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.
Midnight Tunnel Vision
Rainbow Lyrics
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Neon city is on the dreamers' side
Prime time losers going underground
They take you up and they shake you down.
Can't see nowhere
Don't know, and I don't care
'Cause here comes another midtown tunnel vision.
Sidewalk cruiser in stiletto heels
Frozen heart, eyes of steel
Wrap your body around my soul
Electric love is gonna take its' toll.
Can't see nowhere
Don't know and I don't care
That girl is the mother of my midtown tunnel vision.
Sunset skyline night turns to day
Down on the street you could fade away
No second chances in this here wasted life
It'll cut you down like a switchblade knife.
Can't see nowhere
Don't know and I just don't care
'Cause here comes another midtown tunnel vision.
The lyrics of "Midnight Tunnel Vision" by Rainbow describe the hazards of living in a city, particularly New York City, at night, where the neon lights and towering skyscrapers can be overwhelming for outsiders. The first verse speaks about the city being a "tightrope ride," suggesting that the city can be precarious, requiring great balance and care to navigate. The "dreamers' side" refers to those who come to the city to pursue their dreams but end up encountering the dangerous underworld of "prime time losers" who seek to exploit them.
The second verse follows a woman described as a "sidewalk cruiser in stiletto heels" with a "frozen heart" and "eyes of steel," who represents both the allure of the city and its potential dangers. The reference to "electric love" alludes to the seductive yet deceitful nature of the city, represented by this woman.
The final verse speaks of the fleeting nature of life in the city, where one wrong move could mean the end of everything. The "switchblade knife" represents the violence and unpredictability of the city, a sharp contrast to the "tunnel vision" that is required to survive.
Overall, the song is a warning about the dangers of succumbing to the allure of the city and losing oneself in the process. It serves as a cautionary tale for those dreaming of pursuing their dreams in the city but also as a reminder to those already living there to be careful and stay vigilant.
Line by Line Meaning
Take good care it's a tightrope ride
Be cautious, life is risky
Neon city is on the dreamers' side
The city is encouraging and supportive of ambitious people
Prime time losers going underground
Successful people are escaping to avoid the pressure and expectations put on them
They take you up and they shake you down.
Even when you are successful, there will always be people trying to bring you down
Can't see nowhere
I'm lost and directionless
Don't know, and I don't care
I have no idea what's going on, but I'm apathetic about it
'Cause here comes another midtown tunnel vision.
I am getting distracted by the multitude of possibilities and opportunities
Sidewalk cruiser in stiletto heels
A confident, fashionable woman on the go
Frozen heart, eyes of steel
She appears cold and unfeeling
Wrap your body around my soul
I desire an intense and passionate connection with her
Electric love is gonna take its' toll.
The intense relationship will have consequences and may be painful
That girl is the mother of my midtown tunnel vision.
She is the cause of my current distraction and lack of focus
Sunset skyline night turns to day
Time is a constant, and life moves on regardless of our actions
Down on the street you could fade away
It's easy to get lost in the crowds and chaos of the city
No second chances in this here wasted life
Opportunities are scarce, and we must make the most of what we have
It'll cut you down like a switchblade knife.
The city can be dangerous and brutal if you let your guard down
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOE LYNN TURNER, RITCHIE BLACKMORE, ROGER DAVID GLOVER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind