One of the 70's best heavy metal bands, Rainbow, is set to reform but in a bit different way than what has been popular over the last couple years.
The new version of Rainbow, which will be called Over the Rainbow, will contain members from different eras of the group's history along with founding member Ritchie Blackmore's son, Jurgen Blackmore, on guitar.
Rainbow first came about in 1975 when Ritchie Blackmore quit Deep Purple over differences with the other members. He brought in Ronnie James Dio, Mickey Lee Soule, Craig Gruber and Gary Driscoll to form the original group which released Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in 1975.
The next year, Blackmore and Dio decided to change the group's sound a bit by getting rid of their first three support members and bringing in Jimmy Bain, Tony Carey and Cozy Powell. This line-up recorded the second album, Rising.
Itteratin three for the Long Live Rock 'n' Roll album in 1978 replaced Bain and Carey with Bob Daisley and David Stone. The album and single were huge successes in England, but Blackmore decided to take the group in more mainstream rock direction which was of no interest to Dio.
Lineup four formed after Blackmore went on a far reaching search for a new lead singer, eventually settling on Graham Bonnett. The supporting group also changed once again with Roger Glover and Dan Airy joining the group. 1979's Down to Earth produced two big singles but was not a major album hit. In addition, Bonnett proved to be a handfull, getting fired after a particularly drunken performance.
Group five brought in Joe Lynn Turner on lead vocals and Bobby Rodinelli on drums, producing 1981's Difficult to Cure and 1982's Straight Between the Eyes.
A sixth and final line up formed in 1983 with David Rosenthal on keyboards and Chuck Burgi on drums, for the album Bent Out of Shape. Blackmore soon after left to rejoin a rejuvinated Deep Purple where he stayed until 1994.
Four previous members of Rainbow will join in the reformed group, representing almost every era.
Joe Lynn Turner on Vocals (1980 - 1984)
Tony Carey on Keyboards (1975 - 1978)
Bobby Rondinelli on Drums (1980 - 1983)
Greg Smith on Bass (1994 - 1997)
Jurgen "J.R." Blackmore on Guitar
Tony Carey told Britain's Classic Rock magazine about his decision to join. "Having done everything from country to opera, I thought it would be fun to play some rock again without the burden of singing everything. Over the Rainbow re-unites members of one of the most distinctive sounding bands of all time and introduces a hidden treasure to the world in J.R. Blackmore.''
Greg Smith added, "I know there is a big demand for this music. The fact that all members are ex-Rainbow from different periods in the band's history will give the music the integrity it deserves. A Blackmore on guitar will give it even more authenticity."
Source: Classic Rock
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