Deep Purple

Deep Purple formed in 1968, and its classic Mark II lineup, from mid-1969, was Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. Its biggest album, Machine Head, was recorded in December 1971 at the Grand Hotel in Montreux and released in March 1972; Smoke on the Water recounts a casino fire seen from the band's hotel during a Frank Zappa concert. The song's riff is one of the first that beginners learn on guitar, and the single reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The lineup changed repeatedly: David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes joined in 1973, Tommy Bolin replaced Blackmore in the Mark IV lineup, and the band split in 1976, then reformed in 1984 with Mark II. After Blackmore's second and final departure in 1993, Joe Satriani filled in temporarily and Steve Morse took over permanently. Don Airey replaced Lord in 2002, and Simon McBride replaced Morse after he left in 2022.

Blackmore's gear, a scalloped Stratocaster and Marshall amplification, shaped the band's sound; he is covered separately on Guitar Radar. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.