Tell him you loved his solo in Stairway to Heaven🤣🤣

I met Eddie Van Halen and his wife in the late 90s and he was the nicest guy ever and so was his wife, they were amazing to me and I will never ever forget that.

I played on Ritchie's soccer team for 2 years when he lived on Long Island in the late 80's. We were friends and went out on weekends. I remember him wanting to keep a low profile. I've heard the stories, but he ws always nice to me, and very generous.

I met Ritchie briefly after Deep Purple's concert in Rio de Janeiro in 1991. After the concert, he came out of the dressing room to go back to the hotel with 2 bottles of white German wine in his hands. Then he stopped in front of me and the other guy who was also waiting to see him. He gave each bottle to one of us, just looked at our faces and entered the car and disappeared into the night. I will never forget having received a bottle of German wine from my favorite guitarist, the Man in Black himself!

I met Ritchie in the mid 90s at a Hardware store in Long Island New York, He gave me an autograph and was really cool , something that I will never forget, the man is a Guitar God, one of the greatest ever

I saw Deep Purple at the Long Beach Arena in 84 and after the show I was able to get backstage when they were done performing, I ran into Richie Blackmore and all the other guys, we all walked outside to their limo, got pictures and they all autographed my program, Ian Paice gave my husband his drum sticks and we talked for a good 30 minutes.. What a bunch of Great Guys and A Great Concert... Richie Blackmore, Ian Gillian, Roger Glover, Ian Paice and the late Great Jon Lord, May he Rest In Peace🙏🏻

I met Blackmore once and he was an absolute gentleman, was very polite and took time to chat - a nice guy 👍

If I had to act any different than I am in presence of my "idol" that person weren't my idol. Don't ever lose your dignity just because someone can do something better than you.

I met Ritchie when my band opened for Rainbow somewhere in Maine USA. They did "Man on the Silver Mountain" and "Mistreated" at their soundcheck! Pretty epic. I was about 16. Their road manager took a liking to me and when I told him Blackmore was a big idol of mine he insisted I meet him and right when they got off stage he basically pushed me into Blackmores dressing room. He was freshly off stage and sweaty but nice. I was very nervous and mentioned seeing him with Deep Purple on Boston Common. He told me he remembered the gig because he smashed one of his favorite guitars on that gig. I made it quick and left not wanting to push my luck.

I met Ritchie back in '87 A hotel bar in Toledo on House of Blue Light tour.He was sitting with 2 girls and i went up to him asked if he would have his picture taken with me.He said sure and also signed my Long Live R&R album along with In Rock LP..He was very nice

I Met him 2004 in Nürnberg on the Street. I Just told him i Love His Work. He gave me His Hand and Put His Arm around me. A nice Guy.

I saw AC/DC open up for Rainbow in 1976. I had never heard of AC/DC and that was one of the best concerts I have ever seen in my life.

He's grown really tame in his older years. My mom and dad (and later I) worked at this bar on Long Island and he would come there a lot. Super chill, but he always made them stay open late so he could make everyone sing with him. He did tip good! Plus his wife is super nice.

I'm a drummer that got to meet Ritchie in New York back in the 70s. There was a club called Trax and it was a great place to hang. A guitar player friend of mine was there and he was friends with Ritchie but I took it upon myself to approach Ritchie and say hi. I remember telling Ritchie how much I loved his playing, as I was huge Purple fan. I remember he told me that he listened to a lot of violins for ideas. I kept the conversation short and then let him be. So overall it was a good experience.

Basically, Ritchie Blackmore gets annoyed by random strangers coming upto him uninvited and saying nothing interesting.

I remember that when Purple released the 'Perfect Strangers' album, it was a very big deal because it was so great, brought them into the modern era. Gotta be the greatest comeback album ever.

I met him around 1988 with some friends. We followed him into a hotel bar after a Deep Purple show. He was fine, no problems. He was very soft-spoken. I could hardly hear what he was saying. I was the only one of us that got my picture taken with him, and I've never seen the photo! I had a camera too and got a picture of just him. So we were popping flashes in his face and asking for autographs, and he didn't shoo us away. We said "great show", he said "thank you".

I heard he's mellowed out a lot over the years, but don't ever meet your idols, you'll be disappointed.

I can't help but smile and crack up at all these videos about Blackmore (walking on eggshells, preparing for danger, etc.) It's just hilarious how different he is, and his unique ways of throwing people off.

I can see why Ritchie Blackmore was such a big influence for Yngwie Malmsteen xD

Met Blackmore backstage last year after a Rainbow concert in Europe. Very polite and nice man to talk to if only brief, shook my hand after and went on his way.

If you ever meet Ritchie Blackmore, tell him ian Gillan said hello.

I was told the same story by Craig Goldy himself. Craig is such an amazing guitar player and person. I'm so glad he got to have such a good experience with his idol.

Eddie was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Even came back to ask me what my name was again. So nice.

The list of legendary guitarist that were influenced by Ritchie blackmore is staggering

After all Ritchie was Ritchie, he was aloof, he was arrogant, he was Ritchie Blackmore!!!

I ran into Ritchie at the Rainbow and approached him. I asked him for his autograph and he looked at me and asked “why would you want my autograph”. I replied, “because you’re the greatest guitar player”. He said, “I guess that’s good enough”. So I got his autograph and was on my merry way. That was about 1977 or so.

i have meet Keith Emerson backstage in mexico city , well we chat more than half an hour , mainly talking about keyboards gears , really he was a gentleman

I met Ritchie after a Rainbow gig in London. My friend and i just happened to be hiding from the bad weather outside the fire escape he was using to slip past the crowd of fans waiting. He was friendly and chatty, particularly when asked about how his Strat was set up.

I met him in about 1988 in Connecticut and he signed his autograph. He was playing soccer and was taking a rest. I walked up and said Sir Im a big fan may I have your autograph. He smiled and signed my check stub. I thanked him and walked away. He was very nice and polite.

I met Richie with a school friend at the stage door before a rainbow gig which was completely sold out. we thought just hang around & maybe we might see Richie from a distance, Richie turned up & when he approached he stopped & asked us did we have tickets to the show, I said unfortunately it's sold out, he said let these boys in, I couldn't believe it, I said that's really kind to let us in, then I said is there any chance I could have a guitar pick please, he reached into his pocket & gave me a pick, its strange very thin tortoise shell shaped like a house, I couldn't believe it, I will never forget his kindness, he was obviously in a very good mood that evening

Never make eye contact with Ritchie Blackmore for too long, he sees it as a challenge.

We met him four times, maybe five times. We met Candice and Blackmores Mother in law as well. For some month they used to live here in Bavaria in an old Castle, not far from my home. They are very, very nice people, no doubt. Don‘t forget, Blackmore is pure british! He‘s a Soccer, tea and monthy python kind of man 😄

The way I read his personality, FWIW, is introverted.Sometimes shy and actually lacking in confidence. He doesn't suffer fools gladly. He gets bored and frustrated often,at least back then. He was always attracted by the supernatural and life's darker side. He loves a wind-up and doesn't appreciate insincerity and chit-chat. I see nothing too bad there and have always loved his music and vibe.

As a teenager, I was very fortunate to meet Richie, at (UK) Newcastle City Hall 'TWICE'. I didn't have any tickets, but knew how to get in! (another story!). First night, I met and saw them all enter the side stage door. Most of the time there was only me there, so managed to meet and speak to them all. I recall Cozy and his Dad being so nice. 1st night, I was allowed inside to mix with everyone backstage. Cozy's Dad gave me a tour, I remember this like it was yesterday. We got to Richie's room, (with his notorious sign on the door). Richie was at the far end of the room, with one of his Strat's, with his back to us. He was fine, invited me in and gave me his autograph FACT!. It was unbelievable to mix with all of the band, family members and loads of people that I didn't know. Anyway, I returned for their second night (same venue, Newcastle City Hall). I was at the same place (stage door access), and saw all of the band again. When Blackmore arrived, I thanked him for his autograph the previous night. He looked at me, recognised me, and said that this was the only autograph given that night. I remember it raining very hard, and Richie had to gain access through a different door. As we spoke, I asked him if he would be smashing up his guitar that night, (as he didn't the previous night). He smiled at me and said, 'that depends on the audience'. I 'managed' to get in again with no ticket, (sorry Richie!), to see that performance. Hid did demolish his Strat that night. He is human, he is an individual, he is not rude and moody, he was fine, helpful and considerate. Both shows were AWESOME, Rainbow in their prime. I consider myself VERY luck. Thanks Richie.

