"Smoke on the Water" is a song by the British 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,^[2] ranked number 4 in Total Guitar magazine's Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever,^[3] and in March 2005, Q magazine placed "Smoke on the Water" at number 12 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks.^[4]

Composition[link]

"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.

We all came out to Montreux, on the Lake Geneva shoreline to make records with a mobile, we didn't have much time

—Opening lyrics

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^[5] 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[link]

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 Stones 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.^[6][7] 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.

Claude Nobs (2006), the "Funky Claude" mentioned in the song

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.

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.

Impact[link]

"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 States 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.^[8] 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.

Chart performance and rankings[link]

"Smoke on the Water" has received the following rankings:

• #434 on Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2004)^[2]
• #37 in VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs^[9]
• #12 in Q magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks (March 2005)^[4]
• #11 in VH1's "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" (January 2009)^[10]
• #4 in Total Guitar magazine's "Top 20 Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever"^[3]

Alternative versions[link]

• 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 Concert 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 Head.

Cover versions[link]

There is a remake of this song featuring Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, 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.^[11]

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.

Notable performances and uses[link]

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^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14][15]

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.^[16]

Personnel[link]

• Ritchie Blackmore – guitars
• Ian Gillan – lead vocals
• Roger Glover – bass guitar
• Jon Lord – Hammond organ
• Ian Paice – drums

Sales accomplishments[link]

References[link]

• Christe, Ian (2003). Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-380-81127-8
• Smoke On The Water - the story Deep-Purple.net.

Notes[link]

On the Water may refer to:

• On the Water (US TV series), an American fishing and boating TV series
• On the Water (magazine), an American fishing and boating magazine
• On the Water (novel), a 1998 novel by Hans Maarten van den Brink
• On the Water (album), a 2011 album by Future Islands

See also[link]

• On the Waters, a 1970 album by Bread

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

The Waterboys
The Waterboys, performing a concert in Antwerp in 2003. Members, from left to right, Mike Scott, Geoff Dugmore, Steve Wickham, and Brad Weissman, are shown.
Background information
Origin	Edinburgh, Scotland
Genres	Rock, folk rock, Celtic rock
Years active	1983–1993, 2000–present
Labels	Chrysalis, Island, Puck, Proper
Associated acts	World Party
Website	Official website
Members
Mike Scott Steve Wickham Katie Kim James Hallawell Joe Chester Sarah Allen Blaise Margail Marc "Archie" Arciero Kate St John Ralph Salmins Melvin Duffy
Past members
Anthony Thistlethwaite Kevin Wilkinson Roddy Lorimer Karl Wallinger Martyn Swain John Caldwell Eddi Reader Chris Whitten Marco Sin Frank Biddulph Guy Chambers Dave Ruffy Peter McKinney Noel Bridgeman Trevor Hutchinson Fran Breen Vinnie Kilduff Colin Blakey Tomás Mac Eoin Jay Dee Daugherty Sharon Shannon Tim Sanders Simon Clarke Ken Blevins Livingstone Brown Jeremy Stacey Richard Naiff Gordon Davis John Baggot Tom Windriff Jo Wadeson Ray Fean Ian McNabb Geoff Dugmore Paul Beavis Brad Weissman Steve Walters Carlos Hercules Damon Wilson Mark Smith John McCullough Ash Soan Ruby Ashley Paul "Binzer" Brennan Simon Wallace

The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a number of different styles, but their music is a mix of Celtic folk music with rock and roll. After ten years of recording and touring, they dissolved in 1993 and Scott pursued a solo career. They reformed in 2000, and continue to release albums and tour worldwide. Scott emphasizes a continuity between The Waterboys and his solo work, saying that "To me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions."^[1]

