Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally formed as a psychedelic rock and progressive rock band, they shifted to a heavier sound with their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock. Deep Purple, together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, have been referred to as the "unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies". Listed in the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records as "the globe's loudest band" for a 1972 concert at London's Rainbow Theatre, they have sold over 100 million records worldwide.
Dokken is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1976. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band has had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as "Alone Again", "In My Dreams", and "Burning Like a Flame", and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. The live album Beast from the East was nominated for the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1989.
Rainbow are a British rock band formed in Hertford in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Established in the aftermath of Blackmore's first departure from Deep Purple, they originally featured four members of the American rock band Elf, including their singer Ronnie James Dio, but after their self-titled debut album, Blackmore fired these members, except Dio, recruiting drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Jimmy Bain, and keyboardist Tony Carey. This line-up recorded the band's second album Rising (1976), while Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) saw Bob Daisley and David Stone replace Bain and Carey, respectively. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll was also the last album with Dio before he left the band to join Black Sabbath in 1979.
Sebastian Philip Bierk, known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and has made appearances in film and television such as Trailer Park Boys, The Masked Singer and Gilmore Girls. He continues his music career as a solo artist.
The St. Paul Civic Center was an indoor arena located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The arena opened in 1973 and was closed and demolished in 1998. It once sat near the Ordway Music Theater and the Roy Wilkins Auditorium. The Xcel Energy Center was built on the former site of the arena.
Douglas "Doogie" White is a Scottish rock vocalist who currently sings for La Paz. He has also notably sung for Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis, Tank and Alcatrazz.
Graham Bonnet is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri. He is known for his powerful singing voice but is capable of also singing soft melodies. His singing has been noted as "very loud" by both his contemporaries and himself, and he claims to be a self-taught singer with "no discipline for lessons". Bonnet's visual style, considered uncharacteristic of hard rock musicians, has been described as being a cross between Don Johnson in Miami Vice and James Dean.
Michael J. Brown, a.k.a. "Wild" Mick Brown, is an American retired drummer who played in the rock bands Dokken, Lynch Mob, The End Machine, and Xciter, as well as in Ted Nugent's band.
Joe Lynn Turner is an American singer known for his work in the hard rock bands Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen and Deep Purple.
Stranger in Us All is the eighth studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released on 21 August 1995 by RCA Records. This was the band's first studio album in twelve years, and originally intended to be a solo album by Blackmore, but due to pressures from BMG, it was billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, which saw him putting together a new line-up featuring himself and four then-unknown musicians: vocalist Doogie White, bassist Greg Smith, keyboardist Paul Morris and drummer John O'Reilly.
Charles Arnold Burgi III is an American drummer. He has performed with many rock bands and musicians, ranging from local New Jersey/New York-area artists to international groups, throughout his prolific career. He is the current drummer for The Billy Joel Band.
Jimmy DeGrasso is an American heavy metal drummer.
Richard Hugh Blackmore is an English guitarist. He was a founding member and the lead guitarist of Deep Purple, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar riffs and has been known for playing both classically influenced and blues-based solos.
Marco Mendoza is an American bass guitarist who has worked in diverse genres. He became a professional rock musician in 1989 and debuted on Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward's solo album Along the Way. He has performed on a number of notable releases throughout his career, including Live... in the Still of the Night by Whitesnake, One Night Only by Thin Lizzy and Live in Concert at Lollapalooza by Journey.
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert is an American television music variety show that ran during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Don Kirshner and syndicated to television stations, initially through Viacom Enterprises, and later through Syndicast. It premiered on September 27, 1973, with a performance by The Rolling Stones and The Doobie Brothers; its last episode was in 1981.
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1975.
Theodore Anthony Nugent is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock and hard rock. After dissolving the band, he embarked on a successful solo career. His first three solo albums, Ted Nugent (1975), Free-for-All (1976) and Cat Scratch Fever (1977), were certified multi-platinum in the United States. His latest album, Detroit Muscle, was released in 2022.
Barry Sparks is an American rock bassist and guitarist for artists such as Yngwie Malmsteen, the Michael Schenker Group, UFO, Dokken, and Ted Nugent, among others. Currently Sparks is part of the touring band for the Japanese rock group B'z, and has also contributed to many of their albums and singles.
David Rosenthal is an American keyboardist, musical director, music producer, synthesizer programmer, orchestrator, and songwriter, mostly known for working with the hard rock band Rainbow and Billy Joel. Rosenthal has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, and in addition to Rainbow and Joel, has worked with Bruce Springsteen, Enrique Iglesias, Robert Palmer, Steve Vai, Cyndi Lauper, Whitesnake, Little Steven, and Happy the Man. Additionally, Rosenthal has perfect pitch.
Showco was a sound equipment provider of touring sound reinforcement equipment and services to the concert touring industry. It was based in Dallas, Texas, United States. In 2000, Showco was acquired by Clair Global.
