Artists Who Changed Music: Deep Purple 

Who do you think is the most important Rock band of all time? Over the seven decades of Deep Purple’s existence, the band has gone through many personnel changes, with a total of 15 musicians who have been or are official members. Deep Purple has released 22 studio albums, and an amazing 43 live albums.

A little story for you. In my mid teens in the early 70's I worked for Jim Marshall in his Ealing shop, & became friends with several of Deep Purple's road crew. Ron Quinten, & Colin Hart in particular. As a result I would always go & hang out with them whenever DP played in or around London. On one occasion DP flew back from a US tour to reopen the Rainbow in Finsbury Park, they played 2 consecutive nights, & at the end of first night Ritchie smashed the Machine Head sunburst maple neck Strat. At the end of the show Ron & I took his Guitars to his dressing room. Ritchie was distraught when he saw the Strat & asked if it could be fixed. I suggested that I could take it into the shop the following day & see what I could do. The shop manager wasn't too pleased, but knowing how much I loved RB he allowed me to spend most of the day effecting a repair. Much Araldite later I returned to the Rainbow that evening & gave Ron Quinten the now playable Strat. At the end of that night during Space Truckin RB completely destroyed it. I was devastated!! I later became friendly with Roger Glover after he was sacked from DP, & swapped my Gibson Thunderbird Bass for one of his sunburst maple neck P Basses, & a Marshall Major. Sold him an ARP 2600 too, which was my biggest sale while at Marshall's. Lovely man & I'll never forget his kindness.

This is the best documentary about Purple ever. Great job.

My first concert----Evansville IN, in '71. I was right on the stage. Ritchie blew a string-and instead of the roadie bringing out a different guitar-he brought Ritchie a string. Ritchie had it strung within 30 seconds, in time to play the solo! After the show I hopped up on the stage and walked over and picked up the broken string as a souvenir. Nobody bothered me-no roadies-no security! Then I sat on the edge of the stage and talked to my friends. Those were the days. : )

This was the best ever presentation of Deep Purple's history. Congratulations Mr Marvellously Well !!!❤❤❤❤❤

Long awaited and well deserved video. My father, me and my 8yr old son all consider Purple the greatest band of all time. Absolutely timeless music.

Purple the very best of all and I still listen to them almost every day.

I have to admit that I enjoyed many Deep Purple songs, though I wasn't a big fan. However, this great exposition on the band has given me a new appreciation. Thank you!

"Made in Japan" was my gateway, and I am so glad I found this album.

I'm 56 years old now and I remember perfectly listening to 'Smoke on the Water' in my older brother's car cassette player when I was barely 5, in 1973. Of course, I didn't have the faintest idea about hard rock and stuff like that, but, man, did I like that song. Parallelly, again thanks to my brother, I could listen to the very first version of 'Jesus Christ Superstar', sung by Ian Gillan. Same as before, I didn't have a clue who that guy was, I just knew I loved it. Fast forward to the early 1980s, when I was a teenager and had begun listening to hard rock and heavy metal much more consistently. Evidently, I came upon DP and immediately thought, 'hey, I know these guys!' The rest, as they would put it, is history: soon I would grow obsessed with them, gradually bought or recorded all their albums, and there came the moment when it was clear to me that they are the best band ever. With all due respect to other gigantic bands, mind you (Beatles, Zepp, Sabbath... you name it), DP are just a differentl kettle of fish. Many thanks to Produce Like A Pro for this informative and entertaining piece. Most DP documentaries barely cover up to their 'Perfect Strangers' reunion at the most, many not even that far, which is a shame. All the albums recorded with Steve Morse on guitar are on average pretty good and some of them perfectly on a par with their best stuff in the '70s, which means that the disregard with which some people treat those albums just doesn't make any sense. Let's hope that now with McBride things continue in the same positive direction

Deep Purple's "Highway Star" was the very first song played on 92 CITI FM here in Winnipeg in 1978 and the band's music has been well loved on the station.

One of my favorite bands for this 13 year old in 1971! "Hush" made me ask who was that? "In Rock" "Fireball" "Machine Head" "Made in Japan" "Who do we think we are" "Burn" "Stormbringer" I was at Çal Jam 74!!!!!!!!!!! What a time in music for this Head Banger!! I saw them in Long Beach in 73 in L.A. And "ELF" was the opening act, then ELO, the Purple! What a time!!!!! Thanks Warren!!!!

