Smoke on the Water - wikipedia Smoke on the Water `` Smoke On The Water '' redirects here. For the song by Red Foley, see Smoke on the Water ( Red Foley song ). `` Some stupid with a flare gun '' redirects here. For the Ass Ponys album, see Some Stupid with a Flare Gun. `` Smoke on the Water '' Cover of the 1973 German single Single by Deep Purple from the album Machine Head B - side `` Smoke on the Water '' ( live ) ( From Made in Japan ) Released May 1973 Format 7 '' Recorded December 1971 Genre Hard rock heavy metal, Progressive rock, Blues rock Length 5 : 41 ( album version ) 3 : 54 ( single version ) 6 : 15 ( Roger Glover remix ) Label EMI ( UK ) Warner. Bros ( U.S. ) Songwriter ( s ) Ritchie Blackmore Ian Gillan Roger Glover Jon Lord Ian Paice Producer ( s ) Deep Purple Deep Purple singles chronology `` Never Before '' ( 1972 ) `` Smoke on the Water '' ( 1973 ) `` Woman from Tokyo '' ( 1973 ) `` Never Before '' ( 1972 ) `` Smoke on the Water '' ( 1973 ) `` Woman from Tokyo '' ( 1973 ) Audio sample file help Machine Head track listing 8 tracks `` Highway Star '' `` Maybe I 'm a Leo '' `` Pictures of Home '' `` Never Before '' `` Smoke on the Water '' `` Lazy '' `` Space Truckin ' '' `` When a Blind Man Cries '' `` Smoke on the Water '' is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was first released on their 1972 album Machine Head. In 2004, the song was ranked number 434 on Rolling Stone magazine 's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, ranked number 4 in Total Guitar magazine 's Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever, and in March 2005, Q magazine placed `` Smoke on the Water '' at number 12 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks. Contents 1 Composition 2 History 3 Impact 4 Charts 4.1 Certifications 5 Alternative versions 6 Credits and personnel 7 Rock Aid Armenia version 8 Notable performances and uses 8.1 In events 8.2 In games 8.3 In television 9 In world records 10 Further reading 11 References 12 External links Composition The Smoke on the Water riff `` Smoke on the Water '' is known for and recognizable by its central theme, developed by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. It is a four - note blues scale melody in G minor, harmonised in parallel fourths. The riff, played on a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar by Blackmore, is later joined by hi - hat and distorted organ, then the rest of the drums, then electric bass parts before the start of Ian Gillan 's vocal. The opening lyrics are : We all came out to Montreux, on the Lake Geneva shoreline To make records with a mobile, we did n't have much time Jon Lord doubles the guitar part on a Hammond C3 organ played through a distorted Marshall amp, creating a tone very similar to that of the guitar. Blackmore usually plays the main riff using a finger pluck or occasionally a plectrum upstroke ( to accentuate the tonic ). During an August 1972 show in Tokyo, Japan, Blackmore played the intro as follows : -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- 8 - 10_ -- -- 8 - 11 - 10__ -- -- -- 8 - 10_ - 8 -- -- - -- - 10 - 8 - 10_ - 10 - 8 - 11 - 10__ -- - 10 - 8 - 10_ - 8 - 10__ -- - 10 -- -- -- - 10 -- -- -- -- -- -- - 10 -- -- -- -- - 10__ There are two solos in the song ; the first was performed on guitar by Ritchie Blackmore, and the second was performed on an organ by Jon Lord until the song fades out. History The lyrics of the song tell a true story : on 4 December 1971 Deep Purple were in Montreux, Switzerland, where they had set up camp to record an album using a mobile recording studio ( rented from the Rolling Stones and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio -- referred to as the `` Rolling truck Stones thing '' and `` a mobile '' in the song lyrics ) at the entertainment complex that was part of the Montreux Casino ( referred to as `` the gambling house '' in the song lyric ). On the eve of the recording session, a Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention concert was held in the casino 's theatre. This was to be the theatre 's final concert before the casino complex closed down for its annual winter renovations, which would allow Deep Purple to record there. At the beginning of Don Preston 's synthesizer solo on `` King Kong '', the place suddenly caught fire when somebody