Smoke on the Water
Encyclopedia
"Smoke on the Water" is a song
by the British hard rock
band Deep Purple
. It was first released on their 1972 album Machine Head
. In 2004, the song was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and in March 2005, Q magazine
placed "Smoke on the Water" at number 12 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks. "Smoke on the Water" is also a song recorded in 1945 by "Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys" and others, addressing the eventual fall of the Axis dictatorships of World War II.
"Smoke on the Water" is known for and recognizable by its central theme, a four-note "blues scale" melody harmonised in parallel fourths. The riff
, played on a Fender Stratocaster
electric guitar
by Ritchie Blackmore
, is later joined by hi-hat and distorted organ, then drums
, then electric bass
parts before the start of Ian Gillan
's vocal.
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 uses two fingers to pluck so the pairs of notes can be played exactly simultaneously, to match the organ's timing closer.
The song order is intro(riff)-verse-chorus-riff-verse-chorus-riff-guitar solo-riff-verse-chorus-riff-organ solo. The first solo is performed on guitar by Ritchie Blackmore, and the second and final solo is performed on an organ by Jon Lord until the song fades out.
and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
—referred to as the "Rolling truck Stones thing" and "the 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. In the middle of Don Preston's synthesizer solo on "King Kong", the place suddenly caught fire when somebody in the audience fired a flare gun
into the rattan
covered ceiling, as mentioned in the "some stupid with a flare gun" line. 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 across the lake. 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 n°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
.
Ironically, the only song from Machine Head not recorded in the Grand Hotel was "Smoke on the Water" itself, which had been recorded during the abortive Pavilion session. The lyrics of "Smoke on the Water" were composed later, and the vocals were recorded in the Grand Hotel.
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.
during the summer of 1973, number 2 on the Canadian RPM
charts, and it propelled the album to the top 10. Live performance of the tune, featuring extended interplay between Blackmore's guitar and Jon Lord
's Hammond organ
would become a centerpiece 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 song-writers 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 1981–83, and again after the Rainbow was resurrected briefly in the mid-1990s.
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
" as specified by Blackmore (or double stops), a power chord
-driven variation on the main recognizable riff is not difficult, and consequently it is constantly played by learners.
"Smoke on the Water" has received the following rankings:
, Brian May
, David Gilmour
, Bruce Dickinson
, Tony Iommi
, Keith Emerson
, Chris Squire
, Roger Taylor
, Paul Rodgers
, Bryan Adams
and Alex Lifeson
, done for the Rock Aid Armenia
charity.
The song has been covered by many bands including the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath
, heavy metal band Soulfly
, power metal band Metalium
, Polish heavy metal band Acid Drinkers
, Korean thrash metal band Crash
, Canadian indie artist Nash the Slash
(re-titled 'Dopes on the Water'), Brazilian progressive power metal Angra
, Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura
, and many others, and was recorded by Rock Aid Armenia
, and the band Iron Maiden
. It was performed by rock act G3
and featured on the release G3: Live in Tokyo
.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
covered this song in his first polka medley "Polkas on 45."
R&B/swing singer Pat Boone
covered the song in his 1997 album In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy
, with Blackmore doing a guest appearance as lead guitarist and Dweezil Zappa
giving a guitar solo. German DJ/techno veteran Uwe Schmidt
covered the song in Latino lounge style under the alias of Señor Coconut on the 2003 album Fiesta Songs
.
CJ Crew
and The Firelighters Showgroup covered the song in the 2005 Dancemania
compilation Covers 01
.
Carlos Santana
covered the song on his 2010 solo album Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time
. The song features Jacoby Shaddix
of Papa Roach
on lead vocals.
Vains Of Jenna
covered the song on their 2011 covers album Reverse Tripped. Notably, their version does not use the signature guitar riff of the original.
, 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 and 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.
