Hear Graham Bonnet Lead All-Star Jam Of 'Smoke On The Water'

08-27-2026

(CR) Hot on the heels of Cleopatra Records' much-applauded tribute to Ritchie Blackmore's "other" band, Ride The Rainbow, November 13 will see the release of Purple Storm - A Tribute To Deep Purple - and once again, the stars of hard rock, metal and more pour out to bring their own unique twist too some of the most beloved anthems in the hard rock pantheon.

One cut from this hard-hitting album has already slipped out, in the form of the mighty Angel's take on "Woman From Tokyo," a super-limited edition 12-inch single released, and immediately sold out, earlier this summer.

Now comes "Smoke On The Water," a dynamite recasting of what is sometimes described as the ultimate metal riff, with vocals by former Rainbow frontman Graham Bonnet, alongside Lynch Mob guitarist George Lynch, Dream Theater/Yngie Malmsteen keyboard player Derek Sherinian, Blue Oyster Cult bassist Joe Bouchard, and Black Sabbath/Derringer drummer Vinny Appice.

Famously, "Smoke On The Water" was written around Deep Purple's experiences in Montreaux, Switzerland, when fire gutted the venue in which they were intending to record their sixth studio album, 1972's Machine Head. They retreated instead to another nearby venue, the Pavilion, but it swiftly proved grossly unsuitable.

Within hours of the band plugging in for the first time, the switchboard at the local police station was screaming in protest as the entire neighborhood, it seemed, phoned in to complain about the noise. And Deep Purple had only just got started.

Bassist Roger Glover recalled, "The only thing we recorded there was a riff of Ritchie's which we called 'Title #1.' The police were actually outside banging on the doors, the roadies were holding the doors shut until we finished recording it. One can almost hear the banging as the song fades out."

The group was evicted on the spot, but "Title #1" was regardless destined to enshrine Montreaux as firmly into rock'n'roll legend as Route 66 or Strawberry Fields; Which makes it even more remarkable when Glover continues, "We finished the track, but we really didn't think much of it. When we went back to it a week later, it was, "oh, what are we going to write over this?" So we wrote something, put it on the album, and that was it.'

"It" was "Smoke On The Water," titled for the clouds of black smoke that billowed out over Lake Geneva as the Casino burned.

Of course, there are a multitude of further Purple classics featured on Purple Storm - 11 of them to be precise, including "Highway Star," "Child In Time," "Space Trucking'," "Woman From Tokyo," "Black Night"... each of them paramount among the songs that truly confirmed Purple's superstardom, both at the outset of their career ("Hush," their debut US hit single) and into later years too (the title track from 1984's Perfect Strangers).

The guests, meanwhile, represent several generations of rock glitterati - L.A. Guns, Chris Adler, Chris Poland and David Ellefson (Megadeth), Alan Davey (Hawkwind, Hawkestrel), Ronnie Romero and Bob Daisley (Rainbow), Jonathan Cain (Journey), Pat Travers, Arthur Brown, Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Rod Stewart), Thor, Rick Wakeman (Yes, David Bowie), Mick Box (Uriah Heep) and more.