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UNBELIEVABLE: Ritchie blackmore | History Defined

Before he went solo, Ronnie James Dio had already worked with two guitarists etched onto heavy metal’s Mount Rushmore. But players can also learn plenty from the oft-overlooked shredders who anchored his solo band

From a 17-year-old prodigy to a future stadium-conquering guitar superstar, Ronnie James Dio had a dream team of six-string sidekicks over the course of his solo career – and their contributions to his catalog should be essential listening for any aspiring metal guitarist

Guitar World

“A band member said, ‘If we didn’t write it, there’s no point in doing it because we won’t get writing credits.’ I was really disappointed”: The moment Ritchie Blackmore knew he’d leave Deep Purple

Blackmore looks back on his Deep Purple departure

Guitar World

"So there I was slinging names about and accusing them of all sorts of things – dastardly deeds and vile occurrences!" Feuding and in crisis, Deep Purple combined two high-profile figures to create an anti-censorship classic

The story of a song that merged Mary Whitehouse's infamous clean-up campaign with tensions caused by Ritchie Blackmore

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"We wanted a song about castles and crossbows." The magical relationship between Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio celebrated on the monumental Rainbow - The Temple Of The King 1975-76

Nine CDs of Ritchie, Ronnie and Rainbow

Louder

Star Trek actor William Shatner is releasing an all-star heavy metal album featuring Zakk Wylde, Ritchie Blackmore and more, because you try and tell him not to

Captain Kirk is set to cover Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden and uncork some hard-hitting originals

Metal Hammer

“It’s crazy, ambitious and so out of the box. It’s like nothing you’d ever heard before.”: Zakk Wylde picks his favourite Randy Rhoads guitar solo – and explains why Rhoads and Ozzy Osbourne were perfect for each other

Plucked from Quiet Riot, Rhoads was the transfusion of virtuosity Ozzy needed to launch his solo career. But Wylde says it goes both ways, and the Prince Of Darkness was the "perfect foil" for Rhoads' classically trained style

MusicRadar

"I looked around and nobody was happy. And I was thinking: 'This is going to be rough'": What happened when Bruce Dickinson made the decision that changed his life

Becoming a band’s new singer is never easy. But when Bruce Dickinson saw Iron Maiden play, he knew he was the singer they needed

Metal Hammer

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“I’d met Elvis Presley’s guitar player, who told me James Burton used banjo strings...” How Ritchie Blackmore came across an obscure string mod that introduced him to a whole new sound – and why it didn’t work for him

Burton proved it was possible to use banjo strings on guitar, but Blackmore’s early adventures with the hack got mixed results

Guitar World

“Nobody can play better than that guy, man!”: In a new in-depth interview, guitar virtuoso Steve Morse discusses the supernatural powers of John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Angel Vivaldi and Deep Purple legends Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore

His new Steve Morse Band album Triangulation is an audacious work of instrumental rock

MusicRadar

“When I played the Purple songs and took it out, some of them – a certain percentage of them – just hated me”: Steve Morse on the challenges of putting his own stamp on Deep Purple’s material

Ritchie Blackmore's legacy loomed large when Morse first stepped up to fill his shoes

Guitar World

“I was always pushing him to go back to playing the organ through an amp for some solos… y’know, the sound that he had in the Machine Head days”: Steve Morse on why he loved writing with Jon Lord and the Deep Purple track that started with a cup of tea

Steve Morse on how a noodle during one of Deep Purple's many tea breaks ended up on the album, and the mixed reception from Ritchie Blackmore fans when he'd improvise onstage

MusicRadar

“I couldn't stop vomiting. The room wouldn't stop spinning”: Ritchie Blackmore issues health update after tour cancellation

The guitar legend has opened up on his recent health issues after a handful of Blackmore's Night shows were cancelled

Guitar World

“We are sorry for any inconvenience”: Ritchie Blackmore’s band cancels all remaining tour dates, citing medical reasons

Earlier this year, Candice Night, one of the co-founders of Blackmore's Night and the guitarist's wife, revealed that Blackmore was battling a series of health issues

Guitar World

“I was afraid. The idea of being unable to sing and perform was horrifying. All the things you take for granted suddenly taken away from you. It was a very troubling time in my life”: An epic interview with rock legend and Whitesnake star David Coverdale

The highs and lows of an extraordinary career

MusicRadar

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"We've never done that before, and we're never doing it again!"Watch Blackmore's Night play a rare version of a Deep Purple classic

Fans in Alexandria, Virginia, have been treated to a one-off performance of one of Deep Purple's most-loved songs

Guitar World

“I’d say, ‘How is your latest record, Jeff?’ And he’d go, ‘Oh, it's a lot of rubbish’”: Ritchie Blackmore on Jeff Beck’s imposter syndrome

Both guitarists revolutionized rock guitar – but Beck wasn’t always the biggest fan of his own work

MusicRadar

“He would always put himself down. I'd say, 'How is your latest record, Jeff?' And he'd go, 'Oh, it's a lot of rubbish'”: Ritchie Blackmore says that Jeff Beck was "always reaching for something he couldn't find"

“He was always reaching for something he couldn't find," he says of guitar great

Louder

“Vanilla Fudge had covered a Supremes hit and turned it into something else. That’s what the band tried to do – put their own spin on it”: The iconic cover version that launched a legendary hard rock band – but nearly turned them into one-hit-wonders

It came a year before Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath released their debut albums

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Guitar World

“Ritchie Blackmore was playing licks to sound check. Andy started answering him. Their conversation with guitars was enough to impress Ritchie”: Ted Turner on eating biscuits with John Lennon and how Deep Purple gave Wishbone Ash their big break

The Les Paul slinger shares the secret behind his twin-guitar sound with Andy Powell, why he quit the band not once but twice, and working as a session player on John Lennon’s Imagine

Louder

Glenn Hughes has played with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Black Country Communion and more - but he should never have left his first band

Glenn Hughes has spent more than 50 years in rock - and he's ready to talk about it all

MusicRadar

“I think every serious fan of hard rock music would love Stargazer. It’s one of those all-time epic masterpieces. It’s Ritchie Blackmore in his most experimental mode”: How guitar hero Blackmore created his magnum opus with Rainbow

The legendary track that inspired Metallica, Opeth, Dream Theater and Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson

MusicRadar

“I was driven to Ritchie’s house in Surrey. That was the big test. Sitting in his crazy bar, listening to his amazing demos on a Revox tape machine”: David Coverdale recalls his baptism of fire with Deep Purple

Louder

"It's karaoke time and I understand that": Graham Bonnet on the "berserk" response to Rainbow's Since You've Been Gone

Just about to tour MSG's Assault Attack in full, Graham Bonnet is still singing songs by his old bands, having fun and not taking things too seriously

Louder

"I look round and there's puke all over the place, and I thought, this is not going well": How Rainbow's classic lineup came together then fell apart

Ritchie Blackmore and his band reflect on Rainbow Rising, hailed as an instant classic upon its release in 1976

MusicRadar

“We went back to the castle, went down to the dungeon where we were set up, figured out what key we were gonna play in – and then Blackmore came up with that riff!”: Glenn Hughes recalls his magical time with Deep Purple in the ’70s

“I’m very proud of everything that I did with that band," he says

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