Pat Boone (born Charles Eugene Boone on June 1, 1934) is an American singer, actor and writer who was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs (when part of the country was segregated) and sold more copies than his black counterparts. He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and appeared in more than 12 Hollywood movies. Boone's talent as a singer and actor, combined with his old-fashioned values, contributed to his popularity in the early rock and roll era. He continues to perform, and speak as a motivational speaker, a television personality, a conservative political commentator and a preacher.

According to ''Billboard'', Boone was the second biggest charting artist of the late 1950s, behind only Elvis Presley but ahead of Ricky Nelson and The Platters, and was ranked at No. 9—behind The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney but ahead of artists such as Aretha Franklin and The Beach Boys—in its listing of the Top 100 Top 40 Artists 1955-1995. Boone still holds the ''Billboard'' record for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with more than one song.

At the age of twenty-three, he began hosting a half-hour ABC variety television series, ''The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom,'' which aired for 115 episodes (1957–1960). Many musical performers, including Edie Adams, Andy Williams, Pearl Bailey and Johnny Mathis made appearances on the show. His cover versions of rhythm and blues hits had a noticeable effect on the development of the broad popularity of rock and roll. During his tours in the 1950s, Elvis Presley was one of his opening acts.

As a prolific author, Boone had a No. 1 bestseller in the 1950s (''Twixt Twelve and Twenty'', Prentice-Hall). In the 1960s, he focused on gospel music and is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Early life and career

Boone has claimed to be a direct descendant of the American pioneer Daniel Boone. He is also a cousin of two stars of western television series: the late Richard Boone of CBS's ''Have Gun, Will Travel'' and Randy Boone, one of the co-stars of NBC's ''The Virginian'' and CBS's ''Cimarron Strip''.

In college, he primarily attended David Lipscomb College, later Lipscomb University, in Nashville. He graduated from Columbia University School of General Studies magna cum laude in 1958 and also attended North Texas State University, now known as the University of North Texas. During his college career, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order.

He began recording in 1954 for Republic Records. His 1955 version of Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" was a hit. (Domino complimented Boone's rendition.) This set the stage for the early part of Boone's career, which focused on covering R&B; songs by black artists for a white American market. Randy Wood, the owner of Dot, had issued an R & B single by the Griffin Brothers in 1951 called "Tra La La-a"—a different song than the later LaVern Baker one—and he was keen to put out another version after the original had failed. This became the B side of the first Boone single "Two Hearts Two Kisses", originally by the Charms - whose "Hearts Of Stone" had been covered by the label's Fontane Sisters. Once the Boone version was in the shops, it spawned more covers by the Crewcuts, Doris Day and Frank Sinatra. In the UK the song was covered by Lita Roza, a band singer with Ted Heath, and her version was in the shops first.

A No. 1 single in 1956 by Boone was not so much a cover as a revival of a then-seven year old song "I Almost Lost My Mind", which had been covered at the time by another black star, Nat King Cole, from the original by Ivory Joe Hunter, who was to benefit from Boone's hit version not only in royalties but in status as he was back in the news.

According to an opinion poll of high school students in 1957, the singer was nearly the ''"two-to-one favorite over Elvis Presley among boys and preferred almost three-to-one by girls..."''

Starting in the late 1950s, Boone and his family were residents of Leonia, New Jersey.

Many of Boone's hit singles were R&B; covers by Black artists. These included: "Ain't That a Shame" by Fats Domino; "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard; "At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)" by the El Dorados; and the blues ballads "I Almost Lost My Mind" by Ivory Joe Hunter, "I'll be Home" by The Flamingos and "Don't Forbid Me" by Charles Singleton. Boone also wrote the lyrics for the instrumental theme song for the movie ''Exodus,'' which lyrics he titled "This Land Is Mine." (Ernest Gold had composed the music.)

As a devout Christian, Boone refused songs and movie roles that he felt might compromise his standards—including a role with sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. In his first film, ''April Love,'' he refused to give co-star and love interest Shirley Jones an onscreen kiss, because the actress was married in real life.

