The band escaped through an underground tunnel that went from behind the stage through the parking garage. Others hurried out through the venue’s front door. The band’s roadies smashed the plate-glass window and started helping fans to safety. When the fire began, the audience was left with two ways out: through the front door, which was pretty small, or through a plate-glass window off to the side of the stage.” “It died with an awful sound”Īs Zappa urged everyone to calm down, the balcony collapsed. Zappa said, “Since more kids were outside, trying to get in, the organizers had cleverly chained the exit doors shut. As Zappa recalled, “Somebody in the audience had a bottle rocket or a Roman candle and fired it into the ceiling, at which point the rattan covering started to burn.”ĭeep Purple would immortalize this audience member as “some stupid with a flare gun.” Whatever the incendiary source, blobs of fire ricocheted around and a canopy hanging from the balcony ignited. On December 4, 1971, the five members of Deep Purple were in the audience in the ballroom of Switzerland’s Montreux Casino, watching a concert by Frank Zappa and his band The Mothers of Invention.ĭuring the encore, in the middle of a song called “King Kong,” the trouble started. Here’s the classic lineup of Deep Purple performing the song in 1973:Īnd a clip of the previous world record holders, an ensemble of 1,683 guitarists playing the riff:

In 2007, in Germany, 1,802 guitarists joined together in a metal ensemble to play the opening riff. It’s also been at the center of a headbanging world’s record. It’s been in TV commercials, two episodes of The Simpsons and many movies, including School of Rock. It’s heard at sporting events and on Playstation games. Since then, it has taken on a life of its own. Featured on their 1972 Machine Head album, it climbed to #4 on the charts. The British rock group Deep Purple wrote their signature tune after surviving a casino fire in Switzerland. ” The introduction to “Smoke on the Water” is so famous that we often forget there’s a song attached to it.

The heavy metal version of “Chopsticks.” Somewhere at this very moment, in a suburban garage or music store, there’s a kid with an electric guitar plonking out those opening notes – “Dun-dun-duuun. Originally performed by Deep Purple The Music Written by Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice (1972) 'Music History' will appear twice a month. Editor's Note: This is the second installment of Bill DeMain's new column, where he explores the real historical events that inspired various songs.

Smoke on the water video