Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow is the debut album from Rainbow, released on 4 August 1975. It grew out of a one-off: Ritchie Blackmore, then still guitarist with Deep Purple, recorded "Black Sheep of the Family" with Ronnie James Dio, singer of Elf. The two clicked, wrote more songs together, and blended hard rock with classical and medieval influences.
By the time Blackmore left Deep Purple in March 1975, an album was already finished, with the other members of Elf playing on the sessions, and a new band was born. The record sold moderately well and drew generally positive reviews. Blackmore was unhappy with the rehearsals for the tour, though, and quickly dismissed everyone who had played on it except Dio. That makes this a snapshot of a lineup that existed only briefly, and the first sign of the Blackmore and Dio partnership.
Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 37:02Tracklist
- 1Man on the Silver MountainRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio4:40
- 2Self PortraitRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio3:15
- 3Black Sheep of the FamilySteve Hammond3:20
- 4Catch the RainbowRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio6:38
- 5Snake CharmerRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio4:31
- 6The Temple of the KingRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio4:39
- 7If You Don’t Like Rock ’n’ RollRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio2:36
- 8Sixteenth Century GreensleevesRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio3:29
- 9Still I’m SadJim McCarty and Paul Samwell-Smith3:54
- Produced by
- Martin Birch, Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio
- Recorded at
- Musicland Studios (Munich)
- Recorded
- 20 February – 14 March 1975
- Mixed by
- Martin Birch
- Labels
- EMI Electrola, Oyster (UK), Polydor (rest of the world)
- Length
- 37:02
Line-up
- Ritchie Blackmore · guitar
- Gary Driscoll · drums (drum set)
- Craig Gruber · bass
- Mickey Lee Soule · mellotron, piano, clavinet, electronic organ
- Ronnie James Dio · lead vocals
Singles
- “Man on the Silver Mountain” · 17 October 1975
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1975–76 | 11 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1975–76 | 30 |
| Swedish Albums · 1975–76 | 24 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1975–76 | 26 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1975–76 | 40 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1975–76 | 55 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1975–76 | 83 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 1975 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 4 August
Every year →
More from Rainbow
Full discography →
The best of 1975
All of 1975 →
More on EMI Electrola
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1975 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 4 August 1975 | |
| Wikidata | 4 August 1975 | |
| US release | 1975 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1975 | earliest UK or European date |
28 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Polydor | 731454736022 | other |
| — | US | Polydor | other | |
| — | JP | Polydor | other | |
| — | CA | Polydor | 042282508928 | other |
| 1975 | DE | EMI Electrola | original | |
| 1975 | US | Polydor | original | |
| 1975 | DE | Polydor | original | |
| 1975 | GB | EMI | original | |
| 1986 | FR | Polydor | 042282508928 | other |
| 1 September 1986 | JP | Polydor | 4988005006196 | other |
| 1987 | DE | Polydor | 042282508928 | other |
| 1 May 1990 | JP | Polydor | 4988005063847 | other |
| 1 December 1993 | JP | Polydor | 4988005133939 | other |
| 26 September 1997 | JP | Polydor | 4988005204998 | other |
| 16 December 1998 | JP | PolyGram | 4988005226525 | other |
| 27 April 1999 | US | Polydor | 731454736022 | other |
| 28 June 1999 | GB | Polydor | 731454736022 | other |
| 2001 | JP | Polydor | 4988005292162 | other |
| 30 August 2006 | JP | Polydor | 4988005438584 | other |
| 24 September 2008 | JP | Polydor | 4988005525369 | other |
| 22 May 2013 | JP | Polydor | 4988005754578 | other |
| 26 March 2014 | JP | Polydor | 4988005811691 | other |
| 26 March 2014 | JP | Polydor | 4988005811592 | other |
| 26 March 2014 | JP | Polydor | 4988005811776 | other |
| 23 February 2015 | XE | Polydor | 600753535868 | other |
| 2018 | JP | Polydor | 4988031277393 | other |
| — | — | Polydor | 731454736022 | other |
| — | — | Polydor | 731454736022 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 500×500 | upscaled |