The Most Popular Riff In Rock

Think back to when you learned to play the guitar. You definitely learned "Smoke on the Water," right? Of course you did. Deep Purple performed their classic tune on the Today Show yesterday. I'm so old I remember when the Today Show passed as a real journalism program and covered more than six minutes of actual hard news every day, but I digress.

Comments

[Metalboy!]

Allyson! This is HARD News! As in HARD ROCK! So awesome they put them on!

Purple still kicks a*s! If only they could drag Blackmore back in.

Who wants to bet he'll strap the ol' Strat back on and join 'em on stage at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame soon.

[Him]

Sounds good given their age. Always loved Gillen (even in Sabbath).

But, if you are in the mood for groovier tunes, check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvXxlXg_V-k

Kinda' takes you away, heh?

I love Blackmore. But he is happy with Candice. Can't imagine him catching the spark again. So there he sits, with elfin folk.

[Ace Steele]

Purple will always be viable. Even with Blackmore & Lord gone, it's still viable & these guys still rock. Back in the 80's, my buddy "Cookie" was Richie's guitar tech, so I got to spend lots of up close time around Blackmore during the last couple Rainbow tours & the Deep Purple reunion tours... Richie rarely listened to rock. He spent most of his time in the tour bus's back lounge playing Paganini & Vivaldi concertos....on the cello. Rock is too simplistic for him. And HIM, to answer your question from the other day, I'll have a good answer near the end of the month. Timing is everything. ;)

[Bob]

Nicely done, Him. Before I read the comments, I planned to post a link to "Maria Quiet." "Smoke on the water's" riff is, of course, iconic, but not entirely original. Same thing with "Child In Time." It borrows heavily from "Bombay Calling" by It's A Beautiful Day. All of that said, yes, Deep Purple, especially considering their age, still brings it really hard live. I've seen them in concert loads of times, and they have never disappointed. There last album was not bad either. Much respect to these guys.

[Gary]

The very first song I learned on guitar! Criminally underrated band. Had a ton to do with shaping modern metal,yet rarely get credit. Ace, cool shit!! Blackmore was incredible in concert. I saw him 3 times with various versions of Rainbow,including twice with " The Man On The Silver Mountain" himself,Mr.Dio. He destroyed a strat (literally) each and every time I saw him. Lol

[Jeff]

Good to hear Gillan still has it. He sounds GREAT. Steve Morse....not so good. Oh how I wish Blackmore would come back. At least he said he will be playing a limited run of shows with them next year. Tickets will be astronomical, I'm sure.

[Metalboy!]

Whoa, Jeff! Please say it to be so! That will get them in The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame... Here's the thing about Blackmore... If you look at all the concert footage over the years, I swear the guy never hits a false note... Nearly flawless...

You feel like he'll commit Hari-Kari if he makes a mistake. That's supernatural live, as the real musicians on here (unlike myself) will attest. I can tell just by watching it!

Astronomical, Smashtronomical! I'm there!

p.s. My ex-lead guitarist saw Rainbow four times. One story he relayed to me was when Rainbow played played Louie's Rock City in Catonsville, Maryland (Baltimore, for all impractical purposes) with Graham Bonnet on lead vocals. Louie's (long gone) had a rather low Armstrong acoustic tile drop ceiling. Naturally, Blackmore felt compelled to drive the machine head into said ceiling several times, systematically punching out EVERY tile, only to pause to actually chuck it through one hole to the next, purposely doing a half-as*ed job of trying to catch it on the other side. My ex-lead guitarist said Blackmore destroyed 4 Strats on that little project that night. Now that's what I call showmanship!

[Him]

I had to do it, Bob. Still love Purple though. And I agree . . . the last album was quite good.

Jeff, do you have some links to that scoop? I'd love it to be true. But I wonder--with all the Coverdale and Turner stuff floating about--if it is really possible. Not to mention, he burned some serious bridges with the rest of the band (Gillen especially, though that is a personality issue on both sides). Just curious if you have extra context.

And Ace . . . you have my attention! I can't wait to hear the answer. I know it will be a good one.

[Tony]

Ritchie is thinking about doing a short run of rock shows, playing Deep Purple & Rainbow tracks.
But there has been no decision about who will be in his band & no talk of him playing with Deep Purple again.

[Metalboy!]

Hey, if ya gotta steal from somebody, it might as well be the best...

[Dj]

Most recognizable riff in rock history. I've seen somebody play it on piano.