He appeared as a regular performer on ''Arthur Godfrey and his Friends'' from 1955 through 1957, later hosted his own ''The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom'', on Thursday evenings. In the early 1960s, he began writing a series of self-help books for adolescents, including ''Twixt Twelve and Twenty''. The British Invasion ended Boone's career as a hitmaker, though he continued recording throughout the 1960s. In the 1970s, he switched to gospel and country, and he continued performing in other media as well. He is currently working as the disc jockey of a popular oldies radio show and runs his own record company which provides an outlet for new recordings by 1950s greats who can no longer find a place with the major labels.

In 1953, shortly before he turned 19, Boone married Shirley Lee Foley (b. April 24, 1934), daughter of country music great Red Foley and his wife, singer Judy Martin. They had four daughters: Cheryl Lynn, Linda Lee, Deborah Ann (better known as Debby), and Laura Gene. During the late 1950s, he made regular appearances on ABC-TV's ''Ozark Jubilee'', hosted by his father-in-law. In the 1960s and 1970s the Boone family toured as gospel singers and made gospel albums, such as ''The Pat Boone Family'' and ''The Family Who Prays''.

In the early 1970s, Boone founded the record label Lion & Lamb Records. It featured artists such as Pat, ''The Pat Boone Family'', Debby Boone, Dan Peek, DeGarmo & Key, and Dogwood.

In 1978, Boone became the first target in the Federal Trade Commission's crackdown on false claim product endorsements by celebrities. He had appeared with his daughter Debby in a commercial to claim that all four of his daughters had found a preparation named Acne-Statin a "real help" in keeping their skin clear. The FTC filed a complaint against the manufacturer, contending that the product did not really keep skin free of blemishes. Boone eventually signed a consent order in which he promised not only to stop appearing in the ads but to pay about 2.5% of any money that the FTC or the courts might eventually order the manufacturer to refund to consumers. Boone said, through a lawyer, that his daughters actually did use Acne-Statin, and that he was "dismayed to learn that the product's efficacy had not been scientifically established as he believed."

Religion

In the 1960s, Boone's marriage nearly came to an end due to his use of alcohol and his preference for attending parties. After having a charismatic encounter, Shirley began to focus more on her religion and would eventually influence Pat and their daughters toward a similar religious focus. At this time, they attended the Inglewood Church of Christ in Inglewood, California.

In the early 1970s, the Boones hosted Bible studies for celebrities such as Doris Day, Glenn Ford, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Priscilla Presley at their Beverly Hills home. The family then began attending ''The Church On The Way'' in Van Nuys, California—a Foursquare Gospel congregation led by pastor Jack Hayford.

Later career

In 2003, the Nashville Gospel Music Association recognized his gospel recording work by inducting him into its Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In September 2006, Boone released ''Pat Boone R&B; Classics - We Are Family,'' featuring cover versions of 11 R&B; hits, including the title track, plus "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Soul Man", "Get Down Tonight", "A Woman Needs Love", and six other classics. In 2007, Boone was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame as well as the Christian Music Hall of Fame.

Boone and his wife, Shirley, live in Los Angeles. His one-time neighbor was Ozzy Osbourne and his family. A sound-alike of Boone's cover of Osbourne's song "Crazy Train" became the theme song for ''The Osbournes'' (Though the original Boone version appears on ''The Osbournes'' soundtrack). Osbourne once said that Boone "was the nicest bloke you could ever have as a neighbour and never complained once" about living next door to their less-than-traditional family.

