04SMOKE ON THE WATER DEEP PURPLE

(1972)

The rock classic that almost didn’t exist

It has one of the most recognisable and oft-played riffs in rock ’n’ roll history – solid, simple and catchy as hell. It’s no surprise to see this track at the sharp end of our poll! And yet, as Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan told TG, Smoke On The Water might never have been released, because initially the band didn’t think of it as anything special. In the winter of 1971, when Purple began work on the Machine Head album in Montreux, Switzerland, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore played the riff in their first jam session, and as Gillan recalled: “We didn’t make a big deal out of it. It was just another riff. We didn’t work on the arrangement – it was a jam.” But by the end of the recording sessions they came up short of material, and so, in Gillan’s words, “We dug out that jam and put vocals to it.” Blackmore played his Strat and was plugged into – as far as Gillan could recall – “a Vox AC30 and/or a Marshall”. Over that mighty riff, the singer told the true story of how the Montreux casino – where Purple had been scheduled to record – burned down in a fire that started during a Frank Zappa concert. And with that, a deathless rock classic was created.