"Smoke on the Water" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was first released on their 1972 album Machine Head. In 2004, the song was ranked number 434 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, ranked number 4 in Total Guitar magazine's Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever, and in March 2005, Q magazine placed "Smoke on the Water" at number 12 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks.
Composition
"Smoke on the Water" is known for and recognizable by its central theme, developed by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. It is a four-note blues scale melody in G minor, harmonised in parallel fourths. The riff, played on a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar by Blackmore, is later joined by hi-hat and distorted organ, then the rest of the drums, then electric bass parts before the start of Ian Gillan's vocal. The opening lyrics are:
Jon Lord doubles the guitar part on a Hammond C3 organ played through a distorted Marshall amp, creating a tone very similar to that of the guitar. Blackmore usually plays the main riff using a finger pluck or occasionally a plectrum upstroke (to accentuate the tonic).
In the August show in 1972 in Tokyo, Japan, Blackmore played the intro as follows:
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------8-10_----8-11-10__------8-10_-8-----
---10-8-10_-10-8-11-10__---10-8-10_-8-10__
---10-------10-------------10---------10__
There are two solos in the song; the first was performed on guitar by Ritchie Blackmore, and the second was performed on an organ by Jon Lord until the song fades out.
History
The lyrics of the song tell a true story: on 4 December 1971 Deep Purple were in Montreux, Switzerland, where they had set up camp to record an album using a mobile recording studio (rented from the Rolling Stones and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studioâ€"referred to as the "Rolling truck Stones thing" and "a mobile" in the song lyrics) at the entertainment complex that was part of the Montreux Casino (referred to as "the gambling house" in the song lyric). On the eve of the recording session, a Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention concert was held in the casino's theatre. This was to be the theatre's final concert before the casino complex closed down for its annual winter renovations, which would allow Deep Purple to record there. At the beginning of Don Preston's synthesizer solo on "King Kong", the place suddenly caught fire when somebody in the audience fired a flare gun toward the rattan covered ceiling, as mentioned in the "some stupid with a flare gun" line. Although there were no major injuries, the resulting fire destroyed the entire casino complex, along with all the Mothers' equipment. The "smoke on the water" that became the title of the song (credited to bass guitarist Roger Glover, who related how the title occurred to him when he suddenly woke from a dream a few days later) referred to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning casino as the members of Deep Purple watched the fire from their hotel. "It was probably the biggest fire I'd ever seen up to that point and probably ever seen in my life" said Glover, "It was a huge building. I remember there was very little panic getting out, because it didn't seem like much of a fire at first. But, when it caught, it went up like a fireworks display". The "Funky Claude" running in and out is referring to Claude Nobs, the director of the Montreux Jazz Festival who helped some of the audience escape the fire.
Left with an expensive mobile recording unit and no place to record, the band was forced to scout the town for another place to set up. One promising venue (found by Nobs) was a local theatre called The Pavilion, but soon after the band had loaded in and started working/recording, the nearby neighbours took offence at the noise, and the band was only able to lay down backing tracks for one song (based on Blackmore's riff and temporarily named "Title No. 1"), before the local police shut them down.
Finally, after about a week of searching, the band rented the nearly-empty Montreux Grand Hotel and converted its hallways and stairwells into a makeshift recording studio, where they laid down most of the tracks for what would become their most commercially successful album, Machine Head (which is dedicated to Claude Nobs).
The only song from Machine Head not recorded entirely in the Grand Hotel was "Smoke on the Water" itself, which had been partly recorded during the abortive Pavilion session. The lyrics of "Smoke on the Water" were composed later, primarily by Gillan and based around Glover's title, and the vocals were recorded in the Grand Hotel.
Because of the incident and the exposure Montreux received when "Smoke on the Water" became an international hit, Deep Purple formed a lasting bond with the town. The song is honoured in Montreux by a sculpture along the lake shore (right next to the statue of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury) with the band's name, the song title, and the riff in musical notes. The new casino in Montreux displays notes from the riff as decoration on its balustrade facing the gambling hall.
On the Classic Albums series episode about Machine Head, Ritchie Blackmore claimed that friends of the band were not fans of the classic "Smoke on the Water" riff, because they thought it was too simplistic. Blackmore retaliated by making comparisons to the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, which revolves around a similar four note arrangement.
Impact
"Smoke on the Water" was included on Machine Head, which was released in early 1972, but was not released as a single until a year later, in May 1973. ("Never Before" and "Space Truckin'" were the first singles issued from the album.) The band members have said that they did not expect the song to be a hit, but the single reached number 4 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States during the summer of 1973, number 2 on the Canadian RPM charts, and it propelled the album to the top 10. Live performances of the tune, featuring extended interplay between Blackmore's guitar and Jon Lord's Hammond organ would become a centrepiece of Deep Purple's live shows, and a version of the song from the live album Made in Japan became a minor hit on its own later on in 1973.
The principal songwriters included the song within their subsequent solo ventures after Deep Purple had split up. Ian Gillan in particular performed a jazz-influenced version in early solo concerts. The band Gillan adopted a feedback-soaked approach, courtesy of Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme. This song was also featured live by Ritchie Blackmore's post-Deep Purple band Rainbow during their tours 1981â€"83, and again after Rainbow was resurrected briefly in the mid-1990s and for three European concerts in June 2016.
