Rainbow are an English-American hard rock band originally from Hertford, Hertfordshire. Formed in January 1975 by then-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, the original lineup of the group also included former Elf members Ronnie James Dio (lead vocals), Craig Gruber (bass), Gary Driscoll (drums) and Micky Lee Soule (keyboards), who recorded and released the self-titled album Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow that year.[1] After leaving Deep Purple, Blackmore replaced Gruber, Driscoll and Soule in September with Jimmy Bain, Cozy Powell and Tony Carey, respectively.[2] Rising and live album On Stage were recorded with this second lineup, before Bain and Carey were sacked by Blackmore on 3 January 1977.[3] Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, released in 1978, featured bassist Bob Daisley and keyboardist David Stone, in addition to Powell.[4] After the release of Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Dio left due to disagreements with Blackmore.[5] Graham Bonnet replaced Dio for 1979's Down to Earth, which also saw the addition of bassist Roger Glover and keyboardist Don Airey.[6] Bonnet left after the album's release and was replaced by Joe Lynn Turner, while Powell also left the group to be replaced by Bobby Rondinelli; both new members performed on Difficult to Cure.[7] Keyboardist David Rosenthal replaced Airey for 1982's Straight Between the Eyes and 1983's Bent Out of Shape, the latter of which featured drummer Chuck Burgi who replaced Rondinelli.[7] Rainbow broke up for the first time in 1984.[7]
After Blackmore left Deep Purple for the second time in 1993,[8] Rainbow reformed with vocalist Doogie White, bassist Greg Smith, drummer John O'Reilly and keyboardist Paul Morris, releasing the album Stranger in Us All in 1995.[9] The band's return was short-lived, however, as they broke up again in 1997 when Blackmore shifted focus to Blackmore's Night.[10] In November 2015, it was revealed that Blackmore would be returning to the Rainbow moniker for a number of shows in 2016 with vocalist Ronnie Romero, bassist Bob Nouveau (Bob Curiano), drummer David Keith and keyboardist Jens Johansson.[11] This lineup remained intact for roughly eight years, releasing three new live albums and a number of singles before Romero confirmed his departure from the group in October 2023.[12]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ritchie Blackmore | all Rainbow releases | |||
| Candice Night | backing vocals | |||
| Bob Nouveau | 2015–present | |||
| David Keith | drums | |||
| Jens Johansson | keyboards |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronnie James Dio [13] | 1975–1979 | lead and backing vocals | ||
| Craig Gruber | bass | Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) | ||
| Micky Lee Soule | 1975 | keyboards | ||
| Gary Driscoll | 1975 | drums | ||
| Cozy Powell | 1975–1980 | |||
| Jimmy Bain | 1975–1977 | |||
| Tony Carey | 1975–1977 | keyboards | ||
| David Stone | 1977–1979 | |||
| Mark Clarke | 1977 | none | ||
| Bob Daisley | 1977–1978 | |||
| Jack Green[14] | 1978 | |||
| Roger Glover | 1979–1984 | |||
| Don Airey | 1979–1981 | |||
| Graham Bonnet | 1979–1980 | lead vocals | ||
| Joe Lynn Turner | 1980–1984 | |||
| Bobby Rondinelli | 1980–1983 | drums | ||
| David Rosenthal | 1981–1984 | |||
| Chuck Burgi | drums | |||
| Paul Morris | 1993–1997 | keyboards | ||
| Greg Smith | ||||
| Doogie White | lead vocals | |||
| John O'Reilly | 1993–1995 | drums | Stranger in Us All (1995) | |
| John Miceli | 1997 | none | ||
| Ronnie Romero | 2015–2023 | lead vocals | ||
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lin Robinson | 1981–1984 | backing vocals | Robinson and Beale toured with Rainbow from the Difficult to Cure tour until the group disbanded in 1984.[15] | ||
| Dee Beale | |||||
| Lady Lynn | 2015–present | Skleros, a member of Blackmore and Night's other group Blackmore's Night, joined Rainbow on tour in 2015. |
| Role | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) | Rising (1976) | Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) | Down to Earth (1979) | Difficult to Cure (1981) | Straight Between the Eyes (1982) | Bent Out of Shape (1983) | Stranger in Us All (1995) | ||||||||||||
| Lead vocals | Ronnie James Dio | Graham Bonnet | Joe Lynn Turner | Doogie White | |||||||||||||||
| Guitar | Ritchie Blackmore | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bass | Craig Gruber | Jimmy Bain | Ritchie Blackmore Bob Daisley | Roger Glover | Greg Smith | ||||||||||||||
| Keyboards | Micky Lee Soule | Tony Carey | Tony Carey David Stone | Don Airey | David Rosenthal | Paul Morris | |||||||||||||
| Drums | Gary Driscoll | Cozy Powell | Bobby Rondinelli | Chuck Burgi | John O'Reilly | ||||||||||||||
| Backing vocals | Ronnie James Dio | Roger Glover Don Airey | Joe Lynn Turner | Candice Night | |||||||||||||||
| Period | Members | Releases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| February – July 1975 |
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| August 1975 – January 1977 |
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| January – February 1977 |
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| February – May 1977 |
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| May – September 1977 |
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| September 1977 –September 1978 |
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| October 1978 - January 1979 |
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| ="col" | March 1979 – August 1980 |
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| October 1980 – September 1981 |
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| October 1981 – June 1983 |
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| August 1983 – March 1984 |
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| Band inactive March 1984 – August 1994 | |||
| August 1994 – September 1995 |
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| September 1995 – December 1996 |
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| January – May 1997 |
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| Band inactive May 1997 – November 2015 | |||
| November 2015 – October 2023 |
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| October 2023 – present |
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