Permanent historical factsheet

Smoke on the Water

Switzerland · Arts / Popular Music. Chronological records rendered directly from the World History Database.

2Records
1971Date range
2Named people
1Places

Chronological records

1971

Ritchie BlackmoreDecember 1971

Montreux · Arts / Popular Music

Creates the famous guitar riff for Smoke on the Water, one of the most recognisable riffs in rock music.

Ian GillanDecember 1971

Montreux · Arts / Popular Music

Writes lyrics inspired by the Montreux casino fire, later becoming Smoke on the Water.

Names involved

Ian GillanRitchie Blackmore

Provenance

This factsheet is generated from stored World History Database records matching the country, broad category, detailed category and exact Event value shown above. Duplicate display records are collapsed; database wording is otherwise preserved. Source provenance varies by record, so formal academic citation should be checked against the relevant primary source, archive or specialist historical reference.