Rainbow are an English-American hard rock band originally from Hertford, Hertfordshire. Formed in January 1975 by then-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, the original lineup of the group also included former Elf members Ronnie James Dio (lead vocals), Craig Gruber (bass), Gary Driscoll (drums) and Micky Lee Soule (keyboards), who recorded and released the self-titled album Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow that year. [1] After leaving Deep Purple, Blackmore replaced Gruber, Driscoll and Soule in September with Jimmy Bain, Cozy Powell and Tony Carey, respectively. [2] Rising and live album On Stage were recorded with this second lineup, before Bain and Carey were sacked by Blackmore on 3 January 1977. [3] Long Live Rock 'n' Roll , released in 1978, featured bassist Bob Daisley and keyboardist David Stone, in addition to Powell. [4]
After the release of Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Dio left due to disagreements with Blackmore. [5] Graham Bonnet replaced Dio for 1979's Down to Earth , which also saw the addition of bassist Roger Glover and keyboardist Don Airey. [6] Bonnet left after the album's release and was replaced by Joe Lynn Turner, while Powell also left the group to be replaced by Bobby Rondinelli; both new members performed on Difficult to Cure . [7] Keyboardist David Rosenthal replaced Airey for 1982's Straight Between the Eyes and 1983's Bent Out of Shape , the latter of which featured drummer Chuck Burgi who replaced Rondinelli. [7] Rainbow broke up for the first time in 1984. [7]
After Blackmore left Deep Purple for the second time in 1993, [8] Rainbow reformed with vocalist Doogie White, bassist Greg Smith, drummer John O'Reilly and keyboardist Paul Morris, releasing the album Stranger in Us All in 1995. [9] The band's return was short-lived, however, as they broke up again in 1997 when Blackmore shifted focus to Blackmore's Night. [10] In November 2015, it was revealed that Blackmore would be returning to the Rainbow moniker for a number of shows in 2016 with vocalist Ronnie Romero, bassist Bob Nouveau (Bob Curiano), drummer David Keith and keyboardist Jens Johansson. [11] This lineup remained intact for roughly eight years, releasing three new live albums and a number of singles before Romero confirmed his departure from the group in October 2023. [12]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ritchie Blackmore |
|
| all Rainbow releases | |
Candice Night |
| backing vocals |
| |
Bob Nouveau (Bob Curiano) | 2015–present |
|
| |
David Keith | drums | |||
Jens Johansson | keyboards |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ronnie James Dio (Ronald Padavona) [13] | 1975–1979 (died 2010) | lead and backing vocals |
| |
Craig Gruber |
| bass | Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) | |
Micky Lee Soule | 1975 | keyboards | ||
Gary Driscoll | 1975 (died 1987) | drums | ||
Cozy Powell (Colin Flooks) | 1975–1980 (died 1998) |
| ||
Jimmy Bain | 1975–1977 (died 2016) |
|
| |
Tony Carey | 1975–1977 | keyboards | ||
David Stone (Michael Stoyanoff) | 1977–1979 |
| ||
Mark Clarke | 1977 |
| none | |
Bob Daisley | 1977–1978 |
| ||
Jack Green [13] | 1978 | none | ||
Roger Glover | 1979–1984 |
|
| |
Don Airey | 1979–1981 |
|
| |
Graham Bonnet | 1979–1980 | lead vocals |
| |
Joe Lynn Turner (Joseph Linquito) | 1980–1984 |
| ||
Bobby Rondinelli | 1980–1983 | drums |
| |
David Rosenthal | 1981–1984 |
|
| |
Chuck Burgi |
| drums |
| |
Paul Morris | 1993–1997 | keyboards |
| |
Greg Smith |
| |||
Doogie White (Douglas White) | lead vocals | |||
John O'Reilly | 1993–1995 | drums | Stranger in Us All (1995) | |
John Miceli | 1997 | none | ||
Ronnie Romero | 2015–2023 | lead vocals |
| |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lin Robinson | 1981–1984 | backing vocals |
| Robinson and Beale toured with Rainbow from the Difficult to Cure tour until the group disbanded in 1984. [14] | |
Dee Beale | |||||
Lady Lynn (Christina Lynn Skleros) | 2015–present |
| Skleros, a member of Blackmore and Night's other group Blackmore's Night, joined Rainbow on tour in 2015. [14] |
Role | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) | Rising (1976) | Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) | Down to Earth (1979) | Difficult to Cure (1981) | Straight Between the Eyes (1982) | Bent Out of Shape (1983) | Stranger in Us All (1995) | ||||||||||||
Lead vocals | Ronnie James Dio | Graham Bonnet | Joe Lynn Turner | Doogie White | |||||||||||||||
Guitar | Ritchie Blackmore | ||||||||||||||||||
Bass | Craig Gruber | Jimmy Bain | Ritchie Blackmore Bob Daisley | Roger Glover | Greg Smith | ||||||||||||||
Keyboards | Micky Lee Soule | Tony Carey | Tony Carey David Stone | Don Airey | David Rosenthal | Paul Morris | |||||||||||||
Drums | Gary Driscoll | Cozy Powell | Bobby Rondinelli | Chuck Burgi | John O'Reilly | ||||||||||||||
Backing vocals | Ronnie James Dio | — | Roger Glover Don Airey | Joe Lynn Turner | — | Candice Night |
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
February – July 1975 |
|
|
August 1975 – January 1977 |
| |
January – February 1977 |
| none |
February – May 1977 |
| |
May – September 1977 |
| |
September 1977 –September 1978 |
|
|
October 1978 - January 1979 |
| none |
March 1979 – August 1980 |
|
|
October 1980 – September 1981 |
|
|
October 1981 – June 1983 |
|
|
August 1983 – March 1984 |
|
|
Band inactive March 1984 – August 1994 | ||
August 1994 – September 1995 |
|
|
September 1995 – December 1996 |
|
|
January – May 1997 |
| none |
Band inactive May 1997 – November 2015 | ||
November 2015 – October 2023 |
|
|
October 2023 – present |
| none |
Ronald James Padavona, known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.
Rainbow are a British-American rock band formed in London and Los Angeles 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 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.
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow is the debut studio album by American/British rock band Rainbow, released in 1975.
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll is the third studio album by the British heavy metal band Rainbow, released on 14 April 1978 and the last to feature original lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio.
Down to Earth is the fourth studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow. It is their last album to feature drummer Cozy Powell, their first with bassist Roger Glover and keyboardist Don Airey and their only album with vocalist Graham Bonnet. Released in 1979, it contains Rainbow's first hit single "Since You Been Gone", marking a more commercial direction of the band's sound.
Elf was an American rock band founded in 1967 by singer and bassist Ronnie James Dio, keyboardist Doug Thaler, drummer Gary Driscoll, and guitarists Nick Pantas and David Feinstein. The band was originally called the Electric Elves, but was shortened to the Elves in 1968 and finally Elf in 1972. Elf disbanded in 1975 after recording three albums and after most of the lineup had been absorbed into the newly formed Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.
John Gary Driscoll was an American R&B-style rock drummer who performed in a number of successful bands from the 1960s until his unsolved murder.
Mickey Lee Soule is an American musician. He was the keyboard player for New York hard rock band Elf and a founding member of Rainbow.
The Ian Gillan Band were an English progressive jazz-rock band formed by singer Ian Gillan of Deep Purple in 1975. Their sound is a departure from the heavy metal of Deep Purple by featuring a progressive jazz fusion sound, more similar to bands such as Brand X.
Finyl Vinyl is a live album by the British hard rock band Rainbow and was released in 1986, after the band had already disbanded in 1984. It includes live recordings spanning 1978 to 1984, along with three studio B-sides.
Elf is the first studio album by Ronnie James Dio's blues rock band called Elf. Produced by Ian Paice and Roger Glover of Deep Purple, the record was released in 1972.
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.
The Very Best of Rainbow is a greatest hits compilation album by the British hard rock band Rainbow. It was released in 1997 and features material ranging from 1975's Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow to 1983's Bent Out of Shape.
Pot of Gold is a budget-priced compilation album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released in 2002.
The Best of Rainbow is the first compilation album from British hard rock group Rainbow, released in 1981.
Craig M. Gruber was an American rock bassist, best known as the original bassist in Rainbow. He also played in Elf, consisting of vocalist Ronnie James Dio, keyboardist Mickey Lee Soule, drummer Gary Driscoll, and guitarist David Feinstein.
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rainbow is a compilation album released by Rainbow. Released on 3 October 2000. The tracks were recorded between 1975–1983, before Rainbow disbanded in 1984.
Ronald Romero is a Chilean singer and lyricist best known as the vocalist of the bands Elegant Weapons, Lords of Black, Rainbow, the Ferrymen, Michael Schenker Group, and Sunstorm. He represented Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 as the lead singer of Intelligent Music Project.