The early Waterboys sound was dubbed "The Big Music" after a song on their second album, A Pagan Place. This musical style was described by Scott as "a metaphor for seeing God's signature in the world."^[2] It either influenced or was used to describe a number of other bands, including Simple Minds, The Alarm, In Tua Nua, Big Country, the Hothouse Flowers^[3] and World Party, the last of which was made up of former Waterboys members.^[4] In the late 1980s the band became significantly more folk influenced. The Waterboys eventually returned to rock and roll, and have released both rock and folk albums since reforming. Their songs, largely written by Scott, often contain literary references and are frequently concerned with spirituality. Both the group and its members' solo careers have received much praise from both rock and folk music critics, but The Waterboys as a band has never received the commercial success that some of its members have had independently. Aside from World Party, The Waterboys have also influenced musicians such as Eddie Vedder, Johnny Goudie, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists,^[5] Grant Nicholas of Feeder,^[6] James Marshall Owen,^[7] and Miles Hunt of The Wonder Stuff;^[8] both Bono^[9] and The Edge^[10] from U2 are fans of the band.

History[link]

The Waterboys have gone through three distinct phases. Their early years, or "Big Music" period was followed by a folk music period which was characterised by an emphasis on touring over album production and by a large band membership, leading to the description of the group as a "Raggle Taggle band".^[11] After a brief return to the "Big Music" for one tour^[12] and the release of a mainstream rock and roll album with Dream Harder, the band dissolved until its rebirth in 2000. In the years since, the band has revisited both rock and folk music, and continues to tour and release studio albums.

Formation[link]

Scott, the founder and only permanent member of The Waterboys, made a number of solo recordings in late 1981 and early 1982 while in a band named Another Pretty Face (later called Funhouse). These sessions at Redshop Studio are the earliest recordings that would be released under The Waterboys name. During the same period, Scott formed the short-lived band The Red and the Black, with saxophone player Anthony Thistlethwaite, after hearing him play on Waiting on Egypt, a Nikki Sudden album. The Red and the Black performed nine concerts in London.^[13] Thistlethwaite introduced Scott to drummer Kevin Wilkinson, who joined The Red and the Black. During 1982, Scott made a number of recordings, both solo and with Thistlethwaite and Wilkinson. These recording sessions, both of Scott's solo work and the group performances, would later be divided between The Waterboys' first and second albums.

In 1983, even though Scott's record label, Ensign Records, expected his first album to be a solo effort,^[14] Scott decided to start a new band. He chose The Waterboys as its name from a line in the Lou Reed song "The Kids" on the album Berlin.^[11] In March 1983, Ensign released the first recording under the new band name, a single titled A Girl Called Johnny, the A-side of which was a tribute to Patti Smith. This was followed in May by The Waterboys' first performance as a group, on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test. The BBC performance included a new member, keyboard player Karl Wallinger.^[13] The Waterboys released their self-titled debut, The Waterboys, in July 1983. Their music, influenced by Patti Smith, Bob Dylan and David Bowie, was compared by critics to Van Morrison and U2 in its cinematic sweep.^[15]

Early years: the Big Music[link]

After the release of their debut The Waterboys began touring. Their first show was at the Batschkapp Club in Frankfurt in February 1984. The band then consisted of Mike Scott on vocals and guitar, Anthony Thistlethwaite on saxophone and mandolin, Wallinger on keyboards, Roddy Lorimer on trumpets, Martyn Swain on bass and Kevin Wilkinson on drums. John Caldwell from Another Pretty Face also played guitar, and Scottish singer Eddi Reader sang backing vocals for the band's first two concerts.^[13] The band made some new recordings and over-dubbed old material in late 1983 and early 1984 which were released as The Waterboys' second album, A Pagan Place, in June 1984. The "official" Waterboys line-up at this time, according to the sleeve of A Pagan Place, was Scott, Thistlethwaite, Wallinger and Wilkinson, with guest contributions from Reader, Lorimer and many others.

A Pagan Place was preceded by the single The Big Music. "The Big Music", the name of the single's A-side track, was adopted by some commentators as a description of The Waterboys' sound, and is still used to refer to the musical style of their first three albums. The release of the album was followed by further touring including support for The Pretenders and U2 and a show at the Glastonbury Festival.

