Rainbow – Stone Cold
After Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple, he started his own band, Rainbow, with Ronnie James Dio. Ronnie left to front Black Sabbath after Ozzy was sacked. Ritchie needed a now lead singer. Graham Bonnet filled that spot for one album. So, Ritchie needed another frontman. Enter Joe Lynn Turner!
Released in March of 1982, this single helped launch expectations for the forthcoming album, ‘Straight Between The Eyes’.
“Stone Cold” was a powerful pop, rocker! Enough pop that it hit the US Top 40, where it peaked there at #40. Still, that was a feat when in the early 80s, soft rock (now known as Yacht Rock), New Wave, and pop Country were filling the airwaves of most US Top formats. This was just the early days of was was soon to be called the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Rainbow didn’t quite fit that mold, but having Ritchie Blackmore as your guitarist, certainly could earn you a place in the NWOBHM!
FYI – Hear it again this SUNDAY at 8a, at the top of Casey Kasem’s AT40 – The 80s!