The iconic nature of the song has led to its inclusion in several music-related video games. A cover version of "Smoke on the Water" is one of the playable songs for the PlayStation 2
game Guitar Hero, and the same cover version is a downloadable track in Guitar Hero II
for the Xbox 360
. It is also featured in Guitar Hero: Smash Hits and Rock Band 3
as a master track. It is a playable song in the PlayStation 2
game SingStar Rocks! and in the Japan-only Nintendo DS
rhythm game
Daigasso! Band Brothers
. It is also available on Wii
's Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
as a minigame, without Verse 3. The song also appears in Konami
Guitar Freaks 4th Mix. The song is playable in the online game Stick Dudes Gone Wild: Rock Band.
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.
certification
(United States)
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
by the British hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
. It was first released on their 1972 album Machine Head
Machine Head (album)
Machine Head is the sixth studio album released by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded through December 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland, and released in March 1972....
. In 2004, the song was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and in March 2005, Q magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
placed "Smoke on the Water" at number 12 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks. "Smoke on the Water" is also a song recorded in 1945 by "Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys" and others, addressing the eventual fall of the Axis dictatorships of World War II.
Composition
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
, played on a Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
by Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
, is later joined by hi-hat and distorted organ, then drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, then electric bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
parts before the start of Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...
's vocal.
Jon Lord
Jon Lord
Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...
doubles the guitar part on a Hammond C3 organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
played through a distorted Marshall amp, creating a tone very similar to that of the guitar. Blackmore uses two fingers to pluck so the pairs of notes can be played exactly simultaneously, to match the organ's timing closer.
The song order is intro(riff)-verse-chorus-riff-verse-chorus-riff-guitar solo-riff-verse-chorus-riff-organ solo. The first solo is performed on guitar by Ritchie Blackmore, and the second and final solo is 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 had set up camp in Montreux, Switzerland to record an album using a mobile recording studio (rented from the Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
The Rolling Stones Mobile Studio is a mobile recording studio owned by the musical group the Rolling Stones. Numerous bands and artists have recorded music using it, including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Lou Reed, Bob Marley, Horslips, Fleetwood Mac, Bad Company, Status Quo, Iron Maiden, Mola Mola...
—referred to as the "Rolling truck Stones thing" and "the mobile" in the song lyrics) at the entertainment complex that was part of the Montreux Casino
Montreux Casino
Montreux Casino ' is a casino located in Montreux, Switzerland, on the shoreline of Lake Geneva. It has served as the venue for the Montreux Jazz Festival and was rebuilt following a 1971 fire memorialized in the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water." It is a property of Groupe Lucien...
(referred to as "the gambling house" in the song lyric). On the eve of the recording session a Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
concert was held in the casino's theatre. In the middle of Don Preston's synthesizer solo on "King Kong", the place suddenly caught fire when somebody in the audience fired a flare gun
Flare gun
A flare gun is a firearm that launches flares. It is typically used for signalling, as distress signalling, at sea or from the ground to aircraft...
into the rattan
Rattan
Rattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...
covered ceiling, as mentioned in the "some stupid with a flare gun" line. 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
Roger Glover
Roger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...
, 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
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
from the burning casino as the members of Deep Purple watched the fire from their hotel across the lake. The "Funky Claude" running in and out is referring to Claude Nobs
Claude Nobs
Claude Nobs is the founder and general manager of the famous Montreux Jazz Festival.-Biography:...
, the director of the Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
who helped some of the audience escape the fire.
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
Machine Head (album)
Machine Head is the sixth studio album released by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded through December 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland, and released in March 1972....
.
Ironically, the only song from Machine Head not recorded in the Grand Hotel was "Smoke on the Water" itself, which had been recorded during the abortive Pavilion session. The lyrics of "Smoke on the Water" were composed later, and the vocals were recorded in the Grand Hotel.
The song is honoured in Montreux by a sculpture along the lake shore (right next to the statue of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
frontman Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
) with the band's name, the song title, and the riff in musical notes.