in the audience fired a flare gun toward the rattan covered ceiling, as mentioned in the `` some stupid with a flare gun '' line. Although there were no major injuries, the resulting fire destroyed the entire casino complex, along with all the Mothers ' equipment. The `` smoke on the water '' that became the title of the song ( credited to bass guitarist Roger Glover, who related how the title occurred to him when he suddenly woke from a dream a few days later ) referred to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning casino as the members of Deep Purple watched the fire from their hotel. `` It was probably the biggest fire I 'd ever seen up to that point and probably ever seen in my life '' said Glover, `` It was a huge building. I remember there was very little panic getting out, because it did n't seem like much of a fire at first. But, when it caught, it went up like a fireworks display ''. The `` Funky Claude '' running in and out is referring to Claude Nobs, the director of the Montreux Jazz Festival who helped some of the audience escape the fire. Claude Nobs ( 2006 ), the `` Funky Claude '' mentioned in the song Left with an expensive mobile recording unit and no place to record, the band was forced to scout the town for another place to set up. One promising venue ( found by Nobs ) was a local theatre called The Pavilion, but soon after the band had loaded in and started working / recording, the nearby neighbours took offence at the noise, and the band was only able to lay down backing tracks for one song ( based on Blackmore 's riff and temporarily named `` Title No. 1 '' ), before the local police shut them down. Finally, after about a week of searching, the band rented the nearly - empty Montreux Grand Hotel and converted its hallways and stairwells into a makeshift recording studio, where they laid down most of the tracks for what would become their most commercially successful album, Machine Head ( which is dedicated to Claude Nobs ). The only song from Machine Head not recorded entirely in the Grand Hotel was `` Smoke on the Water '' itself, which had been partly recorded during the abortive Pavilion session. The lyrics of `` Smoke on the Water '' were composed later, primarily by Gillan and based around Glover 's title, and the vocals were recorded in the Grand Hotel. Because of the incident and the exposure Montreux received when `` Smoke on the Water '' became an international hit, Deep Purple formed a lasting bond with the town. The song is honoured in Montreux by a sculpture along the lake shore ( right next to the statue of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury ) with the band 's name, the song title, and the riff in musical notes. The new casino in Montreux displays notes from the riff as decoration on its balustrade facing the gambling hall. On the Classic Albums series episode about Machine Head, Ritchie Blackmore claimed that friends of the band were not fans of the classic `` Smoke on the Water '' riff, because they thought it was too simplistic. Blackmore retaliated by making comparisons to the first movement of Beethoven 's 5th Symphony, which revolves around a similar four note arrangement. Impact `` Smoke on the Water '' was included on Machine Head, which was released in early 1972, but was not released as a single until a year later, in May 1973. ( `` Never Before '' and `` Space Truckin ' '' were the first singles issued from the album. ) The band members have said that they did not expect the song to be a hit, but the single reached number 4 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States during the summer of 1973, number 2 on the Canadian RPM charts, and it propelled the album to the top 10. Live performances of the tune, featuring extended interplay between Blackmore 's guitar and Jon Lord 's Hammond organ would become a centrepiece of Deep Purple 's live shows, and a version of the song from the live album Made in Japan became a minor hit on its own later on in 1973. The principal songwriters included the song within their subsequent solo ventures after Deep Purple had split up. Ian Gillan in particular performed a jazz - influenced version in early solo concerts. The band Gillan adopted a feedback - soaked approach, courtesy of Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme. This