The band began to record new material in early 1985 for a new album, with Wilkinson leaving the band to join China Crisis. Late in the sessions future Waterboy Steve Wickham added his violin to the track The Pan Within; he had been invited after Scott had heard him on a Sinéad O'Connor demo recorded at Karl Wallinger's house.^[13]

The Waterboys (officially a trio of Scott, Thistlethwaite and Wallinger with a slew of guests) released their third album, This Is the Sea, in October 1985. It sold better than either of the two earlier albums, and managed to get into the Top Forty. A single from it, "The Whole of the Moon", reached number 26 in the UK. Promotion efforts were hampered by Scott's refusal to perform on Top of the Pops, which insisted that its performers lip sync.^[12] The album release was followed by successful tours of the UK and North America with Wickham becoming a full-time member, Marco Sin replacing Martyn Swain on bass, and Chris Whitten replacing Kevin Wilkinson on drums. Towards the end of the tour Wallinger left to form his own band, World Party, and was replaced by Guy Chambers. At the same time, drummer Dave Ruffy replaced Chris Whitten.

Late 1980s: The Raggle Taggle band[link]

At the invitation of new member Steve Wickham, Mike Scott moved to Dublin and quickly became influenced by the traditional Irish music there as well as by country and gospel.^[16] The band's lineup changed once again with Scott, Wickham and Thistlethwaite now joined by Trevor Hutchinson on bass and Peter McKinney on drums. The new band, which the official Waterboys' website refers to as the "Raggle Taggle band" lineup,^[11] spent 1986 and 1987 recording in Dublin and touring the UK, Ireland, Europe and Israel. Some of these performances were released in 1998 on The Live Adventures of the Waterboys, including a famous Glastonbury performance in 1986.

In 1988 Scott took the band to Spiddal in the west of Ireland where they set up a recording studio in Spiddal House to finish recording their new album. Fisherman's Blues was released in October 1988 and showcased many guest musicians that had played with the band in Dublin and Spiddal. Critics and fans were split between those embracing the new influence of Irish and Scottish folk music and others disappointed after hoping for a continuation of the style of This Is the Sea. World Music: The Rough Guide notes that "some cynics claim that Scotsman Mike Scott gave Irish music back to the Irish... his impact can't be underestimated",^[17] but Scott himself explains that it was the Irish tradition that influenced him; "I was in love with Ireland. Every day was a new adventure, it was mythical... Being part of a brotherhood of musicians was a great thing in those days, with all the many musicians of all stripes we befriended in Ireland. I still have that connection to the Irish musicians and tap into it..."^[18] Owing to the large number of tracks that were recorded in the three years between This Is the Sea and Fisherman's Blues, The Waterboys released a second album of songs from this period in 2001, titled Too Close to Heaven (or Fisherman's Blues, Part 2 in North America), and more material was released as bonus tracks for the 2006 reissue of the remastered Fisherman's Blues album.

After further touring the band returned to Spiddal in order to record a new album. The Waterboys now consisted of Mike Scott, Steve Wickham, Anthony Thistlethwaite, Colin Blakey on whistle, flute and piano, Sharon Shannon on accordion, Trevor Hutchinson on bass and Noel Bridgeman on drums. Their fifth album, Room to Roam was released in September 1990. One of the album's tracks was a recording of the traditional folk ballad "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy".

Just before Room to Roam was released, Wickham left over a disagreement with Scott and Thistlethwaite regarding the future direction of the band's sound. Scott and Thistlethwaite wanted to move the band back to a more rock and roll style, and Wickham disagreed.^[11] His departure started the band's dissolution, and in his wake Shannon and Blakey both left. Scott, Thistlethwaite and Hutchinson recruited Ken Blevins on drums to fulfil the group's tour dates.

End and return of the Waterboys[link]

Trevor Hutchinson left the band in 1991, a year that also saw a re-release of the single "The Whole of the Moon" from This Is the Sea. The single reached number three on the United Kingdom charts. Scott spent the rest of the year writing new material and moved to New York. Thistlethwaite left the band in December, leaving Mike Scott as The Waterboys' only member. The next album was completed with session musicians and was released in 1993 as Dream Harder with a new hard rock-influenced sound. Frustrated by not being able to get a new touring Waterboys band together, Scott left New York, abandoning the "Waterboys" name and embarking upon a solo career.