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. 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 StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the summer of 1973, number 2 on the Canadian RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
charts, and it propelled the album to the top 10. Live performance of the tune, featuring extended interplay between Blackmore's guitar and Jon Lord
Jon Lord
Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...
's Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
would become a centerpiece of "Deep Purple's" live shows, and a version of the song from the live album Made in Japan
Made in Japan (album)
Made in Japan is a double live album by English rock band Deep Purple, recorded during their first tour of Japan in August 1972. It was originally released in December 1972, with a U.S...
became a minor hit on its own later on in 1973.
The principal song-writers 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
Gillan
Gillan was a rock band formed in 1978 by Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan.-History:In 1978 Ian Gillan had become dissatisfied with the jazz fusion style of his band called the Ian Gillan Band and dissolved it, retaining only keyboard player Colin Towns, and formed a new band entitled Gillan...
adopted a feedback-soaked approach, courtesy of Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme
Bernie Tormé
Bernie Tormé is a rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, record label and recording studio owner.-Early career:...
. This song was also featured live by Ritchie Blackmore's post-"Deep Purple" band Rainbow
Rainbow (band)
Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...
during their tours 1981–83, and again after the Rainbow was resurrected briefly in the mid-1990s.
During Ian Gillan's stint with Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
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
All fourths
All fourths tuning is an alternate tuning for a guitar. It eliminates the major third between the third and second strings. Thus, the interval between each string is a perfect fourth, resulting in: E-A-D-G-C-F. It is believed that Bob Bianco pioneered this tuning...
" as specified by Blackmore (or double stops), a power chord
Power chord
In music, a power chord is a chord consisting of only the root note of the chord and the fifth interval, usually played on electric guitar, and typically through an amplification process that imparts distortion...
-driven variation on the main recognizable riff is not difficult, and consequently it is constantly played by learners.
Chart performance and rankings
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
| Austrian Top 40 | 11 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 11 |
| German Media Control Chart | 20 |
| UK Singles Chart | 21 |
| Australian Kent Music Report | 54 |
| French Singles Chart | 64 |
"Smoke on the Water" has received the following rankings:
- #426 on Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs of All TimeThe 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
(2004) - #37 in VH1VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's 40 Greatest Metal Songs - #12 in Q magazine'sQ (magazine)Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
100 Greatest Guitar Tracks (March 2005) - #11 in VH1's "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" (January 2009)
- #4 in the BBC's "Top 20 Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever"
Alternative versions
- The remixed CD re-issue of Machine Head features a version of the song with an alternate Blackmore guitar solo recorded at the time.
- The version that appears on Deep Purple in ConcertDeep Purple In ConcertDeep Purple in Concert is an album by British hard rock band Deep Purple, of two concerts recorded by the BBC for their "In Concert" live series, recorded in 1970 and 1972. First released in 1980 in the UK, with the current US edition being made available in 2001...
includes Ian Gillan uttering the phrase "Break a leg, Frank". 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 phrase can also be heard on the Roger Glover Remix of the song included on the Anniversary Edition reissue of Machine HeadMachine Head (album)Machine Head is the sixth studio album released by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded through December 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland, and released in March 1972....
.
Cover versions
There is a remake of this song featuring Ian Gillan, Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
, Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
, David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
, Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in...
, Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
, Chris Squire
Chris Squire
Christopher Russell Edward "Chris" Squire , is an English musician, known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock group Yes. He is the only member of the group to appear on every album.-Before Yes:...
, Roger Taylor
Roger Meddows-Taylor
Roger Meddows Taylor , known as Roger Taylor, is a British musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his "big" unique sound and is considered one of...
, Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
, Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
and Alex Lifeson
Alex Lifeson
Aleksandar Živojinović, OC, better known by his stage name Alex Lifeson, is a second generation Serbian-Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In the summer of 1968, Lifeson founded the band that would become Rush with friend, drummer John Rutsey...