On December 30, 2010, Glenn W. Milligan of Liquid Metal Holdings said the Pat Boone Family Theater would open in May 2011 in the former NASCAR Cafe at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. With 600 seats, the Boone Theater will be smaller than many of the resort's attractions, but Milligan says this may be an advantage. Other performers will include illusionist Morgan Strebler, the 2011 Merlin Award winner. The economic crisis has been one of the reasons for delays, but on May 25, 2011, the theater received the first of several needed permits from the city. The $1 million project was set to be complete in August 2011, but the opening date was later delayed to October 1. At a news conference on June 2, which included a performance by Strebler, theater officials said Boone would attend the opening and perform 14 times each year. Other entertainment will include gospel music concerts and Christmas shows. The theater will have a Boone museum with the singer's memorabilia.

Philanthropy

According to the Nashville Gospel Music & Entertainment Examiner, Boone partnered with GOD TV in 2010 to provide foundational funding for a community development center in East Africa. The Pat Boone Family Life Center in Loiborsoit, Tanzania provides much needed health services and clean water through a deep water well. GOD TV CEO, Rory Alec said "We are privileged to partner with Pat and Shirley Boone to impact the everyday lives of several thousand Masai people. Pat Boone is just as well known for his artistic talents as his Christian faith and the generosity of the Boone family has inspired us to reach further to help bring about transformation in Africa."

"Clean water, and with it small medical clinics and even basic primary and secondary schools, are literally life-changing developments, offering healthy lives and unthought-of futures to countless thousands who otherwise would live and die with no chance even to participate in the 21st century," Boone wrote in an article about his trip to Africa, in WorldNetDaily.

Politics

In early 2007, Boone wrote two articles claiming that the theory of evolution is an "absurd," "nonsensical" "bankrupt false religion". He later wrote an editorial in the form of a fairy tale where a young Prince Charming was seduced by a dwarf, got AIDS, and then overdosed.

In the 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election, Boone campaigned for incumbent Republican Ernie Fletcher with a prerecorded automated telephone message stating that the Democratic Party candidate Steve Beshear would support "every homosexual cause." As part of the campaign, Boone asked, "Now do you want a governor who'd like Kentucky to be another San Francisco?" More recently, he assisted the McCain 2008 presidential campaign by lending his voice to automated campaign phonecalls.

On December 6, 2008 Boone wrote an article for ''WorldNetDaily'' wherein he drew analogies between recent gay rights protests and recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. He reminded readers of hostage taking, exploding bombs systematic murder and chaotic conditions of carnage. In it, he asserted that marriage is a biblically ordained institution, which the government has no part in defining. He then stated that equal rights for women and blacks were not "obtained by threats and violent demonstrations and civil disruption" but rather through due process. He concluded by warning that unless they're checked, the "hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of homegrown sexual jihadists will escalate into acts vile, violent and destructive".

On August 29, 2009, Boone wrote an article comparing liberals to cancer, describing them as "black filthy cells". In December 2009, Boone agreed to endorse the conservative U.S. congressional candidate John Wayne Tucker (R) for his campaign in Missouri's 3rd Congressional District against incumbent Russ Carnahan (D) for the 2010 mid term elections.

Boone received a lifetime achievement award at the 38th annual Conservative Political Action Conference held in February 2011.

As Chevrolet spokesman

Basketball interests

With the founding of the American Basketball Association, Boone became the majority owner of the league's team in Oakland, California on February 2, 1967. The team was first named the Oakland Americans but was later renamed as the Oakland Oaks, the name under which it played from 1967 to 1969. The Oaks won the 1969 ABA championship.

Despite the Oaks' success on the court, the team had severe financial problems. By August 1969 the Bank of America was threatening to foreclose on a $1.2 million loan to the Oaks, and the team was sold to a group of businessmen in Washington, DC, and became the Washington Caps.

In Terry Pluto's book about the ABA, ''Loose Balls'', Boone recounted his days as an owner and claimed that he had had a chance to buy into the then-expansion Dallas Mavericks of the NBA in 1981, but declined.

