April 14, 1945: Ritchie Blackmore was born.

Ritchie Blackmore was one of the founders and the lead guitarist for the hard rockin’ band Deep Purple. He later went on to form Rainbow and his current band is called Blackmore’s Night.

Ritchie was named #55 in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest guitar players, and he is best remembered for the amazing opening riff on Deep Purple’s classic, “Smoke on the Water.”