Rainbow (band)

Rainbow
Ronnie James Dio and Ritchie Blackmore in Norway, 1977
Background information
Also known as	Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow Blackmore's Rainbow
Origin	England
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal
Years active	1975–1984 1994–1997
Labels	Polydor, BMG
Past member(s)	See: Member history

Rainbow (also known as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow or Blackmore's Rainbow) were an English hard rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with former Elf members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up. In addition to lead singers Ronnie James Dio, Graham Bonnet, Joe Lynn Turner and Doogie White, the project consisted of numerous backing musicians. The band started out combining mystical lyric themes with neo-classical metal, but went in a more streamlined commercial style following Dio's departure from the group.

Rainbow was ranked #90 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.^[1]

Band members

Core member

• Ritchie Blackmore – guitar (1975–1984, 1994–1997)

Other members

• Ronnie James Dio – lead vocals (1975–1978)
• Craig Gruber – bass (1975)
• Micky Lee Soule – keyboards (1975)
• Gary Driscoll – drums (1975)
• Jimmy Bain – bass (1975–1977)
• Tony Carey – keyboards (1975–1977)
• Cozy Powell – drums (1975–1980)
• Mark Clarke – bass (1977)
• Bob Daisley – bass, backing vocals (1977–1978)
• David Stone – keyboards (1977–1978)
• Jack Green – bass (1978–1979)
• Graham Bonnet – lead vocals (1979–1980)

• Roger Glover – bass, backing vocals (1979–1984)
• Don Airey – keyboards, backing vocals (1979–1981)
• Joe Lynn Turner – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1980–1984)
• Bobby Rondinelli – drums (1980–1983)
• David Rosenthal – keyboards (1981–1984)
• Chuck Burgi – drums (1983–1984, 1995–1997)
• Doogie White – lead vocals (1994–1997)
• Greg Smith – bass, backing vocals (1994–1997)
• Paul Morris – keyboards (1994–1997)
• John O'Reilly – drums (1994–1995)
• John Micelli – drums (1997)

Discography

See the main article: Rainbow discography

• Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975)
• Rising (1976)
• On Stage (1977)
• Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978)
• Down to Earth (1979)
• Difficult to Cure (1981)
• Straight Between the Eyes (1982)
• Bent Out of Shape (1983)
• Finyl Vinyl (1986)
• Stranger in Us All (1995)

References

1. "VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 13 November 2010.

Other websites

• The Rainbow Fanclan Legacy