Smoke on the Water

This article is about the song by Deep Purple. For other uses, see Smoke on the Water (disambiguation).
"Some stupid with a flare gun" redirects here. For the Ass Ponys album, see Some Stupid with a Flare Gun.

"Smoke on the Water"
1973 German single sleeve
Single by Deep Purple
from the album Machine Head
B-side"Smoke on the Water" (live)
ReleasedMay 1973[1]
RecordedDecember 1971
Genre
Length
  • 5:41 (album version)
  • 3:54 (single version)
  • 6:15 (Roger Glover remix)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Deep Purple
Deep Purple singles chronology
"Never Before"
(1972) 		"Smoke on the Water"
(1973) 		"Woman from Tokyo"
(1973)
Audio sample
Audio
"Smoke on the Water" Video on YouTube

"Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, released on their 1972 studio album Machine Head. The song's lyrics are based on true events, chronicling the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. It is considered the band's signature song and its guitar riff is considered to be one of the most iconic in rock history.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed "Smoke on the Water" number 434 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[5] Total Guitar magazine ranked the song's riff number 4 on its "Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever" list,[6] and in March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 12 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks.[7]

In 2017, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[8]

  1. ^ "Deep Purple singles".
  2. ^ Andrew Winistorfer. "VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list only slightly less annoying than their hip-hop list". Prefix. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
    11 Deep Purple - "Smoke on the Water"
  3. ^ Gary Graff (1996). Visible Ink Press (ed.). MusicHound rock: the essential album guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-0787610371. "Purple's heyday came during the early 70s- when "Smoke on the Water" entered the pantheon of hard rock classics"
  4. ^ Christe (2003), pg. 13, " Though Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" was a bona fide metal anthem and the first basic riff of a longhairded guitarist's repertoire, the band did not consider itself heavy metal."
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference RollingStone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference QMagazine was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#s [bare URL]