Rainbow (rock band) steered Deep Purple through a significant personnel change, with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover being replaced by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. However, the new members were keen to add new musical styles and Blackmore found his request to record the Steve Hammond-penned "Black Sheep of the Family" with "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" turned down by the band. He decided to record the song with Dio instead, using Dio's band Elf as additional musicians. He enjoyed the results, and a full album, billed as "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" was recorded between February and March 1975 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. The
David Coverdale to over 200,000 fans on his first trip to the United States at California Jam. In December 1974 "Burn" was followed-up by "Stormbringer", which also ranked at Gold album status in the US and the UK. The funk and soul influences of the previous record were even more prominent here, and this was one of the reasons why guitarist Ritchie Blackmore left the band in June 1975. Rather than disbanding, Coverdale was instrumental in persuading the band to continue with American guitarist Tommy Bolin (of Billy Cobham and The James Gang fame). As Jon Lord put it, "David Coverdale came