song was also featured live by Ritchie Blackmore 's post-Deep Purple band Rainbow during their tours 1981 -- 83, and again after Rainbow was resurrected briefly in the mid-1990s and for three European concerts in June 2016. During Ian Gillan 's stint with Black Sabbath in 1983, they performed `` Smoke on the Water '' as a regular repertoire number on encores during their only tour together. It remains one of the few cover songs that Black Sabbath has ever played live. The song is popular among beginner guitarists, but Blackmore himself has demonstrated that most who attempt to play it do so improperly. Actually played using `` all fourths '' ( or double stops ) as specified by Blackmore, a power chord - driven variation on the main recognizable riff is not difficult, and is consequently often played by learners. `` Smoke on the Water '' has received the following rankings : 434 on Rolling Stone magazine 's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ( 2004 ) 37 in VH1 's 40 Greatest Metal Songs 12 in Q magazine 's 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks ( March 2005 ) 11 in VH1 's `` 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs '' ( January 2009 ) 4 in Total Guitar magazine 's `` Top 20 Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever '' Charts Chart ( 1973 ) Peak position Australia ( Kent Music Report ) 54 Austria ( Ö3 Austria Top 40 ) 11 Belgium ( Ultratop 50 Flanders ) 27 Canadian RPM Top Singles Netherlands ( Single Top 100 ) 11 France ( SNEP ) 64 Germany ( Official German Charts ) 20 South African Chart 7 US Billboard Hot 100 Chart ( 1977 ) Peak position UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 21 Chart ( 2012 ) Peak position France ( SNEP ) 134 Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United States ( RIAA ) Gold 1,000,000 shipments figures based on certification alone Alternative versions The 1997 Roger Glover Remix version which appears on the 25th Anniversary Edition reissue of Machine Head features a version of the song with an alternate Blackmore guitar solo recorded at the time, and includes Ian Gillan uttering the phrase `` Break a leg, Frank '', among other comments. This is a reference to injuries that Frank Zappa had sustained as a result of being attacked onstage by an audience member at a concert in London, six days after the Montreux fire. A broken leg was among those injuries. The version that appears on Deep Purple in Concert also includes Gillan 's `` Break a leg '' comment. Credits and personnel Ritchie Blackmore -- guitars Ian Gillan -- lead vocals Roger Glover -- bass guitar Jon Lord -- Hammond organ Ian Paice -- drums Rock Aid Armenia version `` Smoke on the Water '' Cover for the `` Rock Aid Armenia '' charity release Single by Rock Aid Armenia Released Format 7 '' 12 '' Recorded Week of 8 July 1989 Songwriter ( s ) Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice Producer ( s ) Gary Langan and Geoff Downes 1990 reissue cover Cover of the 7 '' reissue of the Rock Aid Armenia single Music video `` Smoke on the Water '' ( Rock Aid Armenia ) on YouTube Rock Aid Armenia, a charity project to help victims of 1988 Armenian earthquake made a charity re-recording of Deep Purple 's `` Smoke on the Water '', with different vocalists singing various verses. The single made it to the UK Top 40 Singles Chart. The track was recorded by an elite group of contemporary prog rock, hard rock and heavy metal musicians who gathered at the historic Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London. Recording began on 8 July 1989 and was completed over 5 different sessions. The rock musicians involved in the recording included Bryan Adams, Ritchie Blackmore, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Downes, Keith Emerson, Ian Gillan, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, Alex Lifeson, Brian May, Paul Rodgers, Chris Squire and Roger Taylor. John Paul Jones and Jon Lord were credited as `` helping '' behind the scenes with the track. The track 's producers were Gary Langan and Geoff Downes. Talent co-ordination for the record was overseen by Jon Dee, with David Gilmour being the first to join up after a call from Dee. Ian Gillan 's manager Phil Banfield also helped out with talent recruitment. Notable performances and uses In events Leicester Tigers use this song to run out to at the start of every home game. In March 2011, `` Smoke on the Water '' was selected by departing German Defence Minister Karl - Theodor zu Guttenberg for performance as part of his official military farewell ceremony. On 16 September 2012, at the Sunflower Jam charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice performed the song alongside guitarist Brian May of Queen, bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper. In games The iconic nature of the song has led to its inclusion in several music - related video games. It is a playable song in the Japan - only Nintendo DS rhythm game Daigasso ! Band Brothers. The song appears in Konami Guitar Freaks 4th Mix. A cover version of `` Smoke on the Water '' is one of the playable songs for the PlayStation 2 game Guitar Hero. The same cover version is a downloadable track in Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360. It is featured in Guitar Hero Smash Hits as a master track. It is available on Wii 's Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 as a minigame, without Verse 3. It is also featured in Rock Band 3 as a master track. The song is available as a downloadable track for the guitar game Rocksmith. It is a playable song in the PlayStation 2 game SingStar Rocks !. The song is playable in the online game Stick Dudes Gone Wild : Rock Band. In television The song features prominently in the Better Call Saul season 1 finale episode, `` Marco '' ( airdate 6 April 2015 ). First, Marco hums it while waiting in the alley for Slippin ' Jimmy and his mark. Next, Jimmy drums it on his steering wheel, when leaving the courthouse in Albuquerque, after standing up his interview for a partnership - track job. Finally, the song plays just before the closing credits. In Better Call Saul season 2 episode 1, Jimmy bellowed the song intro after quiting office and refusing new job. The song has featured in several episodes of The Sopranos, including `` Join the Club ''. On CBS Two and a Half Men, Jake Harper plays this song a couple of times throughout the series. It is featured episode 2 of season 6 in the show Supernatural. The song features prominently in the Simpsons season 13 episode, `` Weekend at Burnsie 's. '' Beavis and Butt - Head prominently features the titular characters vocalizing the guitar riff. The song is featured in the Season 2 finale of Scream Queens. In world Records In 1994, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1,322 guitarists gathered to play the world - famous riff all at the same time for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. On Sunday 3 June 2007, in Kansas City this record was topped with 1,721 guitarists. Just 20 days later, in the German city of Leinfelden - Echterdingen by the group ' Party Blues In Bb ' with over 1,800 other people involved. The record was again topped on 1 May 2009, in Wrocław, Poland, when 6,346 guitar players, joined by current Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse, performed the song during the Thanks Jimi Festival. Further reading Christe, Ian ( 2003 ). Sound of the Beast : The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. HarperCollins. ISBN 0 - 380 - 81127 - 8. `` Smoke On The Water - the story ''. Deep-Purple.net. References Jump up ^ Andrew Winistorfer. `` VH1 's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list only slightly less annoying than their hip - hop list ''. Prefix. Retrieved 1 July 2013. 11 Deep Purple - `` Smoke On The Water '' Jump up ^ Gary Graff ( 1996 ). Visible Ink Press, ed. MusicHound rock : the essential album guide. ISBN 978 - 0787610371. `` Purple 's heyday came during the early 70s - when `` Smoke on the Water '' entered the pantheon of hard rock classics '' Jump up ^ Christe ( 2003 ), pg. 13, `` Though Deep Purple 's `` Smoke on the Water '' was a bona fide metal anthem and the first basic riff of a longhairded guitarist 's repertoire, the band did not consider itself heavy metal. '' ^ Jump up to : 500 Greatest Songs of All Time : Deep Purple, ' Smoke on the Water ' Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 December 2011 ^ Jump up to : Guns N ' Roses top rock riff poll, BBC News, 2 May 2004, retrieved 4 January 2010 ^ Jump up to : Tracks 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever ! Q Magazine. Retrieved 18 December 2011 