, done for the Rock Aid Armenia
Rock Aid Armenia
Rock Aid Armenia was a humanitarian effort by the British music industry to raise money to help those affected by the Leninakan Earthquake of 1988 that struck Armenia....
charity.
The song has been covered by many bands including the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, heavy metal band Soulfly
Soulfly
Soulfly is a heavy metal band formed in 1997 based in Phoenix, Arizona. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max...
, power metal band Metalium
Metalium
Metalium was a power metal band from Hamburg, Germany. Their style of music was that of the traditional power metal sound which was pioneered in Hamburg by bands such as Helloween and Blind Guardian...
, Polish heavy metal band Acid Drinkers
Acid Drinkers
Acid Drinkers are Polish thrash metal band formed in September 1986 in Poznań. Acid Drinkers were formed on September 21, 1986 consisting of Tomasz "Titus" Pukacki and Robert "Litza" Friedrich . The band's style from back then to present is thrash metal, with influences of heavy metal...
, Korean thrash metal band Crash
Crash (South Korean band)
-History:Crash was formed in 1991 with the lineup of Ahn Heung-Chan , Jung Yong-Wook and Yoon Doo-Byung . They were also the first Korean band provoking slam dance and stage diving in their concert....
, Canadian indie artist Nash the Slash
Nash the Slash
Nash the Slash is a Canadian musician. Though a multi-instrumentalist, he is known primarily for playing electric violin and mandolin, as well as harmonica, keyboards, glockenspiel, and other instruments .Nash worked as a solo artist beginning in 1975, then founded the progressive rock band FM in...
(re-titled 'Dopes on the Water'), Brazilian progressive power metal Angra
Angra (band)
Angra is a Brazilian metal band from São Paulo, Brazil known for its symphonic interludes, highly technical instrumental playing and Brazilian regional elements.- Biography :...
, Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
, and many others, and was recorded by Rock Aid Armenia
Rock Aid Armenia
Rock Aid Armenia was a humanitarian effort by the British music industry to raise money to help those affected by the Leninakan Earthquake of 1988 that struck Armenia....
, and the band Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
. It was performed by rock act G3
G3 (tour)
G3 is a concert tour organized by guitarist Joe Satriani featuring him alongside two other guitarists. Since its inception in 1996, G3 has toured most years and has featured many guitarists, including Steve Vai , Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Robert Fripp,...
and featured on the release G3: Live in Tokyo
G3: Live in Tokyo
G3: Live in Tokyo is another G3 live performance which featured John Petrucci along with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai in the 2005 G3 tour. It was released as double live album as well as DVD with extra material: G3 Soundcheck featuring commentary by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and John Petrucci.In this...
.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
covered this song in his first polka medley "Polkas on 45."
R&B/swing singer Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
covered the song in his 1997 album In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy
In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy
In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy is a 1997 album by Pat Boone in which Boone, after critisizing groups like Duran Duran for their James Bond theme and number one hit A View To A Kill because of their lyric "Dance Into the Fire" being devil worshipping and unholy, covers hard rock and heavy...
, with Blackmore doing a guest appearance as lead guitarist and Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
giving a guitar solo. German DJ/techno veteran Uwe Schmidt
Uwe Schmidt
Uwe Schmidt , is a German composer, musician and producer of electronic music. He is often regarded as the father of electrolatino, electrogospel and acitón music.- Career :...
covered the song in Latino lounge style under the alias of Señor Coconut on the 2003 album Fiesta Songs
Fiesta Songs
Fiesta Songs is a 2003 album by Señor Coconut Y Su Conjunto . It is an album of covers done in a Latin American style.Like the previous album, this is a tribute album...
.
