1981 saw Rainbow releasing Difficult to Cure, the first studio album to feature new vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, as well as the first with new drummer Bobby Rondinelli, both of whom joined forces with Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, and Don Airey. The record was featured classics like “Spotlight Kid,” “I ...

In the wake of Machine Head, Deep Purple’s 1972 magnum opus, the group set off on their first tour of Japan. By this point in time, the classic MK II version of the band, featuring Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord (RIP), and Roger Glover was in full ...

1979 saw the arrival of vocalist Graham Bonnet into Rainbow; it was his first foray into classic hard rock, a path that would take his career in a completely different direction. Down to Earth was the first (and subsequently, only) studio album from Rainbow to feature Bonnet, although he would go on ...

Ritchie Blackmore has long been one of the most revered figures in the world of rock and roll, as well as one of the most controversial. From his initial years in which he served as a session musician to his more recent medieval-style exploits, and everything in between, including Deep ...

    Following the release of Rainbow’s Long Live Rock and Roll album in 1978, vocalist Ronnie James Dio quit the band, eventually replacing Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. Bob Daisley and David Stone were both let go from the group by Ritchie Blackmore, leaving it as a band with ...