"Smoke on the Water"
Artist - Deep Purple
Deep Purple was once listed in the Guinness Book World Records as the world's loudest rock band. It may also hold a record for the most changes in personnel. Deep Purple has entertained a Yardbirds-like succession of famous musicians in its thirty-eight year existence, including Jon Lord (Whitesnake), David Coverdale (Whitesnake), Ian Gillan (Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar), Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow), and Joe Satriani.
Deep Purple was initially founded as a loose collective assembled by Chris Curtis, an ex-member of the Searchers. For reasons unknown he abandoned the project, but the musicians he had recruited decided to form a band anyway. Ironically, the group was originally named Roundabout, and Curtis's idea of a musical unit with a fluid lineup became the nature of the band.
Deep Purple had a few pop hits in the United States and was beginning to cultivate a heavier sound when then Jon Lord encouraged the group to pursue more progressive musical ideas. The resulting album, Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1970), on which they collaborated with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, sold poorly, and Blackmore took control of group. He steered band toward hard rock and their next album, Deep Purple in Rock, finally made the band a success. However, it was their 1972 album Machine Head, and the saga of its creation, that spawned their biggest hit.
The band was scheduled to record the album in the ballroom of a casino complex in Montreaux, Switzerland; Deep Purple had rented the Rolling Stones' mobile recording studio so they could squeeze in recording sessions between European tour dates. But the casino burned to the ground, and the band tried several other locations before finding a suitable place to record. "Smoke on the Water" is a narrative of the ordeal. The song's opening four-chord riff is one of the most famous in rock music; it is also one of the longest. It is based on a minor blues progression, which provides "heavy" sound, as does the distortion created by Blackmore playing close to his amp. Bassist Roger Glover came up with the central idea of "smoke on the water" but the group was reluctant to use it as a title; they thought it sounded too much like a song about drugs.
Their follow-up album also produced a hit single, but Gillan and Glover left the group soon after. Deep Purple's next album, with new lead singer David Coverdale, was well received, but when Blackmore quit the following year [what year?] the group lost its edge. They made one more album with a replacement guitarist, but the group dissolved in 1976. The original lineup re-formed in 1984 for Perfect Strangers, a platinum smash hit. The band's members continue to fluctuate—Blackmore and Gillan have rejoined and quit the band several times—but Deep Purple continues to tour and record new material.
Also see: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, Iron Butterfly
Must Haves:
- "Woman from Tokyo"
- "Highway Star"
- "Kentucky Road"
- "Space Truckin"
- "Knockin' at Your Back Door"
Performers Influenced By This Artist:
- Whitesnake
- Montrose
- Motörhead
- The Datsuns
- Queen
- Judas Priest
"Bye Bye Love"
Artist - The Everly Brothers
In the early 1950s, the real rival to the popular music industry wasn't rhythm and blues; it was country music. Country and western began to rise in popularity when national radio networks began to broadcast "barn dance" shows featuring country music and comedy. The National Broadcasting Company picked up the largest of them all, the WSM Barn Dance, recorded live in Nashville. Its stars, Roy Acuff and Uncle Dave Macon, became national celebrities, and the barn dance acquired the name it still holds today: the Grand Ole Opry.
Country music became extremely popular during World War II. Music publishing firms like Hill & Range and the Acuff-Rose Agency set up shop in Nashville, which produced so many hit records that the disc jockey David Cobb dubbed it "Music City U.S.A." The Opry was still one of the most popular radio shows in the land, and charismatic stars like Hank Williams and Chet Atkins were attracting a new, young audience for country music; even rhythm and blues artists were recording country songs! Western swing artists like Bill Haley and the Saddlemen found that R&B audiences enjoyed their up-tempo renditions of popular blues songs, and Red Foley and Tennessee Ernie Ford managed to recast boogie-woogie as a country style. It seemed that something exciting was about to happen, even before Sam Phillips discovered Elvis Presley. On behest of the Hill & Range firm, RCA records spent an unprecedented amount to purchase Elvis's contract; they believed that Nashville was about to profit from a national country boogie-woogie craze. However, the new hybrid didn't attract mainstream country audiences, and Nashville's fortunes started to slide. The industry desperately needed songs that would appeal to both country and rock record buyers. Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, a songwriting team at the Acuff-Rose firm, had the formula.
Felice Bryant had no musical training, but had always enjoyed fitting new lyrics to her favorite songs. During WWII she met Boudleaux Bryant, a classically trained violinist who had played with the Atlanta Philharmonic before discovering he had more fun playing with jazz and country bands after hours. After they married they began writing songs that combined the syncopation of jazz and Western swing, country style guitar playing, and blues-inflected melodies. They began sending them to publishers and soon sold "Country Boy" to Little Jimmy Dickens, a new artist on the Grand Ole Opry. Dickens took the song to number seven on the charts, and the Bryants became country music's new hope.
The pair wrote more than 6000 songs; more than 1000 have been recorded to date, by artists like Roy Orbison, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bob Dylan, and Glen Campbell. Their most extensive partnership was with the Everly Brothers; the Bryants wrote all of their major hits, including "Bye, Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Suzy," and "All I have to do is dream."
Also see: Chet Atkins, Roy Acuff, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins
Must Haves:
- "Rocky Top" (Buck Owens)
- "Love Hurts" (Roy Orbison)
- "Raining in my Heart" (Buddy Holly)
- "Have a Good Time" (Tony Bennett)
- "Hey Joe" (Frankie Laine)
Performers Influenced By This Artist:
- Hal David
- Elvis Costello
- James Taylor
- Peter and Gordon