1. A British rock band.<… Read Full Bio ↴Rainbow is the name of at least four bands:
1. A British rock band.
2. A K-Pop group (레인보우).
3. A U.S. psychedelic rock band.
4. Mid-80's Hi-NRG project.
1. Rainbow was a British rock band formed by Deep Purple founder and former guitarist Ritchie Blackmore in 1975. In addition to Blackmore, the band originally consisted of former Elf lead singer Ronnie James Dio, bassist Craig Gruber, drummer Gary Driscoll, and keyboardist Micky Lee Soule. Over the years, Rainbow went through many lineup changes. including bringing in other vocalists Graham Bonnet and Joe Lynn Turner, before it folded in 1999.
The name of the band was inspired by the Rainbow Bar and Grill, a Los Angeles, California eatery which catered to rock stars, groupies, and rock enthusiasts. It was here that Ritchie spent some of his off time from Deep Purple and met Dio, whose band Elf had toured regularly as an opening act for Deep Purple. Blackmore originally got together with Dio to record "Black Sheep of the Family" as a single, and it turned out so well they needed a B side; when the B side was recorded, however, it turned out to be even better. This led to them recording an album, and that effort caused the formation of the entire band. Rainbow's debut album, 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow', was released in 1975; it featured the minor hit "Man on the Silver Mountain".
Blackmore fired everybody except Dio shortly after the album was recorded. He recruited drummer Cozy Powell (formerly of the Jeff Beck Group), bassist Jimmy Bain, and keyboard player Tony Carey. This lineup went on to record the album 'Rising', which was released in May 1976 and was a big success in the U.S. (hitting #48 on the Billboard 200 chart).
For the next album, 1978's 'Long Live Rock 'n' Roll', Blackmore kept Powell and Dio and replaced the rest of the band. Blackmore had difficulty finding a bass player for this record, so he played bass himself on all but three songs ("Gates of Babylon", "Kill the King", and "Sensitive to Light"). After the release and supporting tour, Dio left Rainbow.
Blackmore continued with Rainbow, replacing Dio with ex-Marbles vocalist Graham Bonnet. Powell stayed and was joined by former Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover and keyboardist Don Airey. The first album from the new lineup, 1979's 'Down to Earth', featured the band's first single successes: "All Night Long" and "Since You Been Gone". Bonnet possessed a powerful voice on stage, yet he struggled with the band's quieter numbers and lacked Dio's range. In 1980, the band headlined the inaugural Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in England. This was Powell's final performance with Rainbow.
The next album saw yet another line-up change as Bonnet and Powell were replaced by Joe Lynn Turner and Bobby Rondinelli, respectively. The title track from their 1981 album, 'Difficult to Cure', notably was a version of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The album also contained the guitar-driven piece "Maybe Next Time". Although facing mixed success commercially, the Difficult to Cure tour was the first tour in which Rainbow headlined in the U.S.
Rainbow's next studio album was 'Straight between the Eyes'. The band added a new keyboardist, David Rosenthal. The album was more cohesive than 'Difficult to Cure' and had more success in the U.S. The band, however, was alienating some of its earlier fans with its more slick, arena rock based sound. The single "Stone Cold", a popular power ballad, had some chart success and has since been included in several multi-artist collaboration albums. The successful supporting tour skipped the U.K. completely and focused on the U.S. market.
1983's 'Bent Out of Shape' saw drummer Rondinelli fired in favour of Chuck Burgi. The album featured the single "Street of Dreams". The song's video was banned by MTV for its supposedly controversial hypnotic video clip. The resulting tour saw Rainbow return to the U.K. and also to Japan, where the band performed with a full orchestra. Though fans greatly enjoyed the band's lively touring, the band's material was getting mixed critical reviews, and its members had a sense of needing to find direction.
By the early to mid-80s, Blackmore and Glover had reformed the Deep Purple "Mark II" lineup, and Rainbow was disbanded in 1984. A final Rainbow album, 'Finyl Vinyl', was patched together from live tracks and B-sides of singles. This album contained the instrumental "Weiss Heim", made widely available for the first time.
After Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple for the final time in 1993, he put together a new version of Rainbow in 1994, this time named Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. This incarnation of the band included Doogie White (vocals), Paul Morris (keyboards), Greg Smith (bass), and John O'Reilly (drums).
The new band released Stranger in Us All in 1995 and embarked on an extensive world tour to promote it from late 1995 to late 1997. For the tour John O'Reilly was replaced by Chuck Burgi and then by John Micelli for the U.S. leg of the tour (as well as their final show in Esbjerg, Denmark).
The tour proved very successful, and a show in Germany was professionally filmed by Rockpalast. It has never officially been released, but has been heavily bootleged. The live shows featured frequent changes in set lists and musical improvisations that proved popular with bootleggers, and many shows are still traded over a decade later.
However, fed up with stadium rock, Blackmore turned his attention to rennaisance and mediaeval music, a lifelong interest of his. Rainbow was put on hold once again and played its final concert in Denmark in 1999. Blackmore, together with his partner Candice Night as vocalist, then formed the renaissance-influenced Blackmore's Night.
2. Rainbow, the tag for all releases by the K-Pop group 레인보우, responsible for tracks: "A", "Gossip Girl", "Mach", and about a dozen more.
3. One of any number of Los Angeles, U.S.A.groups of their time (1968), Rainbow's best-known LP was After the Storm The album's one cover is a take with saxophone of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You". The lineup was: Darrell Devlin (drums), Bob Gay (bass),
W. David Mohr (keyboards), and Harry Vavela (guitars).
4. Rainbow was a short-lived Hi-NRG project by Allan Coelho (of Tapps and more) that released only one single, Humpty Dumpty, in 1986.
Fire Dance
Rainbow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Goddess of the moonlight
The spell remains unbroken
The wrong begin the right of the fire dance
Standing strong and steady
Waiting for the night sign
The helix has just risen
Now we have no choice but to drink the wine
Black-hearted woman
Creature of the deep night
In the darkness of your soul
I'm hungry and searching to find the light
You are in control
I am in your power
Bell eee the bell has tolled
Now I know that the hour is near
As I burn with fear of the fire dance
The dharuba voice the wind is calling your name
You leave me no choice
Here I am falling again and again
Again into the flames of the fire dance
The lyrics of Rainbow's song Fire Dance depict two opposing forces: the goddess of the moonlight, Artemis, and the black-hearted woman, a mysterious creature of the deep night. The song opens with the singer envisioning Artemis and highlighting her mystical powers. The spell she casts remains unbroken, and it seems there is an imminent, enticing danger that lurks in the shadows - the fire dance. The singer stands strong and steady, waiting for the night sign, while the helix has just risen, and they have no choice but to drink the wine, indicating a kind of ritual that must take place. The fire dance is near, and it's time to face it.
As the song progresses, the singer turns his attention to the black-hearted woman, who seems to have a hold on him. He is searching for the light in the darkness of her soul, but she is in control, and he is in her power. The bell has tolled, signaling that the hour is near, and the singer is overcome with fear of the fire dance. The wind is calling the woman's name, and the singer feels as though he has no choice but to keep falling into the flames of the fire dance repeatedly.
The lyrics of Fire Dance highlight the contrasting forces of light and dark, fear and temptation, and control and powerlessness. The song suggests a powerful force at play that is unavoidable and all-consuming.
Line by Line Meaning
Visions of artemis
I am envisioning the powerful goddess of the moon who brings light to the darkness.
Goddess of the moonlight
Artemis is a goddess associated with the moon and its powerful, enchanting light.
The spell remains unbroken
Despite the passage of time, the magic and allure of the night stay strong and unmatched.
The wrong begin the right of the fire dance
In this ritual, the missteps and mistakes of the dance can sometimes bring about the perfect movements and harmony.
Standing strong and steady
I remain steadfast in my resolve and confidence, unshakeable in my actions no matter what happens.
Waiting for the night sign
I am keeping watch and waiting for the sign that the night has arrived and it is time to start the dance.
The helix has just risen
The symbol of the helix, the perfect circle, suggests that a new cycle has just begun.
Now we have no choice but to drink the wine
At this moment, we must partake in the sacred wine and fully commit ourselves to the vigor and enthusiasm required for the dance.
Now is the time of the fire dance fire dance
Now is the perfect moment to participate in the wild, passionate dance to bring life to the flames.
Black-hearted woman
This woman has a dark, cruel soul, full of malevolent intentions and bad energy.
Creature of the deep night
She is a creature whose true essence and purpose is revealed only when the night is at its darkest.
In the darkness of your soul
I sense that the emptiness and darkness in her heart is all-consuming, making me feel helpless and lost.
I'm hungry and searching to find the light
Despite the danger, I am insatiably driven to find a glimmer of hope and positivity within her dark soul.
You are in control
She holds all the power and decides what happens next; I am simply a pawn in her game.
I am in your power
I have no say or control over my fate in her presence; I am completely at her mercy.
Bell eee the bell has tolled
The ringing of the bell signals that the moment has come, and we must follow through with what is required of us.
Now I know that the hour is near
I am finally coming to understand that the moment of reckoning is right around the corner.
As I burn with fear of the fire dance
I feel an intense, all-consuming terror boiling up inside me as I prepare to take part in the fiery dance ritual once more.
The dharuba voice the wind is calling your name
The spirits of the dead, represented here by the sound of the wind and the call of the dharuba, are unexpectedly beckoning to you.
You leave me no choice
Despite my own reluctance, I know that I have no choice but to follow the visions and plunge headfirst into the dance ritual.
Here I am falling again and again
I find myself continually drawn back to the fiery dance, unable to resist the powerful pull of the ritual and the spirits it calls forth.
Again into the flames of the fire dance
Once more, I willingly throw myself into the heat of the ritual, knowing that I am at the mercy of the fire and the powerful spirits that rise from it.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID M ROSENTHAL (US 1), RITCHIE BLACKMORE, ROGER DAVID GLOVER, DAVID M ROSENTHAL, JOE LYNN TURNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind