Pre-Sabbath Dio
November 18th, 2007I am not sure I understand the Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow connection – but it is there. Ronnie James Dio, who went on to a great solo career after replacing Ozzy as the front man for Black Sabbath, started out with Rainbow – the band Ritchie Blackmore formed after leaving Deep Purple. The personnel with these bands was lucid, Ian Gillian also sang for Sabbath, other members of Deep Purple would join Rainbow, as would guys from Ozzy’s solo bands. Other bands also got in the loop, most famously Tony Iommi’s brief gig with Jethro Tull.
Rainbow was classic, featuring Ritchie Blackmore’s great guitar playing, great songs (some of which even became hits), and a host of great lead singers and sidemen. I found this old live clip of the “Man on the Silver Mountain” – I think it was their most famous song (though not their biggest hit).