The figure Ritchie Blackmore said would “outlast all other guitar players”
Few can claim to have partaken in the guitar’s development as much as Ritchie Blackmore has. Like all of his generation, he was first shown the light by the formative blues and rock ‘n’ roll sounds of the 1950s before the trailblazers of the following decade, such as Eric Clapton, galvanised him forever. They influenced him to commit to the six-string as a career prospect and a way of life.
While swinging sixties London had a triumvirate of guitarists at the top of the perch, the perennial frenemies of Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, Blackmore was always knocking on the door. Before joining Deep Purple, he had resoundingly shown his chops in various groups, including The Outlaws, and as a side man for the likes of Screaming Lord Sutch and beat legend Neil Christian. He also did a string of session work for the producer du jour, Joe Meek.
Blackmore was awarded the blank canvas he had long required to exhibit the extent of his might when Deep Purple formed in 1967. It would take them a couple of years to assert themselves amid the mass of acts that emerged alongside the counterculture, but by the time their self-titled record arrived in 1969, things would take shape, and their heavy metal sound coalesced.
What followed was the most significant era for the group, with Deep Purple in Rock from the following year, one of the definitive releases of the classic rock period. It is coloured by Blackmore’s dynamism, complete with dive bombs, string tapping, and a crunching sound. Clad in black and wielding a Fender Stratocaster, Blackmore’s spine-tingling performances on this record and ensuing ones such as Machine Head and Burn cemented him as one of the guitar’s ultimate innovators.
Perhaps most importantly, they confirmed him as the bridge between Jimi Hendrix and his most ardent acolyte, Eddie Van Halen. With tracks such as ‘Smoke on the Water’, ‘Black Night’ and ‘Highway Star’ standing out as his finest, it’s not hard to imagine how forceful Blackmore’s boundary-pushing playing would have been in an era where so many of his peers were sticking to convention. He, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page showed there was still so much more ground to be uncovered and brilliance to be found. The Beatles, Clapton and The Rolling Stones were mere pathfinders; there was a whole sonic world out there begging to be scoured.
Since those heady days, Blackmore has continued on his journey, touching on everything from metal to folk. As time has worn on, he has witnessed the guitar continue to evolve in ways that would have been inconceivable in the monochrome-tinted days of his childhood. One underrated fretboard voyager who has had a role in this is Eric Johnson, another Stratocaster-toting hero who fuses technique and effects into a distinctive sonorousness. He is best known for his 1990 instrumental ‘Cliffs of Dover’ but has committed to many notable projects and worked with the likes of Cat Stevens, Carole King, and Joe Satriani.
Blackmore is a big fan of the Texan and has discussed the gravity of his work on numerous occasions. Yet, in 1996, when he was still relatively new to the younger players’ work, he delivered the most glittering praise of him to date. He was so enamoured with Johnson’s work that he thought it cut through the mass of contemporary players and would even “outlast” them. That’s quite some acclaim from often critical rock legend.
Blackmore told a fan on his old website: “I had the chance (To hear his music). He’s a fantastic, smooth player, excellent. I think he will outlast all the other guitar players around us at the moment. He has a natural flair to entertain and play. He is not just a very fast player. He plays with great taste, amazing.”
Watch Eric Johnson live below.