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.
Stargazer
Rainbow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nine years worth of breakin' my back
There's no sun in the shadow of the wizard
See how he glides, why he's lighter than air
Oh I see his face
Where is your star?
Is it far, is it far, is it far?
I believe, yes, I believe
In the heat and the rain
With whips and chains
To see him fly
So many die
We build a tower of stone
With our flesh and bone
Just to see him fly
Don't know why
Now where do we go?
Hot wind, moving fast across the desert
We feel that our time has arrived
The world spins, while we put his dream together
A tower of stone to take him straight to the sky
Oh, I see his face!
Where is your star?
Is it far, is it far, far?
When do we leave?
Hey, I believe, I believe
In the heat and the rain
With whips and chains
Just to see him fly
Too many die
We build a tower of stone
With our flesh and bone
To see him fly
But we don't know why
Ooh, now where do we go
All eyes see the figure of the wizard
As he climbs to the top of the world
No sound, as he falls instead of rising
Time standing still, then there's blood on the sand
Oh, I see his face!
Where was your star?
Was it far, was it far
When did we leave?
We believed, we believed, we believed
In heat and rain
With the whips and chains
To see him fly
So many died
We built a tower of stone
With our flesh and bone
To see him fly
But why
In all the rain
With all the chains
Did so many die
Just to see him fly
Look at my flesh and bone
Now, look, look, look, look
Look at his tower of stone
I see a rainbow rising
Look there, on the horizon
And I'm coming home, coming home, coming home
Time is standing still
He gave back my will
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
Going home
I'm going home
My eyes are bleeding
And my heart is leaving here
A place called home
A place called home
Ooh
Take me back
He gave me back my will
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
Going home
I'm going home
My eyes are bleeding
And my heart is leaving here
A place called home
A place called home
Ooh
Take me back, take me back
Back to my home ooh, ooh, ooh
The song "Stargazer" is a tale of a group of people who devote their lives to building a tower of stone in order to help their wizard reach the stars. The lyrics speak of sacrifice, pain, and wonder as the group endeavors to fulfill the wizard's dream. The stargazer is described as "gliding lighter than air," and the builders are willing to suffer through heat, rain, whips, and chains to see him fly. Despite the cost in human lives and labor, the stargazer ultimately falls and dies, leaving the builders lost and questioning why they were willing to make such sacrifices in the first place.
The song can be interpreted in several ways. Some see it as a commentary on religious zealotry, with the builders serving as a metaphor for those who devote their lives to a higher power with little regard for the cost. Others see it as a warning against blindly following charismatic leaders, regardless of the cost to others. Regardless of the interpretation, the song is a powerful reminder of the human capacity for wonder, devotion, and sacrifice.
Line by Line Meaning
High noon, oh I'd sell my soul for water
Under the scorching sun, I am so thirsty that I would do anything for water.
Nine years worth of breakin' my back
I have worked so hard for nine years and my back is tired from all the labor.
There's no sun in the shadow of the wizard
The wizard casts a shadow so dark that even the sun can't penetrate it.
See how he glides, why he's lighter than air
The wizard defies gravity as he moves, appearing to be as light as air.
Oh I see his face
I see the wizard's face and it fills me with awe and wonder.
Where is your star?
Where is the guiding light that leads us to our dreams?
Is it far, is it far, is it far?
Is the journey to our dreams long and arduous?
When do we leave?
When is the right time to embark on our journey?
I believe, yes, I believe
I have faith that my dreams can be realized.
In the heat and the rain, with whips and chains
We endure harsh conditions and cruel treatment in pursuit of our dreams.
To see him fly, so many die
So many have sacrificed their lives to witness the wizard's incredible abilities.
We build a tower of stone, with our flesh and bone
We have constructed an extraordinary monument, utilizing our very own bodies.
Just to see him fly, don't know why
We have devoted ourselves to seeing the wizard fly, without really understanding why.
Now where do we go?
What is our next move, now that we have fulfilled our purpose?
Hot wind, moving fast across the desert
Fast, hot winds sweep across the barren desert landscape.
We feel that our time has arrived
We feel that we are living in a moment of great significance and opportunity.
The world spins, while we put his dream together
As we work towards the dream of the wizard, the rest of the world continues to turn.
A tower of stone to take him straight to the sky
We have constructed a massive monument in order to catapult the wizard skyward.
All eyes see the figure of the wizard
The wizard has become the focus of the entire world's attention.
As he climbs to the top of the world
The wizard ascends to incredible heights, surpassing all previous human achievement.
No sound, as he falls instead of rising
The wizard falls suddenly, inexplicably plummeting towards the ground.
Time standing still, then there's blood on the sand
As the wizard meets his grisly end, time itself seems to freeze and stand still, and the ground is stained with his blood.
Where was your star?
Why didn't the guiding star help us prevent the wizard's tragic downfall?
Was it far, was it far?
If the star was present, was it simply too distant or faint to guide us effectively?
When did we leave?
At what moment did we abandon our own dreams in favor of the wizard's?
We believed, we believed, we believed
We had such faith in the power of the wizard and his dream.
Look at my flesh and bone, now, look, look, look, look
Consider the great sacrifice I have made, down to the very tissue and sinew of my being.
Look at his tower of stone
Marvel at the breathtaking monument we have erected to honor the wizard and his dream.
I see a rainbow rising
Despite all our tribulations, I see a sign of hope and possibility on the horizon.
Look there, on the horizon
See that beacon of light on the horizon, that represents our next great adventure.
And I'm coming home, coming home, coming home
I am returning to the place where I belong - a place of safety, comfort, and familiarity.
Time is standing still
Moments of trauma can make time itself seem frozen or meaningless.
He gave back my will
The wizard's vision and inspiration have restored my sense of purpose and control.
Going home, I'm going home
I am making a deliberate, committed journey towards a place of emotional safety and acceptance.
My eyes are bleeding, and my heart is leaving here
I am utterly drained and traumatized by my experiences, and my emotional center yearns to escape this place.
A place called home, a place called home
The idea of a 'home' represents all that is warm, comforting, and restorative.
Take me back
I am pleading with the universe or a benevolent force, to return me to that place of emotional safety.
He gave me back my will
The wizard has given me the confidence and strength to face the world and continue pursuing my dream.
Back to my home
Back to that place of security, where I can continue growing and thriving.
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RONNIE DIO, RITCHIE BLACKMORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind