Stone Cold – Rainbow | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#40) & Mainstream Rock (#1); 1982
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Few musicians achieve their dream of playing in a world-renowned band. Guitarist extraordinaire Ritchie Blackmore not only reached that Holy Grail, he did it twice. Blackmore’s first ride to the top came courtesy of Deep Purple, which climbed from an initial landmark single – 1968’s Hush – to what some consider the classic heavy metal track of all time – Smoke On The Water – in 1973.
In 1975 Blackmore gave notice on the Purple gig, and promptly formed Rainbow with the members of Elf, among them vocalist Ronnie James Dio. The first outing, Ritchie Blackmore’s R-A-I-N-B-O-W, hit #11 in England and #30 stateside.
For the next release, Blackmore dismissed all of Elf except Dio, setting a pattern of firings that took place after each album. By 1978, Dio, too, was gone; off to replace Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath, and former Purple bassist Roger Glover was on board.
Rainbow rolled on, releasing its highest charting album, Straight Between The Eyes, and single, Stone Cold, in 1982.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Roger Glover
Lyrics Written by:
- Ritchie Blackmore
- Joe Lynn Turner
- Roger Glover
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).