The guitarist Ritchie Blackmore helped to form Deep Purple in London, England back in 1968 and the band evolved, especially during the 70s, becoming one of the most influential Hard Rock groups of all time.
Blackmore left the group for the first time in 1976 and he is one of the few musicians in the history of music that were also able to be very successful with another group, since he formed Rainbow, that also became a very important band of that music genre.
Known for his incredible riffs and fantastic guitar solos, Blackmore still is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Over the decades, the musician talked about many of his peers and back in the 70s he even mentioned two guitar players that in his opinion were overlooked.
The 2 guitarists Ritchie Blackmore said were overlooked in the 70s
Mike Bloomfield
Back in 1975, in an interview with International Musician magazine, Blackmore talked about many guitarists and mentioned two that in his opinion were overlooked. The first one was Mike Bloomfield, who is known for his work with the Paul Butterfield band and Bob Dylan.
“There are a lot of guitarists around that get overlooked. When you’re a guitarist yourself you tend to get so buried in what you’re doing. Mike Bloomfield is really good,” Ritchie Blackmore told International Musician magazine.
One of Bloomfield’s most famous collaborations with Dylan happened on the classic album “Highway 61 Revisted” released in 1965 and that featured the famous tracks “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Desolation Row”.
In an interview with Vintage Guitar in 2017, the Rainbow guitarist talked about some of his influences and mentioned Bloomfield. “One of my main inspirations in blues was Shuggie Otis, the son of (R&B artist and impresario) Johnny Otis – I thought he was great, and he was only 15 years old at the time.”
“I loved Mike Bloomfield in the Paul Butterfield Blues band, and Mick Taylor is a fine blues player. I was also influenced by English rock and roll players like Tony Harvey and Joe Moretti,” Ritchie Blackmore said.
Bloomfield also notably worked with Janis Joplin on her famous album “I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!” released in 1969. The musician tragically died too soon at the age of 37 victim of an overdose.
Steve Howe
The other guitarist mentioned by Blackmore on the interview with International Musician magazine was the Yes guitar player Steve Howe. “Steve Howe’s always been a very good guitarist,” Blackmore said at the time.
Born in Holloway, London, England in 1947, Steve Howe is only two years younger than Blackmore and first joined Yes in 1970. His first tenure with the group lasted until 1981 and he returned from 1990 to 1992, 1995 to 2004. Since 2008 he is a member of the group, alongside the also famous keyboardist Geoff Downes.
Blackmore was really interested in what Howe was doing with Yes in the early 70s. He had already mentioned the guitarist during an interview with Guitar Player magazine in 1973.
“He’s very good at it. I remember him from a long time ago. He’s always been good. But he’s not the kind of guitarist I can listen to. He’s very good at runs. But I don’t like that type of playing much,” Ritchie Blackmore said.
Besides his work with Yes, Steve Howe is also known for being a member of the supergroup Asia. That band originally also had John Wetton (Bass and vocals), Geoff Downes (Keyboards) and Carl Palmer (Drums).
