1975 - In April, RITCHIE BLACKMORE would depart Deep Purple to form a new band, RAINBOW. He teams up with the core of the American band Elf, which contains Ronnie James Dio on vocals (who along with BLACKMORE, would become one of the main songwriters), Mickey Lee Soule on keyboards, Craig Gruber on bass, and Gary Driscoll on drums. Prior to this formation, BLACKMORE recorded "Black Sheep Of The Family" with Elf (on Purple Records) which had toured as the support band for Deep Purple. In May, the band would record Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. As the album escalates up the charts (reaching 30 in U.S.), Soule, Gruber, and Driscoll would depart the band, and BLACKMORE would recruit ex-Hariot bassist Jimmy Bain, ex-Blessings keyboardist Tony Carey, and ex-Jeff Beck Group drummer Cozy Powell.
1976 - In July, the band would release their first album with the new line-up, Rainbow Rising. Beginning in August, the band would tour the U.S. , Japan, Europe, and Canada for the remainder of the year.