During Ian Gillan's stint with Black Sabbath in 1983, they performed "Smoke on the Water" as a regular repertoire number on encores during their only tour together. It remains one of the few cover songs that Black Sabbath has ever played live.
The song is popular among beginner guitarists, but Blackmore himself has demonstrated that most who attempt to play it do so improperly. Actually played using "all fourths" (or double stops) as specified by Blackmore, a power chord-driven variation on the main recognizable riff is not difficult, and is consequently often played by learners.
"Smoke on the Water" has received the following rankings:
- 434 on Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2004)
- 37 in VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs
- 12 in Q magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks (March 2005)
- 11 in VH1's "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" (January 2009)
- 4 in Total Guitar magazine's "Top 20 Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever"
Charts
Certifications
Alternative versions
- The 1997 Roger Glover Remix version which appears on the 25th Anniversary Edition reissue of Machine Head features a version of the song with an alternate Blackmore guitar solo recorded at the time, and includes Ian Gillan uttering the phrase "Break a leg, Frank", among other comments. This is a reference to injuries that Frank Zappa had sustained as a result of being attacked onstage by an audience member at a concert in London, six days after the Montreux fire. A broken leg was among those injuries.
- The version that appears on Deep Purple in Concert also includes Gillan's "Break a leg" comment.
Credits and personnel
- Ritchie Blackmore â€" guitars
- Ian Gillan â€" lead vocals
- Roger Glover â€" bass guitar
- Jon Lord â€" Hammond organ
- Ian Paice â€" drums
Rock Aid Armenia version
Rock Aid Armenia, a charity project to help victims of 1988 Armenian earthquake made a charity re-recording of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water", with different vocalists singing various verses. The single made it to the UK Top 40 Singles Chart.
The track was recorded by an elite group of contemporary prog rock, hard rock and heavy metal musicians who gathered at the historic Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London. Recording began on 8 July 1989 and was completed over 5 different sessions.
The rock musicians involved in the recording included Bryan Adams, Ritchie Blackmore, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Downes, Keith Emerson, Ian Gillan, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, Alex Lifeson, Brian May, Paul Rodgers, Chris Squire and Roger Taylor. John Paul Jones and Jon Lord were credited as "helping" behind the scenes with the track. The track's producers were Gary Langan and Geoff Downes. Talent co-ordination for the record was overseen by Jon Dee, with David Gilmour being the first to join up after a call from Dee. Ian Gillan's manager Phil Banfield also helped out with talent recruitment.
Notable performances and uses
In events
- Leicester Tigers use this song to run out to at the start of every home game.
- In March 2011, "Smoke on the Water" was selected by departing German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg for performance as part of his official military farewell ceremony.
- On 16 September 2012, at the Sunflower Jam charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice performed the song alongside guitarist Brian May of Queen, bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper.
In games
The iconic nature of the song has led to its inclusion in several music-related video games.
- It is a playable song in the Japan-only Nintendo DS rhythm game Daigasso! Band Brothers.
- The song appears in Konami Guitar Freaks 4th Mix.
- A cover version of "Smoke on the Water" is one of the playable songs for the PlayStation 2 game Guitar Hero.
- The same cover version is a downloadable track in Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360.
- It is featured in Guitar Hero Smash Hits as a master track.
- It is available on Wii's Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 as a minigame, without Verse 3.
- It is also featured in Rock Band 3 as a master track.
- The song is available as a downloadable track for the guitar game Rocksmith.
- It is a playable song in the PlayStation 2 game SingStar Rocks!.
- The song is playable in the online game Stick Dudes Gone Wild: Rock Band.
In television
- The song features prominently in the Better Call Saul season 1 finale episode, "Marco" (airdate 6 April 2015). First, Marco hums it while waiting in the alley for Slippin' Jimmy and his mark. Next, Jimmy drums it on his steering wheel, when leaving the courthouse in Albuquerque, after standing up his interview for a partnership-track job. Finally, the song plays just before the closing credits. In Better Call Saul season 2 episode 1, Jimmy bellowed the song intro after quiting office and refusing new job.
- The song has featured in several episodes of The Sopranos, including "Join the Club".
- On CBS Two and a Half Men, Jake Harper plays this song a couple of times throughout the series.
- It is featured episode 2 of season 6 in the show Supernatural.
- The song features prominently in the Simpsons season 13 episode, "Weekend at Burnsie's."
- Beavis and Butt-Head prominently features the titular characters vocalizing the guitar riff.
- The song is featured in the Season 2 finale of Scream Queens.
In world records
- In 1994, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1,322 guitarists gathered to play the world-famous riff all at the same time for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
- On Sunday 3 June 2007, in Kansas City this record was topped with 1,721 guitarists just 20 days later, in the German city of Leinfelden-Echterdingen by the group 'Party Blues In Bb' with over 1,800 other people involved.
- The record was again topped on 1 May 2009, in Wrocław, Poland, when 6,346 guitar players, joined by current Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse, performed the song during the Thanks Jimi Festival.
Further reading
- Christe, Ian (2003). Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. HarperCollins. ISBNÂ 0-380-81127-8.Â
- "Smoke On The Water - the story". Deep-Purple.net.Â
References
External links
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics