Woman From Tokyo – Deep Purple | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#60), 1973
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
It should come as no surprise that the Guinness Book Of Records once crowned Deep Purple the loudest band in the world. The primal forces behind that wall of noise were guitarist Richie Blackmore and keyboardist Jon Lord, who formed Deep Purple in 1968.
The band scored with Hush (written by Joe “Games People Play” South) and Kentucky Woman (penned by Neil Diamond), then their label went belly up. Blackmore and Lord seized the opportunity to reinvent Deep Purple, bringing on Ian Gillan to replace Rod Evans on vocals and changing bass players.
The new Purple produced an even heavier sound and began to sell more records. Their 1972 album, Machine Head, finally broke them into the Top 10.
The follow-up, Who Do We Think We Are!, was the last gasp of the vintage DP lineup with only Woman From Tokyo a worthy addition to their catalog.
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:
- Deep Purple
Lyrics Written by:
- Ritchie Blackmore
- Ian Gillan
- Roger Glover
- Jon Lord
- Ian Paice
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).