Jump up ^ Classic Albums - Machine Head. BBC. Retrieved 30 October 2009. Jump up ^ Deep Purple - New York 1973 ( Full Concert ). YouTube. Retrieved 19 August 2012. Jump up ^ The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa with Peter Occhiogrosso, pg. 112, ISBN 0 - 671 - 63870 - X Jump up ^ Bang Your Head by David Konow, page 26, ISBN 0 - 609 - 80732 - 3 Jump up ^ In an interview with CNN Ritchie Blackmore told Richard Quest : `` It 's interpretation of an inversion, in tone back and play back and forth. It 's actually Beethoven 's 5th. So I owe him a lot of money. '' Quest for rock ' n ' roll - Ritchie Blackmore Jump up ^ Video of Ritchie talking about the riff on YouTube Jump up ^ `` VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs '', 1 -- 4 May 2006, VH1 Channel, reported by VH1.com ; last accessed 10 September 2006. Jump up ^ `` spreadit.org music ''. Retrieved 7 February 2009. Jump up ^ `` Austriancharts.at -- Deep Purple -- Smoke On The Water '' ( in German ). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Jump up ^ `` Ultratop.be -- Deep Purple -- Smoke On The Water '' ( in Dutch ). Ultratop 50. Jump up ^ `` Smoke on the water in Canadian Top Singles Chart ''. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Dutchcharts.nl -- Deep Purple -- Smoke On The Water '' ( in Dutch ). Single Top 100. Jump up ^ `` Smoke on the water in French Chart '' ( in French ). Dominic DURAND / InfoDisc. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013. You have to use the index at the top of the page and search `` Deep Purple '' Jump up ^ `` Offiziellecharts.de -- Deep Purple -- Smoke On The Water ''. GfK Entertainment Charts. Jump up ^ John Samson. `` Smoke on the water in South African Chart ''. Retrieved 3 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Machine Head awards on Allmusic ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 3 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` 1977 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 7th May 1977 ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Lescharts.com -- Deep Purple -- Smoke On The Water '' ( in French ). Les classement single. Jump up ^ `` American single certifications -- Deep Purple -- Smoke on the Water ''. Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH Jump up ^ `` Guttenberg departs Defense Ministry with full military honors ''. Retrieved 23 March 2011. Jump up ^ `` Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden and Queen band members perform at charity rock show ''. NME. Retrieved 4 November 2012 Jump up ^ Neumyer, Scott ( 6 April 2015 ). `` ' Better Call Saul ' Season One Finale Recap : ' Marco ' ''. WSJ Speakeasy. Jump up ^ Music You Heard on the Sopranos Jump up ^ Episode 67 : Join the Club ^ Jump up to : Spread Firefox, Crazy Records Jump up ^ `` Die Geschichte des Gitarrenweltrekords ''. Retrieved 11 March 2011. Jump up ^ `` Official Steve Morse Blog ''. Retrieved 4 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` '' Thanks Jimi Festival '' 2009 and Guitar Guinness Record ``. Retrieved 4 May 2009. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Deep Purple Ian Paice Roger Glover Ian Gillan Steve Morse Don Airey Jon Lord Ritchie Blackmore Rod Evans Nick Simper Glenn Hughes David Coverdale Tommy Bolin Joe Lynn Turner Joe Satriani Studio albums Shades of Deep Purple The Book of Taliesyn Deep Purple Deep Purple in Rock Fireball Machine Head Who Do We Think We Are Burn Stormbringer Come Taste the Band Perfect Strangers The House of Blue Light Slaves and Masters The Battle Rages On... Purpendicular Abandon Bananas Rapture of the Deep Now What ? ! Infinite Live albums Concerto for Group and Orchestra Made in Japan Made in Europe Last Concert in Japan Deep Purple in Concert Live in London Nobody 's Perfect Scandinavian Nights In the Absence of Pink : Knebworth ' 85 Gemini Suite Live Come Hell or High Water King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents : Deep Purple in Concert California Jamming Mk III : The Final Concerts Live at The Olympia ' 96 Total Abandon : Australia ' 99 In Concert with The London Symphony Orchestra Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy This Time Around : Live in Tokyo Live in Paris 1975 Inglewood : Live in California Space Vol 1 & 2 Perks and Tit Live in Europe 1993 Live at Montreux 