Ritchie Blackmore

I’m not good enough, technically, to be a classic musician. I lack discipline.

When you’ve toured for about 10 years like me, you end up feeling like you’re always waiting for somebody or something. The whole day is a drag.

Pete Townshend used to crash chords and let the guitar feed back. He’s overrated.

When something is not good, it’s bad. Period.

Simplicity is the key.

Those record companies don’t know what’s happening at all.

Stevie Ray Vaughan was very intense. Maybe that’s what caught everybody’s attention. As a player, he didn’t do anything amazing.

I’m not into that Keith Richard trip of having all those guitars in different tunings. I never liked the Rolling Stones much anyway.

If a ballet dancer falls over, it’s knowing how to get out looking clumsy that counts.

I don’t use the twang bar anymore. It’s become too popular.

I was impressed by Hendrix. His attitude was brilliant. Even the way he walked was amazing.

I feel like I own the stage.

I’ve always played every amp I’ve ever had full up, because rock and roll is supposed to be played loud. Also, that’s how you get your sustain.

Jimi… He was the gov’nor and that’s it. He was brilliant, wasn’t he?

The cello is such a melancholy instrument, such an isolated, miserable instrument.

I however don’t go to clubs to show off and to be seen, and certainly not to make statements. I just want to be able to quietly watch a band.

I can turn on some jazz guitarist, and he won’t do a thing for me, if he’s not playing electrically. But Jeff Beck’s great to listen to.

Everything I do is usually totally spontaneous.

The only way you can get good, unless you’re a genius, is to copy. That’s the best thing. Just steal.

Session work makes you more strict. You can’t hit notes all over the place. You’ve got to make each one really count.

I can imagine that Rod Stewart likes giving autographs because he’s pure showbusiness.

I don’t put myself on Jeff Beck’s level, but I can relate to him when he says he’d rather be working on his car collection than playing the guitar.

I have never met one person who likes Grand Funk.

When I was 20, I didn’t give a damn about song construction. I just wanted to make as much noise and play as fast and as loud as possible.

I can do the old hand vibrato just fine, but I like attacking the strings.

Playing a Fender is an art itself. They’re always going out of tune.

What’s the point of re-releasing an album? The original sounded good, why change something about it?

But you have to give your whole life to a cello. When I realized that, I went back to the guitar and just turned the volume up a bit louder.

If you can play well in the studio, you can play well on stage.

Learning to play with a big amplifier is like trying to control an elephant.

Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and I wanted to be a hard rock band – we wanted to play rock and roll only.

I’m very moved by Renaissance music, but I still love to play hard rock – though only if it’s sophisticated and has some thought behind it.

I don’t see myself as such an important guitarist.

I criticize my own work pretty harshly.

I was impressed by Hendrix. Not so much by his playing, as his attitude – he wasn’t a great player, but everything else about him was brilliant.

I can never remember what I do even in the studio.

When you’re around someone good, your own standards are raised.

I like leaping around on stage as long as it’s done with class. None of this jumping up in the air and doing the splits.

When you’re recording, if you’re not really clean in your playing, it sounds like a mess.

Johnny Winter is one of the best blues players in the world. He’s very underrated.

I had given up the guitar between ’75 and ’78. I completely lost interest. I was sick of hearing other guitar players and I was tired of my tunes.