However, Scott later resurrected the Waterboys name, citing its recognition amongst fans, for the 2000 album A Rock in the Weary Land. The album had a new, experimental rock sound, inspired by contemporary bands Radiohead and Beck that "shocked" some listeners.^[16] Scott described the new sound as "Sonic Rock".^[1] A number of old Waterboys guested on the album including Thistlethwaite and Wilkinson. By 2001 the core of the new Waterboys included Mike Scott on vocals and guitar, Richard Naiff on keyboards and organs and Wickham, who had returned to the band, on violin. The group changed direction once again in 2003 and released Universal Hall a mostly acoustic album with a return of some Celtic influences from the Fisherman's Blues era. The album was followed by a tour of the UK and then Europe. Their first official live album, Karma to Burn, was released in 2005. A new studio album, Book of Lightning, was released 2 April 2007.

[edit] An Appointment With Mr Yeats

Having harboured the idea for twenty years, Mike Scott set twenty W.B. Yeats poems to music in an enterprise that evolved into a show entitled An Appointment With Mr. Yeats. The Waterboys held the world premiere from 15 to 20 March 2010 in Yeats's own theatre, the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.^[19] The five-night show quickly sold out, later receiving several rave reviews, among which were The Irish Times^[20] and Irish Actor/Playwright Michael Harding.^[21] The performances boasted an eclectic mix of musicians that involved Irish rock singer Katie Kim,^[22] Irish Singer/Writer/Guitarist Joe Chester,^[23] and Simon Wallace (keyboards).^[24] Some of the poems performed include 'The Hosting of the Sidhe', 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree', 'News for the Delphic Oracle', and 'The Song of Wandering Aengus', along with an amalgamation of two Yeats lyrics that became the song 'Let the Earth Bear Witness' which Scott^[25] had produced during 'The Sea of Green'^[26] 2009 Iranian election protests. The musical arrangements for the poems were varied and experimental. On the band's website Scott described the arrangements as "psychedelic, intense, kaleidescopic, a mix of rock, folk and faery music,"^[27] the delivery of which signals yet another musical shift in the ever mutable world of The Waterboys.

An Appointment With Mr. Yeats returned to Dublin on 7 November 2010 in the city's Grand Canal Theatre.^[28] The show was performed at the Barbican Hall, London in February 2011. The album version of An Appointment With Mr Yeats was released on 19 September 2011.^[29]

Music[link]

The Waterboys' lyrics and arrangements reflect Scott's current interests and influences,^[30] the latter including the musical sensibilities of other members. Wickham in particular had a tremendous impact on the band's sound after joining the group.^[31] In terms of arrangement and instrumentation, rock and roll and Celtic folk music^[32] have played the largest roles in the band's sound. Literature and spirituality have played an important role in Scott's lyrics^[33] Other contributing factors include punk music's DIY ethic,^[12] the British poetic tradition, and Scott's experiences at Findhorn,^[34] where he has lived for some years.

Sound[link]

The Waterboys' music can be divided into three distinct styles. The first is represented by the first three albums, released between 1983 and 1985. The band's arrangements during this period, described by Allmusic as a "rich, dramatic sound... majestic",^[35] and typically referred to as "The Big Music", combined the rock and roll sound of early U2 with elements of classical trumpet (Lorimer), jazz saxophone (Thistlethwaite) and contemporary keyboards (Wallinger). Scott emphasized the arrangement's fullness by using production techniques similar to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound". The archetypal example, the song "The Big Music", gave the style its name, but the best-selling example was "The Whole of the Moon", the song that the early-1980s Waterboys are best known for and that demonstrates both Wallinger's synthpop keyboard effects and the effectiveness of the brass section of the band.

	The Whole of the Moon noicon The album version of "The Whole of the Moon" demonstrates the sound of The Big Music period.
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