rainbow

Rainbow is a British-American rock band formed in London and Los Angeles in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. The band was established in the aftermath of Blackmore's first departure from Deep Purple and originally featured four members of the band, including their singer Ian Gillan. However, after their departure, Blackmore fired these members except Gillan, recruiting drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Roger Glover, and keyboardist Tony Carey. This line-up recorded the band's second album "Rainbow Rising" (1976). In 1978, Rainbow saw the addition of Ronnie James Dio as their new singer, and this line-up recorded the album "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" (1978), which was the last album with Dio before he left the band to join Black Sabbath in 1979. Rainbow's early work primarily used mystical lyrics with a progressive style, but following Dio's departure, the band went in a more pop-rock oriented direction. In 1979, Blackmore and Powell revamped the group, recruiting three new members—singer Graham Bonnet, keyboardist Don Airey, and another former Deep Purple member, bassist Bob Daisley—and this line-up gave the band their commercial breakthrough with the single "Since You Been Gone" from their fourth studio album "Down to Earth" (1979). Rainbow recorded three more albums with Bonnet—"Difficult to Cure" (1981), "Straight Between the Eyes" (1982), and "Bent Out of Shape" (1983).