1/7/2024 0 Comments Deep purpleThe early summer of 1969 saw the release of a third, self titled LP, again first appearing in the U.S. By this time, the band was touring heavily in the U.S., becoming far more popular there than in their home country of England. As a side note, the CD reissue of this album contains the excellent track ‘Oh No No No’, which is an outtake from the “Taliesyn” sessions and was penned by Mike Leander and Leon Russell. This album includes the outstanding ‘Shield’ and also an interesting cover of Neil Diamond’s ‘Kentucky Woman’, which was released as their second single in December, 1968 and became a minor hit again only in the States. a full nine months before it was issued in the U.K. In the fall of 1968, the group released their second LP, ‘The Book Of Taliesyn’, in the U.S. The album also did well in America, hitting an impressive #24 on the charts, but again made little impact in Britain. This prompted their first LP, ‘Shades Of Deep Purple’, to be first issued in America later that summer, about two months before it was finally released in the U.K. ‘Hush’ became a huge hit in the U.S., peaking at #4, but surprisingly didn’t chart in the U.K. In the early summer of 1968, the band released their first single (the Joe South penned ‘Hush’ b/w the excellent ‘One More Rainy Day’). After a brief tour of Denmark in the spring of 1968, Blackmore suggested changing their name to Deep Purple, which was his grandmother’s favorite song. The line-up was completed with Rod Evans (lead vocals) and Ian Paice (drums), not before Curtis dropped out of the project. ![]() Soon to follow was Ritchie Blackmore (guitar) and then an old friend of Lord’s, Nick Simper (bass, vocals). The first recruit for the project was the classically trained John Lord (organ, keyboards) who had previously played in the Artwoods (led by Art Wood, brother of future Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood). Edwards was impressed by the idea and agreed to finance the venture with two business partners: John Coletta and Ron Hire (Hire-Edwards-Coletta – HEC Enterprises). ![]() Like an English traffic roundabout, the band would rotate members in and out, invoking a refreshing sense of dynamic. The group’s genesis can be traced back to 1967 when former Searchers drummer Chris Curtis pitched the idea of creating a unique musical ensemble he called the Roundabout to London businessman Tony Edwards. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple is considered by many to be one of the pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal, although the band has always hated the classification “heavy metal” and still refuses to be labeled as such. Most view Deep Purple as the heavy hard rock band that packed arenas in the 70s and 80s, but typically only hardcore fans journey back to their late 60s work, which is much more psychedelic, progressive and, in some places, even quite poppy.
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