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.
Intro: Over The Rainbow
Rainbow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
High above the chimney tops,
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
The lyrics of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Rainbow present a hopeful image of a land that exists beyond the rainbow - a place which is only heard of once in a lullaby. The song explores the idea that anything is possible and that dreams do come true. The blue skies and the chirping of birds create a magical atmosphere that adds to the feeling of hope and optimism.
The song then moves on to stating how the person singing the song will someday wish upon a star and wake up in a world where their troubles have vanished, and they can be happy. The lyrics compare the person's troubles to lemon drops, which melt away like magic. The chimney tops represent a place where the singer feels free and safe, somewhere she will find peace and happiness.
As the song progresses, the lyrics celebrate the freedom of the bluebirds that fly over the rainbow, which the singer wishes to emulate. The metaphor of the bluebirds symbolizes freedom and possibility, but it also leads to self- reflection wherein the singer wonders why she can't achieve that freedom of being "beyond the rainbow." The song celebrates the possibility of fulfilment and serves as a reminder that anyone can achieve their dreams if they dare to dream.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There is a place beyond the horizon where the sky meets the earth.
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
In dreams, there are stories of a mythical place called 'Somewhere over the Rainbow.'
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
In 'Somewhere over the Rainbow,' the sky is always blue, and life is free of hardship.
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
If you have the courage to dream, anything is possible.
Really do come true.
Dreams can become a reality if you believe in them and work towards them.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
One day, I will make a wish upon the brightest star I can find.
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
And when I open my eyes, I will be in a place where my worries no longer exist.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
All of the difficulties that once plagued me will dissipate like drops of water on a hot day.
High above the chimney tops,
In this magical place, I will reside above the rooftops and the troubles of the world.
That's where you'll find me.
That is the place where I will be happiest, and where I wish to remain.
Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly
In 'Somewhere over the Rainbow,' beautiful blue birds fly freely and happily.
Birds fly over the rainbow
Many different types of birds soar happily through this wonderful world beyond the horizon.
Why then, oh why can't I?
If other creatures can find happiness 'Somewhere over the Rainbow,' what is stopping me from doing the same?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
If such innocent birds can find happiness beyond the mundane, earthly world, then I can, too.
Why, oh why can't I?
What is holding me back from finding true happiness and freedom beyond the horizon?
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
Once more, beyond the horizon, there is a place of peace and joy.
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
This place, which seems so magnificent and unattainable, is only reachable through the realm of imagination.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
In this wondrous place, the sky will never darken, and blue will forever reign.
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
As long as you allow yourself to dream, the impossible will always be within reach.
Really do come true.
And your dreams will come true, as long as you work towards them with all your heart and soul.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Yip Harburg, Harold Arlen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind