10 Songs Inspired By Real Events
9. Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
Countless hard rock bands can only dream of having something as iconic as "Smoke on the Water" in their catalog. Using just a few notes, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore created one of the catchiest riffs in history and provided the starting point for many guitarists to pick up the six-string. Though the riff is the center of attention, the creation of the song came from the band enduring any other band's worst nightmare.
Itching to break out of the studio environment, Deep Purple were looking for a live space where they could record their new album. Finding a place in Montreux, Switzerland, everything seemed to be looking up until a mishap at a Frank Zappa show right before they started recording. After an overzealous fan shot a flare gun in the middle of Zappa's set, the entire live stage (and soon-to-be recording spot) had burned to the ground.
Improvising with what they had, the band rented out the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and recorded the album Machine Head at the Grand Hotel, where Blackmore first came up with the riff for the song. Inspired by the ludicrous events, Ian Gillan's lyrics are an exact recount of the story of the album making process. It was a hard road to get to the final record, but the brashness of this riff is still one of the most invigorating sounds in rock music.