Posted by Nick on Friday, August 30th, 2024,
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Candy with the cute joke at the end, “Honey, you forgot to hit record!” Ha!
Love these stories! Ritchie’s got a ton of them. As long ago as many of these incidents were, he would probably be okay reciting them. Or leave out the person’s name if necessary, although that might remove the heart of a given story.
He was a part of heavy schedule touring band and I feel he retired too early into his comfort zone.
But as long as he is happy that’s all matters.
I still think there is life in him musically but it’s all about promoters backing him financially.
Wouldn’t it be great if he wrote a book of all these anecdotes etc ..Auto biography.
Candice has got him really relaxed now …I bet she could get him to do it .
Thanks Ritchie for sooooo much great music and memories
For those a little curios about the Stratocaster’s mentioned in the video, the 4-bolt black guitar is a 1968 model, that’s still available as a RB Signature Fender Custom Shop guitar if you look around carefully, or they’ll make you a new one, but be prepared for a major wallet empty-out…
The 3-bolt Stratocaster’s floated into circulation around 1971, along with subtle decal modifications. The main issue with some of these guitars is the neck pocket size was inconsistent, & generally milled too large, allowing for poor neck alignment & inconsistent quality control. In fact, the CBS corporation by this stage had seen all of Leo’s original craftsmen leave the workplace, & be replaced with new, unskilled labour within a factory-type production line. Leo claimed to have a back-log of over 150,000 guitars in 1965, which is why he sold his business. And the Stratocaster wasn’t selling all that well, & was about to be dropped from production altogether, until Jimi came along…
You can still get a cheaper RB Genuine Fender Stratocaster, that’s essentially his Rainbow era & Reunion era Olympic-White with 3-bolt scalloped Rosewood fretboard / neck, featuring Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pounder pick-ups. It’s simply made about 20-miles south-of-the-California border in Baja Mexico, & shipped back into the US-of-A for distribution. The cheaper labour costs reflect a cheaper asking price, but quality control is excellent, as it’s all CNC machinery, just a different hourly pay-rate for the operators yo.
Well, I didn’t have a subject to state my comments in this omnipresent Purple whirlpool.
But here it goes. I was challenged by my usual comrades on this site a few months ago about attending this gig. Firstly, it was a brilliant week of music with our grey hair and how many years left on the lifecycle downslope?
T’was a brilliant week of music here in New Jersey. I witnessed a superlative night this past week seeing Nektar, playing the new album Mission to Mars (First of a trilogy!) and brilliant classics back to ’70. Derek “Mo” Moore keeps the flame burning! They are crossing the pond this week. Check the dates/venues and do best to witness! Peace out.
And on to Purple. Holy excrement! I was blown away and dug that they dared to perform FIVE new songs at PNC last night! And the crowd dug ’em! And my hero in his own league, that would be Sir Steve Morse, has passed the torch to Simon, one of four banjo players within the Purple Majesty Cadre.
Gregster @5….I have one of those RB Olympic white signature Strats with the SD pickups. Bought it in 2010. Yes very well made. I don’t play it much though….I have too heavy a touch for that scalloped fretboard – am still working on that! LOL
Congratulations, they would be a sublime guitar to acquire imo. Apparently the scalloping is shallow when compared to the Y.J.Malmsteen model, & that was both an interest-point & decision breaker too for me when I was acquiring my 70’s Stratocasters…I have 3 of them, all with maple fretboards, 2 were acquired circa 2004, these being Oly-white & Black, & another was purchased in 2013, which is Sunburst.
( My first Stratocaster is still the best of the lot, a 1989 Strat-Plus, Black with maple-board & 3 x gold Lace sensors, though the others are honestly 95% or more there. It simply takes all-of-one minute to change-out-strings, & arguably has a wider range of sound possibilities.(The strings certainly seem to vibrate longer with a lot more sustain) ). Actually, each one is my favourite guitar, depending on which one is being played at the moment lol.
After acquiring the Sunburst Stratocaster at a super-great price of just over 1-K AUD in 2013, I decided to grab yet another one of the “1970’s Classic Series guitars” , namely an Oly-white with Rosewood board, which would have essentially given me the “Rainbow / reunion” era guitar, but without the scalloping. And though advertised, it was not available & listed as out-of-stock. I figured most people jumped on this model lol. I pretty-much decided on the std guitar since there was a likely chance that I’d use it professionally, & didn’t want to risk not getting along with the scallops…And if I did actually like the scalloped-neck, would that render my other guitars useless ??? I didn’t want to face that possibility, & played safe-bet lol, though missed-out too !
