48 Facts About Ritchie Blackmore

Richard Hugh Blackmore was born on 14 April 1945 and is an English guitarist.

Ritchie Blackmore was a founding member and the lead guitarist of Deep Purple, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds.

Rainbow broke up in 1984 with Ritchie Blackmore re-joining Deep Purple until 1993.

Ritchie Blackmore is prolific in creating guitar riffs and has been known for playing both classically influenced and blues-based solos.

Ritchie Blackmore is cited by publications such as Guitar World and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest and most influential guitar players of all time.

Ritchie Blackmore 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.

Ritchie Blackmore 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.

Ritchie Blackmore became disillusioned with education, thinking that if he were to excel in his studies, he would end up being like his teachers.

Ritchie Blackmore left school at age 15 and started work as an apprentice radio mechanic at nearby Heathrow Airport.

Ritchie Blackmore took electric guitar lessons from session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan.

Ritchie Blackmore 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 to secure multiple repeat gigs.

Ritchie 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.

Ritchie Blackmore quit the band to front a new group, Rainbow.

In 1974, Ritchie Blackmore took cello lessons from Hugh McDowell.

Ritchie 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.

The band's debut album, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, was released in 1975.

Rainbow's music was partly inspired by elements of medieval and baroque music since Ritchie Blackmore started to play cello for musical composition.

Shortly after the first album was recorded, Ritchie Blackmore recruited new backing musicians to record the second album Rising, and the following live album, On Stage.

In 1983, Rainbow were nominated for a Grammy Award for the Ritchie Blackmore-penned instrumental ballad track "Anybody There".

In 1984, Ritchie Blackmore joined a reunion of the former Deep Purple "Mark Two" line-up and recorded new material.

Ritchie Blackmore once portrayed their artistic characteristics as "Mike Oldfield plus Enya".

Ritchie Blackmore mostly used acoustic guitar, to back Night's delicate vocal melodies, which he often wrote.

Ritchie Blackmore occasionally used a Fender Telecaster Thinline during recording sessions.

Ritchie Blackmore is one of the first rock guitarists to use a "scalloped" fretboard which has a "U" shape between the frets.

Ritchie Blackmore added a strap lock to the headstock of this guitar as a conversation piece to annoy and confuse people, as it didn't actually do anything.

Ritchie Blackmore sometimes used a wah-wah pedal and a variable control treble-booster for sustain, and Moog Taurus bass pedals were used in solo parts during concerts.

Ritchie Blackmore had a modified Aiwa TP-1011 tape machine built to supply echo and delay effects; the tape deck was used as a pre-amp.

Ritchie Blackmore has experimented with many different pick-ups in his Strats.

Ritchie Blackmore sang praises for Jimi Hendrix, Yes guitarist Steve Howe, Bob Dylan sideman Mike Bloomfield and Tommy Bolin, who would soon take his place on Deep Purple.

Ritchie Blackmore seems to have sustain completely at his fingertips, yet he doesn't have it all the time, only when he wants it.

Ritchie Blackmore is notoriously appreciative of classical music, and is noted as "the" pioneer in bringing to rock 'n' roll.

Ritchie Blackmore is particularly fond of Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Ritchie Blackmore used the Gypsy scale on Rainbow's "Gates of Babylon".

Ritchie Blackmore was keen in using the cycle of 4ths chord progressions, by the way of triad arpeggios.

One of Ritchie Blackmore hallmarks is the ability to writing memorable riffs using fourths.

Ritchie Blackmore's most iconic riff - the intro to Deep Purple's "Smoke On the Water" - is an example of such.

Ritchie Blackmore is known for unapologetically borrowing musical ideas from other artist's music.

Ritchie Blackmore used the technique again on Rainbow's "Kill the King".

Ritchie Blackmore is known for switching between different keys and modes in the same solo.

Ritchie Blackmore provided backing vocals on two songs in Rainbow's first album.

Ritchie Blackmore married Rothman in 1981, but they divorced in 1983.

In early 1984 Ritchie Blackmore met Williams in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she was working as a hotel employee.

Ritchie Blackmore is a heavy drinker and watches German-language television on his satellite dish when he is at home.

Ritchie Blackmore has several German friends and a collection of about 2,000 CDs of Renaissance music.

Ritchie Blackmore claimed in an interview that he's spiritual, but not religious, saying that "religion usually involves money".

Ritchie Blackmore is credited as a precursor of the so-called "guitar shredders" that emerged in the mid-1980s.

Ritchie Blackmore has been an influence on several 1980s guitarists such as Akira Takasaki, Fredrik Akesson, Brett Garsed, Jeff Loomis, Janick Gers, Paul Gilbert, Craig Goldy, Scott Henderson, Dave Meniketti, Randy Rhoads, Michael Romeo, Wolf Hoffmann, Billy Corgan, Lita Ford, Brian May, Phil Collen and Yngwie Malmsteen.

Ritchie Blackmore was portrayed by Mathew Baynton in the 2009 film Telstar.