Over the course of their nearly five-decade reign, Deep Purple has had three bass players in its clutches. The first one, Nick Simper, is still around and still plays, but has not risen beyond his status as being a founding member of Deep Purple. The third one, Glenn Hughes, is not only a powerful bass player, but also a strong singer, adding another, somewhat funkier layer to Deep Purple’s music in the mid 70s. The second, longest-standing and current bass player is Roger Glover. As part of the classic lineup, Glover laid down the foundation for classic tracks like “Strange Kind Of Woman,” “Highway Star,” and “Smoke On The Water” — a phrase the bassist came up with.
After he was dismissed from Deep Purple in 1973, Glover became a prolific record producer, making records with Rupert Hine, Elf (with a then-unknown Ronnie James Dio), Nazareth, David Coverdale, Status Quo, Judas Priest and Rory Gallagher. He also made a couple solo albums, and even rejoined his old Purple bandmate Ritchie Blackmore for a five-year stint in Rainbow. Since the fabled classic lineup reunion behind 1985’s Perfect Strangers, Glover has been the band’s anchor and plans on staying there for the duration.
In the following interview, we zero in on the sensational new Deep Purple album for 2013 NOW What?!. We also get into Deep Purple’s rich history, including Glover’s take on guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. As fate would have it, we talked the day after the 2013 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in Los Angeles, an event Deep Purple narrowly missed being a part of. So naturally, I asked him about that as well.
To read the rest of this interview, order your copy of
Conversations with the Masters:
The VintageRock.com Interviews, Par Deux