Discography

Filmography

Bibliography

Boone wrote ''Questions About God'' with reporter, Cord Cooper. He told The 700 Club in 2009, "The big question is there a God? Is God real? How do we know? Is there proof? So this fella, Cord Cooper, and I decided we needed to answer three basic questions in a very simple form, but I think substantively and really bares no rational refutation... We quote Einstein and Stephen Hawking, who is still living, the most brilliant man on the planet. As they say, it’s inconceivable that all this has happened without a plan, without a blueprint, without some designer who created the design. So this book is so simple, yet I think profound truth." Boone's assertion that Stephen Hawking believes in God, however, is untrue.

Quotation

''NME'' - June 1960

References

External links

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Speedy Gonzales (also spelled González), or Speedy, is an animated caricature of a mouse in the Warner Brothers ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast and speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent. He usually wears an oversized yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief, similar to that of a reveler in the San Fermin festival. To date there have been 46 cartoons made either starring or featuring this character.

History

It would be two years before Friz Freleng and animator Hawley Pratt redesigned the character into his modern incarnation for the 1955 Freleng short, ''Speedy Gonzales''. The cartoon features Sylvester the Cat menacing a group of rats while guarding a cheese factory at the Mexican border. The rats call in the plucky, excessively energetic Speedy to save them, and amid cries of "¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! ¡Epa¡ ¡Epa! ¡Epa! Yeehaw!" (Spanish for "Go on! Go on! Up! Up!) courtesy of Mel Blanc, Sylvester soon gets his comeuppance. The cartoon won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons).

While Speedy's last name was given as ''Gonzalez'' in ''Cat-Tails'' (on a printed business card shown in the cartoon), it was of course spelled with an 's' from ''Speedy Gonzales'' onward. Today, the earlier spelling is occasionally used by accident.

Freleng and McKimson soon set Sylvester up as Speedy's regular nemesis in a series of cartoons, much in the same way Chuck Jones had paired Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner in his Road Runner cartoons. Sylvester (often called "El Gringo Pussygato" by Speedy) is constantly outsmarted and outrun by the Mouse, causing the cat to suffer all manner of pain and humiliation from mousetraps to accidentally consuming large amounts of hot sauce. Other cartoons pair the mouse with his cousin, Slowpoke Rodriguez, the "slowest Mouse in all Mexico." Slowpoke regularly gets into all sorts of trouble that often require Speedy to save him—but one cat in ''Mexicali Schmoes'' says that as if to compensate for his slowness, "he pack a gun!" In the mid 1960s, Speedy's main nemesis became Daffy Duck.

1999-2002 Cartoon Network ban & Warner Brothers warnings

In ''Gonzales' Tamales,'' the town mice instigate a feud between Speedy and Sylvester the Cat because Speedy has been stealing the hearts of all the females. Much of the dialogue between Mexican characters is in English and the small amount of Spanish that peppers the dialogue consists of basic greetings, goodbyes, exclamations, and misplaced references to popular Mexican foods. This criticism prompted Cartoon Network to largely shelve Speedy's films when it gained exclusive rights to broadcast them in 1999. However, fan campaigns to put Speedy back on the air and lobbying by the League of United Latin American Citizens saw the shorts return to air from 2002. Despite the controversy in the USA, Speedy Gonzales remains a very popular character in Latin America. In Mexico, the Speedy Gonzales show has been on and off part of the regular programing of Televisa's Canal 5 national channel ever since it was created. In 2010, a Looney Tunes New Year's Day marathon on Cartoon Network showed the episode "Mexican Boarders" having both Speedy and Slowpoke.

On the Looney Tunes Golden Collection the Speedy cartoons are prefaced by a disclaimer that states:

''The cartoons you are about to see are products of their time. They may depict some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. While the following does not represent the WB view of society, these cartoons are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as to claim these prejudices never existed.''

The Looney Tunes Show features a deeper voiced Speedy Gonzales. He lives with Bugs and Daffy as their "mouse in the wall" and runs a pizza shop. He is shown to act as Daffy's "Jimmeny Cricket", which is a far cry from the antagonistic relationship they had from the old days.

Other appearances

Volume 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD series, released on November 14, 2006, has an entire disc of Speedy shorts, although some of his other shorts had previously been released on Volumes 1 and 3. Speedy is mentioned in one ''Duck Dodgers'' episode, after Cadet sits on Dodgers, prompting him to say, "I knew I should've chosen Speedy Gonzales as a sidekick!"

In May 2011 Speedy Gonzales appears in ''The Looney Tunes Show'' episodes "Best Friends", "Monster Talent", and "Devil Dog" voiced by Fred Armisen. He is also in a Zorro parody Merrie Melodies segment called "Queso Bandito".

In other media

Henry Mancini borrowed the character's name for the title of an instrumental composition, first featured on his 1961 album ''Mr. Lucky Goes Latin''.

In a Family Guy episode, Peter made up his American version of Speedy called Rapid Dave after he decided that immigrants shouldn't be allowed into America.

In 2006, Volkswagen licensed Speedy Gonzales for a series of Spanish-language commercials for the Volkswagen Golf, using footage from the cartoon of the same name.

In February 2010, New Line Cinema and parent company Warner Bros. Pictures announced that they are planning a live-action/CG-animated combo feature film based on the Looney Tunes character. Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen, who adapted comic "Garfield" into a similar style live-action/CG hybrid family film, will pen the script for the coming-of-age story which is set in the present day. The story has Speedy, a young and misunderstood Mexican mouse, finding himself leaving his family to go out in the world and figure out what he's good at. He soon makes friends with a nervous race-car driver. George Lopez will voice the character and produce the film, which will also star Vanessa Hudgens as Speedy Gonzales' owner.

In October 2010, Speedy Gonzales appeared alongside other Looney Tunes characters in a Virgin Media TV advert. Speedy also serves as current mascot for Virgin Media, a double reference to his own speed and to that of the company's fibre optic broadband.

''Capulina Speedy Gonzalez''

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Category:Best Animated Short Academy Award winners Category:Fictional mice and rats Category:Looney Tunes characters Category:Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1953 Category:Fictional anthropomorphic characters Category:Fictional Mexican people

Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English rock guitarist who is an American resident, known for his work in Deep Purple. During his career Blackmore also fronted his own band, Rainbow. In the late 1990s he retired from hard rock for good, to start concentrating on the traditional folk rock project Blackmore's Night, which featured his wife Candice Night on vocals.

Early life

Whilst at school he did well at sports including the javelin. Blackmore left school at age 15 and started work as an apprentice radio mechanic at nearby Heathrow Airport. He was given guitar lessons by Big Jim Sullivan. He was influenced in his youth by early rockers like Hank Marvin.

Career

The Deep Purple years: 1968–1975 & 1984–1993

The second line-up's first studio album, ''In Rock'' (1970), changed the band's style, turning it in a hard rock direction. This "Mark Two" line-up featuring singer Ian Gillan lasted until mid-1973, produced four studio albums and had their biggest hit single "Smoke on the Water".

The third line-up's new album was entitled ''Burn'' (1974), which featured former Trapeze bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and a then-unknown singer named David Coverdale. This "Mark Three" line-up lasted until mid-1975 and produced two studio albums. Blackmore publicly disliked the funky soul influences that Coverdale and Hughes injected into the band. Following its conclusion, he departed Deep Purple to front a new group, Rainbow.

In the mid-1980s, a reunion of the former Deep Purple "Mark Two" line-up including Blackmore took place and recorded new materials. The album ''Perfect Strangers'' was released in October 1984.

In 1989, after the next album's release and supporting tour, Ian Gillan (vocals) was fired from the band because of a poor working relationship with Blackmore. His replacement was former Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. This new lineup recorded one album titled ''Slaves & Masters'' (1990). The album's sound was different from the traditional Purple sound, so core Purple fans were unhappy. Following its conclusion, Turner was fired from the band in 1992 and Gillan returned. Shortly after the next album's release and supporting tour, Blackmore left the band permanently. His last show with the band was in Helsinki, Finland on 17 November 1993.

