course, with them going more radio-friendly, they started sounding like other bands, like REO Speedwagon, Styx, Foreigner. They were quickly losing their fan base. In 1981, the fans of heavy metal magazine Kerrang! voted 1976's Rising as the "Greatest Heavy Metal Album Ever". It certainly managed to inspire a group of young London East Enders who would go on to heavy metal success as Iron Maiden and would also inspire power metal, neo-classical shred and more

-In an interview, Blackmore talked about the 1976 album Rising. "Everybody who's heard it thinks it's my best playing in a long time, which I suppose is a compliment. Then again, what do they know?"

Going to the Renaissance Fair

-1984 saw the rebirth of the Mark II lineup of Deep Purple. The band came back together to record Perfect Strangers and House of Blue Light in 1987. Unfortunately, old tensions between vocalist Ian Gillan and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore started flaring again. Both were leaders, trying to take the band in separate directions. They ran until the early 1990s, when Blackmore formed Rainbow once more, with a different singer, to record Stranger in Us All. November 1993 marks the year Blackmore quit for good from Deep Purple. His final album with the band was The Battle Rages On, a rather fitting name especially for the tensions building between Gillan and Blackmore. 1997, however, saw the birth of a new project for him-Blackmore's Night, a band he formed with then girlfriend Candace Night. This band is still running strong today. So far, with 24 years and 11 albums, this proves someone out there likes this music, which is good for the band. A laughable fact is that with these stats, Steve Morse, Purple's current axe slinger, has been Deep Purple's lead guitarist longer than Blackmore himself. Morse, originally a guitarist for The Dixie Dregs, joined the band almost immediately after Blackmore left in 1993.

-Any tensions between singer-guitarist disappeared for Blackmore: he married his band's singer, Candice Night. Occasionally, that white Fender Stratocaster will come out, but he's more commonly seen playing Medieval-type instruments. He seems almost relaxed when playing this type of music, as if it's reducing his stress. When asked in an interview about Blackmore's Night, he stated "I'm finding it harder and harder to be inspired by just playing loud. I'd rather just sit down with a guitar and play. This whole 'You've got to hit with a big riff' thing is beginning to wear off."

Aww, this picture looks so sweet

-While this band isn't for everyone, it's not a joke to Blackmore. He once stated "I just don't fit in the 'fun' area. A lot of musicians go "Oh, that was really fun." Well, I like to think that music...is hard work and it's really gratifying to do, but fun? Fun is something where someone tells a joke and they laugh for 10 seconds. Music's much deeper than that."

-For all the people with blown minds about his guitar playing, he's highly keen on reminding them of what's truly important in guitar playing. "If you try to play too technically, you lose something in the music-like you're playing for another guitar player. I like to play for people. I often think of the guitar last when I'm recording. The most important thing to me are the vocals, then comes the arrangement, then the song. And then, way down: "Oh yes, there has to be a guitar solo." But for a lot of players, everything revolves around the solo."

Equipment

-When he turned 11, he pestered his dad for a guitar. He got it, but with this threat from his dad. "If you don't learn to play this, I'm going to wrap it 'round your head." His father spent what was then a small fortune on a guitar and he warned his youngest son because he knew of Ritchie's easily bored habits. His first guitar was a Framus. By 1961, he acquired an electric guitar, a cherry red Gibson ES335. He paired it with a Vox AC30 amp, which was a then desirable amplifier.

-In the early days of Purple, he still used his ES335, up until 1970. That year, he upgraded to his iconic instrument-a Fender Stratocaster. You can still see him using the Gibson ES335 on footage from Concerto for Group and Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall and on In Rock. It was even used on one of Deep Purple's most iconic songs, "Child in Time". By 1970, he upgraded to his iconic Fender Stratocaster. He wanted one of these for a more "electric" sound. In an interview, Blackmore stated "The Strat had more of a cut for rock 'n' roll; the Gibson's more of a jazzy guitar. It has a very mellow sound - full sound, great sound - but when I heard Hendrix, I liked the way he cut through the notes. I wanted to reach that. I got my first Strat indirectly through Eric Clapton. He gave his roadie, who is my friend, a Strat that he didn't want. He [the roadie] gave it to me, and that's when I started playing the Strat."

-This was just after Clapton himself had moved on to Stratocasters. The first Stratocaster Ritchie had gotten was a black finish with maple neck, which he replaced the strings on with Gibson wire. 1972 seen him getting another Strat, once again, black in color. He used a sunburst Strat on the album Machine Head. It's thought that during him having his first Stratocaster, he sanded down the fretboard to create a more "scalloped" look

-Blackmore often gets the praise for creating the "scalloped" look on fretboards. It's not exactly true; it actually goes back to various ancient instruments, especially from the East. But Blackmore using this created some serious inspiration. Swedish guitar shredder Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai would not have become the legendary axe slingers they are if it wasn't for Blackmore. This method of "scalloping" your fretboards doesn't add speed; it adds to dexterity in which you can play, but you will have to play slower to achieve the perfect balance of sharpness and flatness. This will add, over time, to the control and dexterity. That trait is 100% Blackmore. He's not like Jimmy Page, who is said to play his guitar "admirably sloppy". This fretboard modification allows for lighter touch, thus meaning more movement in your picking hand, which is where the speed comes in

-He's played many guitars over the years, mostly if not all Fender Stratocasters. He also owns mostly if not all Fender Stratocasters. He's played a 1972 Fender Stratocaster while in Deep Purple. This model of guitar is known for its "bullet truss rod" on the head. He's also played a 1972 Fender Strat with natural ash body. He also played this during his waning days in Purple and even into the early Rainbow days. He then moved on to a 1974 model, which is one of his favorites. He played this during the days of Rainbow. For the axe slingers wanting to play a model identical to Blackmore's, the current option would be a Fender Vintera 70s Stratocaster

His style of playing

-Growing up, he lived near "Big" Jim Sullivan. The young Blackmore sought out the guitar legend, who proceeded to teach him to play guitar with all his fingers. He taught young Ritchie to even use his pinky fingers. This helped set Blackmore apart from other guitarists because it allowed for greater stretches and more speed, but is a lot harder to master.

-Brian May of Queen said in an interview "Ritchie was already a source of mystery and wonder - nobody could play like that in those days. It's not just the speed, there were other people who can play fast...but they aren't Ritchie Blackmore."

-Joe Satriani once said "Highway Star makes everyone who think he's a guitar player need to pick up a guitar and say 'Can I really do that?' "