10 Rock Guitarists Who Were In Two Amazing Bands
1. Ritchie Blackmore - Deep Purple/Rainbow
The sound of hard rock to come was shaped by Ritchie Blackmore's guitar. Not only did he gift the rock world with one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time with Smoke on the Water, but his blend of different musical styles into one cohesive sound made for some of the most transcendent solos the '70s had ever heard. However, when you have a sound that diverse, it doesn't always mean it fits in one band.
As Deep Purple first started to get the ball rolling, Ritchie was really the star, as they went from a standard rock act to one of the greatest sonic forces in England with vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover. Though Blackmore was still able to steer the group in the right direction on future albums like Burn, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before he struck out on his own.
Originally dubbing the group Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, just Rainbow turned into one of the first medieval sounding rock acts, whose work with Ronnie James Dio gave us some of the first sounds of power metal on albums like Rising and Long Live Rock n Roll. Though he has been known to surround himself with a smorgasbord of talent throughout the years, when you come to see Ritchie Blackmore in concert, it always comes down to that man and his guitar.