CJ Crew
CJ Crew
CJ Crew are a dance music DJ duo, consisting of Chris Bucknall and John Briely. Other aliases include Big Vin & Hugh Jardon, Chi K Monkey, Chi K Munki, Connie and the Plainsman, Demanche Noir, Muff and the Munchers, Nancy and the Boys, The Orff Ki Ensemble, Pyan Issim, Pynck Hobo, Terry and the...
and The Firelighters Showgroup covered the song in the 2005 Dancemania
Dancemania
Dancemania is a series of remix compilation albums by i-DANCE. The series deals primarily with dance music, especially eurodance. Despite its tracks have been made by various musicians from all over the world mainly from the European continent, the albums have been released exclusively in Japan.The...
compilation Covers 01
Dancemania Covers
Dancemania Covers is a sub-series of the Dancemania compilation series, with various famous songs remixed and covered by various dance music acts.-Dancemania Covers:Dancemania Covers was released on July 16, 1997.-Dancemania Covers 2:...
.
Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
covered the song on his 2010 solo album Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time
Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time
Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, referred to as simply Guitar Heaven, is the 21st studio album by Santana, released on September 21, 2010...
. The song features Jacoby Shaddix
Jacoby Shaddix
Jacoby Dakota Shaddix is the lead singer of Californian rock band Papa Roach, and along with bassist Tobin Esperance, is the main songwriter for the band.-Early life:...
of Papa Roach
Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California. Their first major-label release was the triple-platinum album Infest . The group's success continued with their gold album Lovehatetragedy , their platinum album Getting Away with Murder , The Paramour Sessions , and Metamorphosis...
on lead vocals.
Vains Of Jenna
Vains of Jenna
Vains of Jenna are a rock band formed in Falkenberg, Sweden during January 2005. They have since relocated to Los Angeles, California. They will be performing around the States with the help of and -History:...
covered the song on their 2011 covers album Reverse Tripped. Notably, their version does not use the signature guitar riff of the original.
Notable performances and uses
In 1994, in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, 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
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
this record was topped with 1,721 guitarists and just 20 days later in the German city of Leinfelden-Echterdingen
Leinfelden-Echterdingen
Leinfelden-Echterdingen is a town in the district of Esslingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approx. 10 km south of Stuttgart, near the Stuttgart Airport...
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
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, when 6,346 guitar players, joined by current Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse
Steve Morse
Steven J. "Steve" Morse is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his work in the hard rock band Deep Purple since 1994. He began his career to form the unique styled instrumental rock band Dixie Dregs in the 1970. Morse's musical inspiration comes from country, funk, jazz fusion, and...
, performed the song during the Thanks Jimi Festival.
The iconic nature of the song has led to its inclusion in several music-related video games. A cover version of "Smoke on the Water" is one of the playable songs for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game Guitar Hero, and the same cover version is a downloadable track in Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. It is also featured in Guitar Hero: Smash Hits and Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
as a master track. It is a playable song in the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game SingStar Rocks! and in the Japan-only Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
rhythm game
Music video game
A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
Daigasso! Band Brothers
Daigasso! Band Brothers
is a music video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released in Japan on December 2, 2004 as a launch game for the Nintendo DS. The game features multiple songs, which include classical music, television themes, and video game music. The game...
. It is also available on Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 is the second installment of the Rayman Raving Rabbids party franchise, in which the Rabbids attempt to invade Earth and have set up headquarters near a local shopping mall. Players have the option to play as a Rabbid or as Rayman, who has disguised himself as a Rabbid to...
as a minigame, without Verse 3. The song also appears in Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
Guitar Freaks 4th Mix. The song is playable in the online game Stick Dudes Gone Wild: Rock Band.
In March 2011, "Smoke on the Water" was selected by departing German Defence Minister
Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Defence is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany...
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg is a German politician of the Christian Social Union ....
for performance as part of his official military farewell ceremony.
Personnel
- Ian GillanIan GillanIan Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...
– Lead vocals - Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie BlackmoreRichard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
– Guitars - Roger GloverRoger GloverRoger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...
– Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Jon LordJon LordJonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...
– KeyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Ian PaiceIan PaiceIan Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...
– DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Sales accomplishments
RIAARecording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
certification
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
(United States)
| Date | Designation | Total Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 28 August 1973 | Gold | 500,000 |