Their live album entitled Made in Japan, is to this day still one of the greatest live albums of all time. The production value of that album is amazing for 1973. I really enjoy these old rock reviews.

In 1973 my older brother bought Machine Head, and that record completely blew my ten year old mind! Fast forward 30 years and I'm the singer in a band that has the chops and the desire to play Highway Star. Which we did. Mind blown again!... And about the most fun I've ever had with my pants on :-)

my parents possessing the Machine Head 25th Anniversary album is the reason I started playing music, and later obsessing with the idea of going to studio. AND, obsessing about the Rolling Stones truck and realizing later it literally recorded 70% of what I grew up listening to. And, the first band I ever played seriously with took me thanks to my playing of Smoke on the Water on drums... long story between DP and me. Thank you sooo much for that video Warren I literally spent my childhood taking my parents CDs and listening to Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Led Zepp, Black Sabbath and Genesis again, again, again, etc... Shape my ears haha

I grew up with this band, personally, I loved ‘Come taste the Band.’ One of my favourite albums of all time.

DP .. and Rainbow..still in the rotation...great..marvelous.. video, Warren!!

Have known Purple since I was a kid. Now in my 40s my appreciation of them have been stronger. Love Gillan and Blackmore, and the rest too.❤❤❤

I was there in the 70s...and they were indeed the unholy trinity of rock...with the likes of Uriah Heep at their heels. Warren...once again you have given us a brilliant video...immensely appreciated...

Thanks for sharing the Deep Purple story. I an opportunity to perform with Glenn Hughes in 2008. He is still touring today and he is working a new album. He is not slowing down. It would be great if you could interview him. Warren, Keep up the great work!!!!

Long Live Deep Purple. Legendary band. Thanks Warren for the incredible history lesson.

Great video, thanks Warren! I've been a fan since In Rock came out and for a few years they absolutely rocked my world. My band in high school covered Black Night, Strange Kinda Woman, Smoke on the Water, Demon's Eye, When a Blind Man Cries . . . I played drums back then and Ian Paice was my hero, I learnt to play rock by trying to copy him. I got 2 bass drums just so I could play Fireball! Ritchie was everyone's guitar hero, Gillan's voice and outrageous, Jon Lord was as powerful and Glover laid down the foundation for it all. Can't imagine my life of making music without their inspiration!

Deep Purple can be underrated. Since I am old I remember when I first got Deep Purple in Rock and listened to it many times.

It is also great music to play. I was in a Purple tribute band and as a keyboard player it was a joy to be integral and be heard. We played 3 hour gigs and still had to leave out signature tracks...

Every time I listen to Deep Purple,I wonder why I don’t listen to them more. They are just incredible. I’m a drummer and I am constantly blown away by Ian Paice’s playing. Growing up I was a huge Whitesnake fan, even before the huge commercial success with the self titled album and Slip of the Tongue. Hearing Coverdale find his voice with Purple is amazing. What can I say, I just have to listen to more Deep Purple.

Great video Warren! Deep Purple are definitely under appreciated!

I met funky Claude when I lived in haute savoie...lovely guy and an absolute legend

The best documentary about DP I’ve seen. Respect.

Other than MIJ I always loved "final concerts" 74/75 and live California '76. Love Montreux 96 and some wonderful bootleg video footage like House of blues '98 and live France 2005. The best live band ever... the bands from their family tree are astonishing too... Rainbow, Gillan, Whitesnake, Butterfly ball, Jesus Christ superstar, Paice Ashton Lord, etc.

I saw them at the Felt Forum in NYC right at the time of the "Made In Japan" release. Rory Gallagher opened. My friends were only there to see Gallagher and wanted to leave after his set, but I wanted to see Deep Purple and I stubbornly stayed in my seat. My friends actually stayed in the lobby waiting for me for their whole set, rather than just watch DP's set!! My friends were incredible snobs, even as teenagers!! I was slightly less of a snob! Haha It was an amazing night for both Gallagher and Purple. So glad to be there!

I will go to my grave insisting Deep Purple will forever be the greatest live band in the history of music. Their improvisation skills were far above anybody else and still decades later you will never hear them play a song the same way twice.

I grew up in the 70s, Deep Purple blasted at every party. When people are over, I'll play Lazy off my Machine Head 8-track (cartridge not reel). Thanks PLaP, no doubt the best one hour I'll spend today.

There are 3 bands that changed my life. The Beatles, Yes and Deep Purple. I am 62 years old and still can't know which of those bands is most important to me. Meanwhile I continue to enjoy.

I don't normally watch a video when adverts appear but this has to be one of the most interesting videos I've watched , thank you

My favorite rock band. I think In Rock is still as fresh, epic and “in your face” today as it was in 1970. Along with LZ and BS they simple changed rock history.

You did an incredible job on this. It must've been very demanding w their long history and many changes of personnel.

I saw Deep Purple play live in late 60's they played a small gig in Birmingham (UK). Its was to promote Marshall Amplifiers. Came out of the building , ears ringing after being blasted to bits, took over a day for the lugholes to recover! great. Around the same time saw Led Zepplin live at the Birmingham Town. Our seats where on stage with the band just a few feet away. Little did we know then what giants of rock they would become. Great memories I will take to the grave.

The first band I truly loved and obsessed over when I was a tender 11 years old. To me the band were like gods. The reason I picked up a guitar at all is down to Richie Blackmore.

For all the appreciation and recognition they rightfully get as significant influences on the development of music, and specifically the creation and emergence of hard rock, heavy metal, and all the countless metal subgenres, DP seems to get overlooked in a lot of circles in comparison to Sabbath and Zeppelin. The musical talent, knowledge, and skill of Lord, Blackmore, and Paice, is about as good as it gets, and Gillan and Glover are underrated at their craft. These guys playing this loud, raucous rock, while being deeply influenced by not just blues but jazz, classical, and some folk styles, has always been interesting and appealing to me as a fan and as a musician (playing guitar and bass since the mid/late 80s).

Being born in 1955 and having very musically conservative family, I was starved for hard hitting music. The Beatles in 63 were my first listening experience to loud rock and roll but for me, they lacked something. Jon Lord gave me what I was looking for. Before that piano was twinkly twinkly pap, and organ was mainly weadly Farfisa. A very whiny tone that just didn't work for me. On a side note, I'm a hard rock/metal keyboard player. The distorted tones form Lord's Hammond was exactly what i needed to hear.Machine Head blew me away but when I heard Made in Japan, I realized that bands didn't need to play the recorded versions of their songs, they could do whatever they wanted to. This was right up my alley and it's how I play. I'm a lousy cover artist but I can jam like nobody's business! I"m still a huge fan of Purple and I"m now buying their latest releases. No, they don't sound the same, but I don't expect them to and I don't want them to. A band need to evolve to survive. And Purple and nothing if not survivors.

Hello Warren what an absolute blast for this musician. Deep Purple, Ian Paice, Made in Japan and Smoke on the Water live were my steeping stones to learning to play this genre and getting the opportunity to play live and beginning a musical journey that is still going 50 years on. Like you Warren there maybe some Blackmore influences in my own guitars on my recent releases. Smoke on the Water was the last song I learnt on guitar/amp combo I got for xmas in 1972. I blew the amp up, took back to the shop to find out it was a known fault and would be replaced in a few months so I asked if I could swap it for something else and went home with a drum kit. It was a Swing Star which later became known as Tama. It had paiste hi hats and zildjian cymbals which were all unknown to me. First song I learnt was Smoke on the Water. At this time I had discovered a local gig that had band setting up on a Saturday afternoon so I would go and watch the load in, setups and sound checks. One particular a band had noticed me and came over and spoke with me. Asked if I played, I said yes but only one song. They actually played so asked me if I wanted to play it at sound check which I did. They organised to sneak me into the gig, sit side of stage and watch all 3 bands play. During hteir set the singer came over, drageed me on stage and placed me behind the kit. My first live performance and my first band was in the audience, My love affair with Deep Purple continued and still hold Burn as my all time favourite epecially as I had already discovered Glen Hughes and Trapeze. Many talk about the innovations for guitarists in this era but for me it was drummers like Ian Paice who made hi hats a very important part of hard rock. The jazz style of playing ride cymbals was still a hangover from a lot of the 60's bands. Uriah Heep were also part of this era as well. English Rock was what I cut my teeth on and the unholy trinity were what I lay in bed at night listening to and dreaming! cheers mate

This video is one of the best I have ever seen, fantastic video production and commentary on this legendary band. Well done!

Fantastic presentation Warren, even this ol' DP fan learned something! "The Battle rages on" is indeed a masterpiece imo!

Yay, not only a new Artists Who Changed Music episode but also about one of my favorite bands!

As an aside I've just watched your interview with Susana Hoffs which was brilliant. In the 80's I was Rainbow and The Bangles who were a lot rockier than people realise.

What a fantastic documentary I grew up with Deep Purple in Communist Albania, where such music was prohibited 🚫 and we had to smugle into the country their cassette tapes

I have nothing to add to the many fine comments about Deep Purple and this excellent video. I have a song suggestion - Every Kind of People - written by Andy Fraser (formerly the bass player in Free) and sung by Robert Palmer. I feel like it’s an overlooked song, but it’s brilliantly written and arranged and performed and engineered. And the lyrics really hit home when you consider songwriter Andy Fraser’s life story.

Gillan is Purple's Voice. Best ever purple's Documentary. Good Job

Absolutely brilliant Warren. Thanks very much. I loved Jon Lord's playing. An utter gentleman and master of hard rock.

besides beeing a good and informative video, i can clearly see you really enjoy the band / music you talking about 🎉😊

Exceptionally done! Glued to the.screen. I love DEEP PURPLE. Thank you

ONE OF THE BEST BANDS EVER! BEEN LISTENING SINCE I WAS 9 YRS OLD 1968.

Purple is one of my all time favourites, coming in after their hey day. I remember in grade 3 or 4 someone brought In Rock to music class and our teacher played part of it for us, I was blown away. Later I started listening to their various Marks, but the original Mark II era was the best, especially In Rock, Machine Head and Made in Japan Jon Lord was probably the biggest influence on my playing (guitar/bass) His feel and phrasing were impeccable and he often played as if he were another guitarist in the band, (Meant as a compliment, he was an extremely talented keyboard player.) Great video. Now I need to listen to Made in Japan

This is the most exciting, complete and full of passion documentary about DP ever, if not the best overall. Thanks a lot by my heart.

Favorite band since 1 9 7 2.

I was very blessed to see the classic lineup at the Met Center in Minneapolis in 1972. It was one of my first concerts. Still have the ticket stub. Are you ready? $3.50 for a reserve seat.

Great video, Warren. After all these years, you've managed to find a couple of facts about Purple that I haven't come across! This was the band that turned me on to music in the first place. I heard Machine Head playing as I went into the youth club at school in 1972 and it literally changed my life. It inspired me to learn guitar, and subsequently, I spent the majority of my working life in recording studios. Mark ll Deep Purple means as much to me as it does to you, I'm sure.

Warren, great job on an incredible mountain of music. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Keep on keeping on brother

Fantastic ! Thank you 🙂

Thanks Warren, DP has been a huge influence me pretty much my entire life.

What a band. The amount of amazing songs written by deep purple is ridiculous.

Great video. Took me back to school days when MIJ was rarely off the common room stereo. Was lucky enough to see Ian Gillan Band (with Paice and Lord) in 1979 at Victoria Hall, Hanley and Whitesnake about 6 months later. Great venue, went backstage afterwards and got some prized autographs.

Thank you for making these videos! Cheers from 🇸🇪 🎧🎛️🎚️🎹🔊🎶

That was a great story. I knew most of it already, being a Purplehead from way back in the day (one of those who bought and wore out Made In Japan on the old HMV portable stereo which led me to Machine Head and then the rest of their albums) but you summed it all up perfectly for anyone to learn about the band

Great job Warren, really enjoyed this.

What a brilliant documentary of Deep Purple ❤❤❤

Really well done! This was so interesting and informative, and filled in the gaps!

Produce Like A Pro - Very many thanks for this.

That was an absolutely brilliant piece of work you've done there, I take my hat off to you sir!!

Thank you, that was a good and well deserved one. This is a great series

I had the opportunity to see them in May of '73. They were backed up by Rory Gallagher. Both bands performed amazingly.

Nice one Warren, your enthusiasm is great to see.

thanks for this one Warren. Made in Japan was one of the first records I bought, an absolute revelation along with anything from Queen that I could get my hands on.

Very well made documentary. Of course you cannot talk about all the great songs, but to me since they started the hard rock things and until Ritchie and Lord was not there anymore they haven´t made any boring song

Bravo most excellent documentary!

Sure took them long enough to get inducted into the Hall of Fame. Love band, although as a guitarist I feel that Ritchie Blackmore's best playing is in Rainbow. And I do believe that he worked with Jim Marshall in developing his Marshall Major amps. Not sure if he helped with the original 200 W amp but he did have his modified to 400 W, kind of like Dick Dale working with Leo Fender to develop the Dual Showman. He's one of my heavy rock virtuosos. Saw him with Purple in 1988, was RIGHT in front of him, and he was absolutely AMAZING, as was the whole band.

simply wonderful. Thank you, Warren, for this great video.

This is great stuff! 🤘🧨💥

Omg thanks so much Warren! I so love your artists/songs that changed music series!

As always, thank you so much sir. Keep up the exceptional work.

Awesome vid!!! 👍😊💥

Great video! The only thing I noticed was that Bananas - the first MK8 album, from 2003, wasn't listed ;)

Definitely! Check our tribute: Purple Storm! 🤘

Excellent work Warren! I really enjoyed this one

Great documentation, I very much enjoyed this accurate collection of very interesting data and information!

Wonderful video!!!

Thank you for this Warren! Been a fan of DP since I was probably 5 years old. I was fortunate enough to see the MKII lineup when they reunited for Perfect Strangers. They are a supergroup!

hi Waren its a great doku im a big Deep Purple fan thanks a lot greats from Switzerland to LA

I do hope this becomes an ongoing series on your channel.

Warren Huart, an incredible workaholic. This Deep Purple history of yours is huge. An incredible presentation of all the line-ups, which I was a fan of since 1970, if I remember correctly. And I saw live-concerts of them in Innsbruck/Austria (the city with the Golden Roof), 1974 with Coverdale and Hughes, but also one where a big tension between Gillian and Blackmore was dominating the concert, they never looked at each other and Blackmore was massively demotivated. I‘ve got records and many CDs by them. I didn’t like the record where Gillian was the singer at Black Sabbath, for me it was not good. (Was it „Born again“ in a red cover?) I wonder why you never mentioned Uriah Heep when counting up many bands. I think they would have been worth mentioning. However, your knowledge of DP knows no bounds, and it‘s very, very interesting. A HUGE THANK YOU.

I saw the original Deep Purple in Boston early 1970's. Awesome rock band, I can still see John Lord rocking his Hammond organ back and forth onstage. And Ian Paice one of my favorite rock drummers.

Great doc. I'm probably a bit of an outlier on this one, but the 2nd and 3rd albums are the ones for me. My introduction to them was the more classic line up, but I randomly got a tape (possibly left in a second hand tape machine) of 2 and 3 and wore it out. When you played the intro to Lalena it took me right back.

Timeless band, period!!

Really enjoyed this. Thanks!!

Great to hear Purple positivity with no faint praise. The next "Big 3", UFO, Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest, followed a similar pattern: One melodic heavy rock band with keyboards, another epic band with some keyboards, and a heavy metal band.

They never got the recognition and respect here in the states they deserve. it's so cool to see that they really are appreciated. And more people are getting turned into them now. Peace

First heard DP in 1975 and saw MK2 live at Wembley Arena in March 1987. Always loved bands with Keynoards, The Doors, and the Great Dave Greenfield from The Stranglers. Lord, Manzerek and Greenfield made their bands iconic. Would love for you to do a similar on The Stranglers especially their 1st 4 Albums with the Bass and Keyboards there is a band that is unique

Fun fact...Peter Derose (writer of the song "Deep Purple") lived 3 houses down from where I live now. I constantly remind the current owners that they live in the "Deep Purple" house.

Incredible band with one of the most underrated drummers of all time. This is a great series that i just stumbled upon. I tried to think about the who else changed heavy/rock music or made a huge leap musically in "recent" times and only ones that i could think off were Neurosis and less so Isis that were responsible for creation of Post-Metal.

YES! Finally.