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Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member and the lead guitarist of Deep Purple, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar riffs and has been known for playing both classically influenced and blues-based solos. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the hard rock band Rainbow, which fused baroque music influences and elements of hard rock. Rainbow steadily moved to catchy pop-style mainstream rock. Rainbow broke up in 1984 with Blackmore re-joining Deep Purple until 1993. In 1997 he formed the traditional folk rock project Blackmore's Night along with his current wife Candice Night, shifting to vocalist-centred sounds. As a member of Deep Purple, Blackmore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016. He is cited by publications such as Guitar World and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest and most influential guitar players of all time. Early life Blackmore was born at Allendale Nursing Home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, as second son to Lewis J. Blackmore and Violet (née Short). The family moved to Heston, Middlesex, when Blackmore was two. He was 11 when he was given his first guitar by his father on certain conditions, including learning how to play properly, so he took classical guitar lessons for one year. In an interview with Sounds magazine in 1979, Blackmore said that he started the guitar because he wanted to be like British musician Tommy Steele, who used to just jump around and play. Blackmore loathed school and hated his teachers. He said he would always get caned for speaking in class, which traumatized him to the point he had difficulty in talking to people in subsequent years. Blackmore also became disillusioned with education, thinking that if he were to excel in his studies, he would end up being like his teachers. Blackmore left school at age 15 and started work as an apprentice radio mechanic at nearby Heathrow Airport. He took electric guitar lessons from session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan. Career 1960s In 1960 he began to work as a session player for Joe Meek's music productions and performed in several bands. He was initially a member of the instrumental band the Outlaws, who played in both studio recordings and live concerts and like many bands of the era, used other names (such as The Rally Rounders and The Chaps) to secure multiple repeat gigs. Otherwise, in mainly studio recordings, he backed singer Glenda Collins, German-born pop singer Heinz (playing on his top ten hit "Just Like Eddie" and "Beating Of My Heart"), and others. Thereafter, in mainly live concerts, he backed horror-themed singer Screaming Lord Sutch, beat singer Neil Christian, and others. Blackmore joined a band-to-be called Roundabout in late 1967 after receiving an invitation from Chris Curtis while living in Hamburg and arriving at the Curtis flat to be greeted by Curtis’ flatmate, Jon Lord. Curtis originated the concept of the band, but would be forced out before the band fully formed. After the line-up for Roundabout was complete in April 1968, Blackmore is credited with suggesting the new name Deep Purple, as it was his grandmother's favourite song. Deep Purple's early sound leaned on psychedelic and progressive rock, but also included cover versions of 1960s pop songs. This "Mark One" line-up featuring singer Rod Evans and bass player Nick Simper lasted until mid-1969 and produced three studio albums. During this period, organist Jon Lord appeared to be the leader of the band, and wrote much of their original material. 1970s The first studio album from Purple's second line-up, In Rock (1970), signalled a transition in the band's sound from progressive rock to hard rock, with Blackmore and Lord having heard bands such as Vanilla Fudge and albums such as Led Zeppelin II and King Crimson's debut album. This "Mark Two" line-up featuring rock singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover lasted until mid-1973, producing four studio albums (two of which reached No. 1 in the UK), and one live double album. During this period, the band's songs primarily came out of their jam sessions, so songwriting credits were shared by the five members. Blackmore later stated, "I didn't give a damn about song construction. I just wanted to make as much noise and play as fast and as loud as possible." Guitarist Steve Vai was more complimentary about Blackmore's role in developing song ideas: "He was able to bring blues to rock playing unlike anybody else." The third Deep Purple line-up featured David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals. Songwriting was now more fragmented, as opposed to the band compositions from the Mark Two era. This "Mark Three" line-up lasted until mid-1975 and produced two studio albums and one live album . Blackmore quit the band to front a new group, Rainbow. In 1974, Blackmore took cello lessons from Hugh McDowell (of ELO). Blackmore later stated that when playing a different musical instrument, he found it refreshing because there is a sense of adventure not knowing exactly what chord he's playing or what key he is in. Blackmore originally planned to make a solo album, but instead in 1975 formed his own band, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, later shortened to Rainbow. Featuring vocalist Ronnie James Dio and his blues rock backing band Elf as studio musicians, this first line-up never performed live. The band's debut album, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, was released in 1975. Rainbow was originally thought to be a one-off collaboration, but endured as an ongoing band project with a series of album releases and tours. Rainbow's music was partly inspired by elements of medieval and baroque music since Blackmore started to play cello for musical composition. During this period, Blackmore wrote a crucial part of Dio's basic melodies, particularly on their debut album. Shortly after the first album was recorded, Blackmore recruited new backing musicians to record the second album Rising (1976), and the following live album, On Stage (1977). Rising was originally billed as "Blackmore's Rainbow" in the US. After the next studio album's release and supporting tour in 1978, Dio left Rainbow due to "creative differences" with Blackmore, who desired to move in a more commercial sounding direction. Blackmore continued with Rainbow, and in 1979 the band released a new album titled Down To Earth, which featured R&B singer Graham Bonnet. During song composition, Bonnet says that he wrote his vocal melodies based upon the lyrics of bassist Roger Glover. The album marked the commercialisation of the band's sound and contained their first smash hit with the single "Since You Been Gone" (penned by Russ Ballard). 1980s The next Rainbow album, Difficult to Cure (1981), introduced melodic vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. The instrumental title track from this album was an arrangement of Beethoven's Ni.... Discover the Jerry Bloom popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jerry Bloom books.