The Rainbow years: 1975–1984 & 1994–1997

For the next album, ''Long Live Rock 'n' Roll'' (1978), Blackmore kept the drummer Cozy Powell and Dio but replaced the rest of the band. Blackmore had difficulty finding a bass player for this record so he handled the bass duties himself, except on three songs. After the album's release and supporting tour, Ronnie James Dio left Rainbow due to "creative differences" with Blackmore.

Blackmore continued with Rainbow and the band released a new album entitled ''Down To Earth'' (1979), which featured Graham Bonnet on vocals and recruiting then former Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover. The album contained Rainbow's first chart successes, as the single "Since You Been Gone" (a cover of the Russ Ballard penned tune) became a smash hit. Bonnet and Cozy Powell would leave after this support tour.

The band's next album, ''Difficult to Cure'' (1981), introduced vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. The title track from this album was an arrangement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, a personal favourite of Blackmore's. The music went in the radio-targeted more AOR style.

Rainbow's next studio album was ''Straight Between the Eyes'' (1982) and included the hit single "Stone Cold." It would be followed by the album ''Bent Out of Shape'' (1983), which featured the single "Street Of Dreams". The song's video was banned by MTV for its supposedly controversial hypnotic video clip. The resulting tour saw Rainbow return to the UK and also to Japan where the band performed with a full orchestra. In 1983 Blackmore was also nominated for Grammy Award for his work in an instrumental "Anybody There".

Rainbow disbanded in 1984, and Blackmore rejoined Deep Purple. A then-final Rainbow album, ''Finyl Vinyl'', was patched together from live tracks and "b" sides of singles.

Blackmore reformed Rainbow with new members in 1994. This Rainbow line-up featuring singer Doogie White lasted until 1997 and produced one album titled ''Stranger in Us All'' in 1995. It was originally intended to be a solo album, but due to the label BMG pressures, the record was billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. Released in the post-grunge mid '90s, ''Stranger in Us All'' and the tour supporting achieved some success, particularly in Europe. This is regarded as his last hard rock album. Rainbow was put on hold once again, after playing its final concert in Esbjerg, Denmark in 1997.

Over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up, Blackmore was the sole constant band member. While with Rainbow, he changed his musical approach multiple times following each lead singer's departure and it is said that the result was the confusion and alienation of many of his supporters.

The Blackmore's Night years: 1997–current

The band project released a new studio album every about 2 or 3 years since their first album and is performing small intimate tours. The band's musical style differed from Blackmore's previous bands and much of Blackmore's inspiration came from his favorite of classical music which matched nicely with Candice's lyrics about medieval themes. It features a mixture of traditional Renaissance music, contemporary songs, arrangements and instrumentals. Blackmore plays acoustic guitar almost exclusively. Through numerous personnel changes, the recruited backing musicians consist of bassist, keyboardist, drummer and violinist, etc.

The next release was titled ''Under a Violet Moon'' (1999) and continued in the same folk rock style established on the previous release, with Candice's vocals remaining a prominent feature of the band's style. In subsequent albums, particularly ''Fires at Midnight'' (2001), there was an increased incorporation of rock guitar into the music, whilst maintaining a folk rock direction. A live album, ''Past Times with Good Company'' was released in 2002. They have also performed some of the music for MagiQuest, a live simulation game located in Myrtle Beach, SC. A Christmas-themed cover album, ''Winter Carols'' was released in 2006.

Musical style

In his soloing, Blackmore combines blues scales and phrasing with dominant minor scales and ideas from European classical music. While playing he would often put the pick in his mouth to play with his fingers.

He has two guitar solos ranked on ''Guitar World'' magazine's "Top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos" ("Highway Star" at #19 and "Lazy" at #74, both from the album ''Machine Head''). Rolling Stone ranked him #55 in their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time".