Enjoy your guitar, it very-much is a Custom Shop-like limited-run-model, specially made signature guitar made to excellent standards, but without the high price-tag that the USD demands.
Yeah, I’ve seen those guys before, janbl, they’re very good and really capture that frantic energy of Dio era Rainbow.
[That same frenziedness would not work with AOR Rainbow, I just recently heard the 1982 San Antonio gig of the Joe Lynn Turner line-up several times over again and I must surmise that 80% of the set sounds simply too rushed (sometimes hilariously so) for convincingly good AOR, it really harmed the music. I – sniff! – wonder what their weekly cocaine allowance was?]
@ 13 – but I thought that the DP guys were not into the ‘other’ stuff Uwe. A drinking band as such was the phrase wasn’t it? Sure times can change as MK IV showed, but surely not in 80’s Rainbow? Cheers.
Ever since Status Quo mouthed off in the 70s about how they “never took drugs” – what they meant to say: “Cocaine isn’t really a drug to us.” – while Rossi and Parfitt sniffed up half of South America, I take such statements with a pinch of white powder. A touring rock band in the early 80s in the US that didn’t sniff cocaine (at that point still deemed largely non-addictive and supposedly not health-damaging)? If you believe that you believe anything. The frenzied live rendition certainly speaks for at least some members being a little high gear.
![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse6.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/paice.jpg)
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Candy with the cute joke at the end, “Honey, you forgot to hit record!” Ha!
August 30th, 2024 at 20:55Love these stories! Ritchie’s got a ton of them. As long ago as many of these incidents were, he would probably be okay reciting them. Or leave out the person’s name if necessary, although that might remove the heart of a given story.
He was a part of heavy schedule touring band and I feel he retired too early into his comfort zone.
But as long as he is happy that’s all matters.
I still think there is life in him musically but it’s all about promoters backing him financially.
Peace ✌️
August 31st, 2024 at 11:49Wouldn’t it be great if he wrote a book of all these anecdotes etc ..Auto biography.
August 31st, 2024 at 22:04Candice has got him really relaxed now …I bet she could get him to do it .
Thanks Ritchie for sooooo much great music and memories
Indeed, Candice did a miracle.. lovebable guy, maybe this has always in him, even losing Losangeleez.
September 1st, 2024 at 00:17Yo,
For those a little curios about the Stratocaster’s mentioned in the video, the 4-bolt black guitar is a 1968 model, that’s still available as a RB Signature Fender Custom Shop guitar if you look around carefully, or they’ll make you a new one, but be prepared for a major wallet empty-out…
The 3-bolt Stratocaster’s floated into circulation around 1971, along with subtle decal modifications. The main issue with some of these guitars is the neck pocket size was inconsistent, & generally milled too large, allowing for poor neck alignment & inconsistent quality control. In fact, the CBS corporation by this stage had seen all of Leo’s original craftsmen leave the workplace, & be replaced with new, unskilled labour within a factory-type production line. Leo claimed to have a back-log of over 150,000 guitars in 1965, which is why he sold his business. And the Stratocaster wasn’t selling all that well, & was about to be dropped from production altogether, until Jimi came along…
You can still get a cheaper RB Genuine Fender Stratocaster, that’s essentially his Rainbow era & Reunion era Olympic-White with 3-bolt scalloped Rosewood fretboard / neck, featuring Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pounder pick-ups. It’s simply made about 20-miles south-of-the-California border in Baja Mexico, & shipped back into the US-of-A for distribution. The cheaper labour costs reflect a cheaper asking price, but quality control is excellent, as it’s all CNC machinery, just a different hourly pay-rate for the operators yo.
Peace !
September 1st, 2024 at 03:39Well, I didn’t have a subject to state my comments in this omnipresent Purple whirlpool.
But here it goes. I was challenged by my usual comrades on this site a few months ago about attending this gig. Firstly, it was a brilliant week of music with our grey hair and how many years left on the lifecycle downslope?
T’was a brilliant week of music here in New Jersey. I witnessed a superlative night this past week seeing Nektar, playing the new album Mission to Mars (First of a trilogy!) and brilliant classics back to ’70. Derek “Mo” Moore keeps the flame burning! They are crossing the pond this week. Check the dates/venues and do best to witness! Peace out.
And on to Purple. Holy excrement! I was blown away and dug that they dared to perform FIVE new songs at PNC last night! And the crowd dug ’em! And my hero in his own league, that would be Sir Steve Morse, has passed the torch to Simon, one of four banjo players within the Purple Majesty Cadre.
Peace,
September 1st, 2024 at 23:04Ted :>
Gregster @5….I have one of those RB Olympic white signature Strats with the SD pickups. Bought it in 2010. Yes very well made. I don’t play it much though….I have too heavy a touch for that scalloped fretboard – am still working on that! LOL
September 2nd, 2024 at 00:11Does anyone know about his health problems? Ritchie mentions in one video that he has had stents put in.
September 2nd, 2024 at 10:44Here is one to Roger Glover. Send Bob out for
September 2nd, 2024 at 14:26an hour and create a 10/10 song with craze. Bob is fanfastic, but everybody has his limits.
I’m still not done with this, what Freudian secret
https://cache.willhaben.at/mmo/7/126/645/8537_-17704617.jpg
laid behind Eric’s present to Ritchie?
https://cdn.faire.com/fastly/5267bedb56835e99fefea2ded2100ca71b75cc04b362ffa2d8bdefcaab4ad9ac.jpeg?bg-color=FFFFFF&dpr=1&fit=crop&format=jpg&height=720&width=720
Blackers is conspiciously vague about its ultimate fate too.
https://media1.tenor.com/m/8EtIRErgJk4AAAAd/ugly-duckling-crying-ducks.gif
September 2nd, 2024 at 17:38Yo,
@7…
Congratulations, they would be a sublime guitar to acquire imo. Apparently the scalloping is shallow when compared to the Y.J.Malmsteen model, & that was both an interest-point & decision breaker too for me when I was acquiring my 70’s Stratocasters…I have 3 of them, all with maple fretboards, 2 were acquired circa 2004, these being Oly-white & Black, & another was purchased in 2013, which is Sunburst.
( My first Stratocaster is still the best of the lot, a 1989 Strat-Plus, Black with maple-board & 3 x gold Lace sensors, though the others are honestly 95% or more there. It simply takes all-of-one minute to change-out-strings, & arguably has a wider range of sound possibilities.(The strings certainly seem to vibrate longer with a lot more sustain) ). Actually, each one is my favourite guitar, depending on which one is being played at the moment lol.
After acquiring the Sunburst Stratocaster at a super-great price of just over 1-K AUD in 2013, I decided to grab yet another one of the “1970’s Classic Series guitars” , namely an Oly-white with Rosewood board, which would have essentially given me the “Rainbow / reunion” era guitar, but without the scalloping. And though advertised, it was not available & listed as out-of-stock. I figured most people jumped on this model lol. I pretty-much decided on the std guitar since there was a likely chance that I’d use it professionally, & didn’t want to risk not getting along with the scallops…And if I did actually like the scalloped-neck, would that render my other guitars useless ??? I didn’t want to face that possibility, & played safe-bet lol, though missed-out too !
Enjoy your guitar, it very-much is a Custom Shop-like limited-run-model, specially made signature guitar made to excellent standards, but without the high price-tag that the USD demands.
Peace !
September 3rd, 2024 at 00:57If you miss the old Rainbow, take a look at this (and maybe squint your eyes a bit):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKpY1U-5CFo
September 3rd, 2024 at 11:09Yeah, I’ve seen those guys before, janbl, they’re very good and really capture that frantic energy of Dio era Rainbow.
[That same frenziedness would not work with AOR Rainbow, I just recently heard the 1982 San Antonio gig of the Joe Lynn Turner line-up several times over again and I must surmise that 80% of the set sounds simply too rushed (sometimes hilariously so) for convincingly good AOR, it really harmed the music. I – sniff! – wonder what their weekly cocaine allowance was?]
September 3rd, 2024 at 16:12@ 13 – but I thought that the DP guys were not into the ‘other’ stuff Uwe. A drinking band as such was the phrase wasn’t it? Sure times can change as MK IV showed, but surely not in 80’s Rainbow? Cheers.
September 3rd, 2024 at 22:44Ever since Status Quo mouthed off in the 70s about how they “never took drugs” – what they meant to say: “Cocaine isn’t really a drug to us.” – while Rossi and Parfitt sniffed up half of South America, I take such statements with a pinch of white powder. A touring rock band in the early 80s in the US that didn’t sniff cocaine (at that point still deemed largely non-addictive and supposedly not health-damaging)? If you believe that you believe anything. The frenzied live rendition certainly speaks for at least some members being a little high gear.
September 5th, 2024 at 02:59