1996 Live in Montreux 69 Live in Denmark 1972 Live at Montreux 2006 : They All Came Down to Montreux Live at Montreux 2011 Phoenix Rising Live in Verona Compilation albums Purple Passages Mark I & II 24 Carat Purple Powerhouse The Deep Purple Singles A 's and B 's When We Rock, We Rock, and When We Roll, We Roll The Mark II Purple Singles Deepest Purple : The Very Best of Deep Purple The Anthology Knocking at Your Back Door : The Best of Deep Purple in the 80 's Smoke on the Water : The Best Of 30 : Very Best of Deep Purple Smoke on the Water Shades 1968 -- 1998 The Very Best of Deep Purple Days May Come and Days May Go Smoke on the Water & Other Hits The Soundboard Series Listen, Learn, Read On Winning Combinations : Deep Purple and Rainbow The Early Years The Platinum Collection BBC Sessions 1968 -- 1970 Singles `` Hush '' `` Kentucky Woman '' `` River Deep -- Mountain High '' `` Emmaretta '' `` Hallelujah '' `` Black Night '' `` Strange Kind of Woman '' `` Fireball '' `` Never Before '' `` Lazy '' `` Highway Star '' `` Smoke on the Water '' `` Woman from Tokyo '' `` Super Trouper '' `` Might Just Take Your Life '' `` Burn '' `` You Ca n't Do It Right '' `` Stormbringer '' `` You Keep On Moving '' `` Gettin ' Tighter '' `` Perfect Strangers '' `` Nobody 's Home '' `` Knocking at Your Back Door '' `` Call of the Wild '' `` Bad Attitude '' `` King of Dreams '' `` Fire in the Basement '' `` Love Conquers All '' `` The Battle Rages On... '' `` Anya '' `` Time to Kill '' `` Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming '' `` Any Fule Kno That '' `` Haunted '' `` House of Pain '' `` Rapture of the Deep '' `` All the Time in the World '' `` Vincent Price '' `` Above and Beyond '' `` Out of Hand '' `` Time for Bedlam '' `` All I Got Is You '' `` Johnny 's Band '' Other songs `` Mandrake Root '' `` Wring That Neck '' `` Anthem '' `` Bird Has Flown '' `` April '' `` Speed King '' `` Child in Time '' `` Hard Lovin ' Man '' `` The Mule '' `` No No No '' `` Space Truckin ' '' `` Lazy '' `` Maybe I 'm a Leo '' `` When a Blind Man Cries '' `` Rat Bat Blue '' `` Mistreated '' `` You Fool No One '' `` Soldier of Fortune '' `` Lady Double Dealer '' `` Comin ' Home '' `` Under the Gun '' `` A Gypsy 's Kiss '' `` The Unwritten Law '' `` Vavoom : Ted the Mechanic '' `` Cascades : I 'm Not Your Lover '' `` Hey Cisco '' `` ' 69 '' `` Contact Lost '' `` Wrong Man '' `` Before Time Began '' `` The Well - Dressed Guitar '' `` Uncommon Man '' `` Hell to Pay '' `` The Surprising '' `` Birds of Prey '' Video albums Concerto for Group and Orchestra Live in Concert 72 / 73 Live in California 74 Deep Purple Rises Over Japan Come Hell or High Water Bombay Calling Live at Montreux 1996 Total Abandon : Australia ' 99 In Concert with The London Symphony Orchestra Classic Albums : Deep Purple -- The Making of Machine Head Live at Montreux 2006 Around the World Live History, Hits & Highlights ' 68 -- ' 76 Phoenix Rising Live at Montreux 2011 Live in Verona Concert tours Shades of Deep Purple Tour The Book of Taliesyn Tour Deep Purple European Tour In Rock World Tour Deep Purple Secret Mexican Tour Deep Purple Secret USA Tour Rapture of the Deep tour The Songs That Built Rock Tour Now What ? World Tour The Long Goodbye Tour Related bands The Artwoods The Outlaws The Flower Pot Men Episode Six Trapeze Zephyr James Gang Dixie Dregs Captain Beyond Warhorse Ian Gillan Band Gillan Rainbow Blackmore 's Night Whitesnake Coverdale Page Paice Ashton Lord Black Sabbath Gary Moore Yngwie Malmsteen Hughes Turner Project Living Loud WhoCares Black Country Communion Related articles Discography Members Deep Purple Tribute Funky Junction John Coletta Montreux Jazz Festival Purple Records Re-Machined : A Tribute to Deep Purple 's Machine Head Rock Aid Armenia Green Bullfrog Martin Birch Bogus Deep Purple Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smoke_on_the_Water&oldid=812375962 '' Categories : Deep Purple songs 1972 songs 1973 singles Frank Zappa Songs about Switzerland Songs written by Ritchie Blackmore Songs written by Ian Gillan Songs written by Roger Glover Songs written by Jon Lord Songs written by Ian Paice Songs based on actual events EMI Records singles Warner Bros. 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Question: who wrote the lyrics to smoke on the water
Answer: Ritchie Blackmore