10 best Deep Purple songs of all time

Deep Purple is an English rock band formed in London in 1968. Nowadays, they are considered the founders of heavy metal and modern hard rock, but Deep Purple's musical styles have changed over the years. Initially formed as a psychedelic and progressive rock band, they moved to a heavier sound with their 1970 album, Deep Purple in Rock.

Singers Room writes: "Deep Purple was ranked 22nd on VH1's Greatest Hard Rock Artists, and a poll by Planet Rock radio station ranked them 5th among the 'most influential bands in history. The band received the Legend Award at the 2008 World Music Awards, and the musicians who were part of the band at different times (namely Blackmore, Lord, Pace, Gillan, Glover, Coverdale, Evans and Hughes) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016."

Here are the 10 best songs by Deep Purple according to Singers Room.

Smoke on the Water

"Smoke on the Water" is a song that appeared on Deep Purple's 1972 studio album Machine Head. The lyrics are based on real events and tell about the fire in the Montreux casino in 1971. "Smoke on the Water" is considered to be the band's signature song and contains one of the most famous guitar riffs in rock history.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked this song at number 434 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Highway Star

"Highway Star" is the opener of Machine Head's sixth studio album (1972) and is the fastest track on the album. "Highway Star" is characterized by long, classically inspired guitar and organ solos.

The song was born on a tour bus heading to Portsmouth in 1971 when a reporter asked the band how they wrote songs. To demonstrate this, Ritchie Blackmore picked up an acoustic guitar and started playing a riff consisting of a single letter "G" repeated over and over again, while vocalist Ian Gillan improvised lyrics over it. The song was finalized and performed that night. It appeared on Machine Head's album in 1972 and remained one of the main songs at their live shows for many years.

Space Truckin

"Space Truckin" is the seventh and final track of Machine Head's album. Its lyrics tell the story of space travel.

According to Ritchie Blackmore, the song began with a half-step riff in the chorus, which was inspired by the music for the Batman TV program written by Neil Hefty. Blackmore asked vocalist Ian Gillan if he could write lyrics for this riff, and the rest of Space Truckin was born.

Burn

Burn was released on the album of the same name in 1974 and became the first single of the third lineup of Deep Purple. For the next two years, this song opened the band's concerts, replacing "Highway Star". It was also featured in Deep Purple's television set at the California Jam festival two months after its release, on April 6, 1974.

After Deep Purple broke up in 1976, Coverdale formed the band Whitesnake, which for many years included former Deep Purple members John Lord and Ian Pace. Whitesnake often performed Deep Purple songs, including Burn.

Perfect Strangers

"Perfect Strangers" is the title track from the 1984 album Perfect Strangers.

This is one of the few Deep Purple songs that does not have a guitar solo. However, the band's founder Richie Blackmore called it his favorite Deep Purple song. The lyrics are inspired by the fantasy stories of the writer Michael Moorcock.

Woman from Tokyo

"Woman from Tokyo" first appeared on the 1973 album Who Do We Think We Are and later became a single.

The song was included in the 2011 DVD - Deep Purple with Orchestra - Live in Montreux, where the band performed it with the symphony orchestra conducted by Stephen Bentley-Klein.

Child in Time

"Child in Time" is taken from Deep Purple's fourth studio album, Deep Purple in Rock, released in 1970. This track, largely inspired by the Cold War, lasts over ten minutes.

Black Night

"Black Night" was released as a single in June 1970, and later appeared on the 25th anniversary version of the 1970 studio album Deep Purple in Rock.

Upon its release, the song quickly became a hit, peaking at #2 in the UK charts, and remains Deep Purple's most popular single in the UK.

Hush

"Hush" is a song written by the American composer and musician Joe South for the singer Billy Joe Royal. Later, in 1967, the song was covered by the Australian band Somebody's Image, led by Russell Morris. In 1968, it was also covered by Deep Purple and included on their 1968 debut album, Shades of Deep Purple.

Soldier of Fortune

"Soldier of Fortune" is a blues-rock ballad written by Ritchie Blackmore and David Coverdale and originally released on the 1974 album Deep Purple Stormbringer.

Although Deep Purple never released this song as a single and it never hit the charts, over the years "Soldier of Fortune" has become a cult song and has been in the repertoire of many famous artists and bands.