Child in Time

The late sixties and early seventies were incredible. So much history, such great music. One of my favorite bands came along at this time. Bands come and go, and band members usually don't stay together for any length of time. And so it was true of Deep Purple. If you want all of the details go to Wikipedia.

I remember first hearing Deep Purple sitting in the drive thru at a local taco stand on my old car radio. It was a hot summer. It's always hot in the summer where I have had to live. Maybe it made it more intense, I don't know. The song was Hush. Purple had a different singer on those first couple of albums; Rod Evans who went on to front Captain Beyond among other projects. What a great voice! Not screaming, not straining (which isn't always bad), but deep, sexy and provoking. The other hits for Purple with Evans fronting them were Kentucky Woman and River Deep Mountain High. Great songs. But then Purple with the best line up ever, got a hold of Ian Gillan. Gillan is still one of my all time favorite singers: power, strength, range and cool! What else is there? Jon Lord on the Hammond B3, with a fuzz peddle - Wow! The rhythm section was awesome, Ian Paice on the kit and Roger Glover on the bass. I learned more from those two than anybody. And then there was Blackmore! Ritchie Blackmore. He's in my top four of five guitarists. Blackmore was always the mystery man. He was reportedly into witchcraft and black magic. You know all the rumors. Regardless, he could bend and bounce strings like no one else.

I once heard Gillan on a record as the lead in Jesus Christ Superstar. I'd pay a hundred bucks for that album if I could find it nowadays. I've looked for it for years to no avail. Gillan was incredible as the lead. I swear I don't think the guy needed an amp or mic. He could just stand there and blast out the notes with out any help at all.

But groups are hard to keep together. I guess when you get four or five guys together with that much testosterone and emotion there's a fight bound to break out sometime. Maybe the ones that stay together don't have that much to brag about!

All I can say is that I owe these guys a debt that I can never repay. The hours of
enjoyment. Driving around in my old Chevy wagon with my girl on my arm... Playing their songs in my own group at clubs and concerts. What great memories they gave me.

Thanx guys!