Blackmore has been recognised as a significant influence by many notable rock guitarists including Randy Rhoads, Axel Rudi Pell, Adrian Smith, Craig Goldy, Joe Stump, John Sykes, Kirk Hammett, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, and Yngwie Malmsteen.

Equipment

In the 1970s, Blackmore used a number of different Stratocasters. However, around the time of the ''Long Live Rock 'n' Roll'' album, Blackmore found one particular Strat that was his main guitar up until Blackmore's Night. Like most of Blackmore's guitars, this Strat had its fingerboard scalloped. The pickups in it have been changed quite a few times, as described below. Blackmore added a strap lock to the headstock of this guitar as a conversation piece to annoy and confuse people.

His amplifers were originally 200W Marshall Major stacks which were modified by Marshall with an additional output stage (generated approximately 278W) to make them sound more like Blackmore's favourite Vox AC-30 amp, cranked to full volume. Since 1994, he has used Engl valve amps. One of the reasons he cited was that the Marshall heads did not sound as good as the Engls at low volume.

Blackmore frequently used effects during his time with Deep Purple and Rainbow, (despite claims to the opposite). He used a Hornby Skewes Treble Booster in the early days. Around the time of the Burn sessions, he experimented with an EMS Synthi Hi Fli guitar synthesizer. He would sometimes use a wah-wah pedal and a variable control treble-booster for sustain. Moog Taurus bass pedals were used during solo parts of concerts. He also had a modified Aiwa TP-1011 tape machine built to supply echo and delay effects. The tape deck was also used as a pre-amp. Other effects that Blackmore used were a Schulte Compact Phasing A, a Unicord Univibe, a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face and an Octave Divider.

In the mid-1980s he also experimented with Roland guitar synths. A Roland GR-700 was seen on stage as late as 1995-96, later replaced with the GR-50. Guitar synths are also used quite a bit in Blackmore's Night. As an example, Blackmore plays with a slide over what is probably an organ patch in the beginning of "Way to Mandalay".

His strings used during his tenures with Deep Purple and Rainbow were ''Picato'' brand (.010, .011, .014, .026, .038, .048) Blackmore has experimented with many different pickups in his Strats. In the early Rainbow era, they were still stock Fenders, later Dawk installed overwound, dipped, Fender pickups. He has also used Schecter F-500-Ts, Velvet Hammer "Red Rhodes", DiMarzio "HS-2", OBL "Black Label", Bill Lawrence L-450, XL-250 (bridge), L-250 (neck). He used Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Flat SSL-4 for several years and since the late 80s he has used Lace Sensor (Gold) "noiseless" pickups.

Personal life

Blackmore married another German woman, dancer Bärbel Hardie in September 1969. His third marriage, on 16 May 1981, to Amy Rothman, ended after divorce in 1987 (they separated in 1983).

He met band partner Candice Night in 1989. They have been living together since 1991 and got engaged in 1994. The couple resides in Long Island, New York, and married on 5 October 2008. Their daughter, Autumn Esmerelda Blackmore, was born on 27 May 2010.

He has lived in the U.S.A. since the mid-1970s. In 2010 he agreed to be one of the advisers for the National Guitar Museum.

In popular culture

Blackmore was portrayed by Mathew Baynton in ''Telstar'', a film adaptation of James Hicks' play of the same name. The film was directed by Nick Moran and premiered on 19 June 2009 in the UK. The film follows Joe Meek, the flamboyantly gay, songwriter-producer behind the '60s hits "Have I the Right?," "Just Like Eddie," "Johnny Remember Me" and "Telstar." In the original stage version of "Telstar", which premiered in 2005, Blackmore was played by David Hayler.

Discography

As a session player (1963–1965), selected releases

Guest appearances

Film & TV appearances

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:English rock guitarists Category:English heavy metal guitarists Category:English folk guitarists Category:English songwriters Category:The Outlaws (UK band) members Category:Deep Purple members Category:Rainbow members Category:Blackmore's Night members Category:People from Weston-super-Mare Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English session musicians Category:Lead guitarists Category:Slide guitarists