Deep Purple

It's time once again to honor the inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There are five this year, and I'm debating whether to pick up any N.W.A., because try as I might, I just can't get into hip-hop. So I'll start with Deep Purple, who have long been overlooked for induction, but finally made it this year.

Deep Purple are noted for being one of the forerunners of heavy metal. But just what is heavy metal? The definition has changed over the years. Deep Purple, along with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin (who today wouldn't be considered heavy metal at all) was distillation of blues and psychedelic rock that was characterized by being loud and aggressive.

Deep Purple did have very psychedelic tendencies. If you listen to something like Space Truckin', you hear the loud guitar, the savage drumming, and the distorted bass, but you also get the trippy sound associated with glam or later groups like Queen and Sweet. Other songs that are readily identifiable to classic rock listeners are Highway Star,which has a bit of a space-age tinge to it, the straight-ahead rocker Woman From Tokyo, and the intricately-layered Hush.

But Deep Purple are best known for one of the most familiar classic rock songs, and perhaps the most recognizable riff in rock history--Smoke on the Water, which told the true story of a casino in Montreux, Switzerland that burned down to the ground because of "some stupid with a flare gun."

Deep Purple have had a long and complicated history. They go back to 1968, and are distinguished by four periods, known Marks 1-IV. The key members remembered today are Mark II--Ritchie Blackmore on guitar (he created the "Smoke on the Water" riff), Ian Gillan, John Lord, Roger Glover, and Ian Paice. Later David Coverdale would be a vocalist for the band, though he would achieve later fame with Whitesnake. There is still a combo touring toay, consisting of three of the original members.

Deep Purple's legacy may be their greatest accomplishment. Of course "Smoke on the Water" is one of the first songs any kid learns to play on the guitar, but you can trace your influence through the bands mentioned above as well as later acts like Aerosmith, Metallica, Rush and the so-called New Wave Metal bands, like Judas Priest, Def Leppard, and Iron Maiden. Although they might not to take credit for those.