Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow  by Rainbow

In late 1974, Ritchie Blackmore, having left Deep Purple, decided to record a single, which would include a cover of Fat Mattress's Black Sheep Of The Family. For the B-side of the single, he wrote Sixteenth Century Greensleeves himself. Eventually, in collaboration with the members of Elf and, of course, their singer, Ronnie James Dio, he ended up forming the band Rainbow and releasing the first album with his new lineup in 1975. The title of the album was the highly egocentric Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.

What was impressive was the thematic content of the songs, in which Blackmore managed to express his love for fantasy, mythological, and heroic themes for the first time, something that wasn't allowed by the others in Deep Purple. The content of the songs is not difficult to imagine as it becomes evident from the album cover, which was the work of American David Willardson. The album was produced by Blackmore himself in collaboration with Martin Birch and Ronnie James Dio, who should be noted for showcasing the compositions of the album with his strong voice.

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow reached No. 11 in Great Britain and No. 30 in the USA.