I'm glad Craig (anyone in fact) finally acknowledged how great the Deep Purple song, "Burn" is. It is an amazing song! The guitar riff is awesome, iconic. Ian Paice's drumming blows me away and he never seems to receive any recognition. Jon Lorde's keyboard work and solo is pure wizardry. And David Coverdale's vocal operettic.

Eddie is a cool guy. Never turns off his fans man.

Richie can be how he likes. I don't expect anything from him except great music

I met Blackmore in a club in Aurora IL in ‘69. They had just arrived from the airport where baggage handlers had dropped the band’s B3. Blackmore did an outstanding job covering for a thinner sound. Jon Lord later tried to play a friend of mine’s Vox organ but gave up after one song. Eventually a B3 was acquired from a local dealer and the 2nd show was great!

I met Blackmore, but i didn't give him my autograph lol

That is such a great story , and you know how much I love Blackmore so I'm your biggest fan with stories like this !!! A band called the Boys , never heard ...And man so much research and work you are putting on for us and always greatly documented !!! Would be so happy too to play (even football) with Ritchie !!!!!!!!

Hello Kar. Guess I was lucky that I only talked to Ritchie on the phone. He was, I believe it was, on KLOS or KMET radio station in Los Angeles, being interviewed, and I called in and got to talk to him. SInce I asked some questions about their songs they really let me talk to Ritchie for a long time and he was quite cool. I remember asking him about the lyrics of one song and he said it was because Ian Gillan was into rats and snakes, etc. Oh, and I asked him why Gillan left Purple back in 1973. Ritchie said he was surprised about how many people alwasy ask him about Ian Gillan. How I wish I had that conversation on tape. Oh well...

I'll try to be brief, but I met Ritchie a few times because I was good friends with Black Sabbath's manager, Mark Forster, and Mark was friends with Rainbow's stage manger, Raymond D'addario. Ritchie was not at all put off or aloof during our momentarily hellos and in our second encounter a year later he even said he "remembered the face", but of course he was also not an extrovert either. I am 66 today and still consider Blackmore the greatest guitarist ever if you factor in all aspects of what constitutes that claim. By why I am writing is to give you a quote on what Eddie Van Halen said about Ritchie when I briefly talked to him during a sound check when Van Halen opened for Black sabbath in 1978 Never Say Die Tour. I asked Eddie what he thought about Ritchie and he said: "He has always been an influence, but he needs to play with his band more rather than blow out a solo then retract back into his own world". That was the entire answer. I disagree mostly with it as I have heard many of Ritchie's virtues expressed through his unique talent. Nobody has the feel, the impromptu versatility and just deep, rich, emaculate tone that Blackmore has given us for eternity.

True story: way back in the MySpace days, I got an IM from Candice Night (singer with Blackmore's Night). I had just released an album, and had been promoting it like a madman. She said "Ritchie really likes your music." I was amazed!! This was completely unsolicited. I thanked her, and asked her to convey my thanks to Ritchie for the compliment, and added I have admired what he has done for many years.

I met Blackmore numerous times between 1990 and 2013,never had a problem with him and even said to him some very risky subjects that could have had a disastrous response, and he was still very polite to me. But I've seen Blackmore get irritated by fans.As for Edward Van Halen, I knew him,he knew me as a fan,from 1991 to 2015,and was always nice to me,but I've seen him blow off fans.

As a fan, I met EVH and got his autograph,he was kind to me and a true gentleman!!

So the AC/DC lads did this in '76, so it was after the brawl they had with Deep Purple at the Sunbury festival in '75. Awesome story!

I met Ritchie once in a club in CT in the early 80's. I was practically like Wayne or Garth in Wayne's world (I'm not worthy!) I could see him rolling his eyes after a minute or two, so I told him I loved his music and let the next obsessed fan invade his privacy.

I can easily imagine that the whole fame/fan thing would get old and weird kinda quickly. I can attest to how cool George Lynch is. Very friendly and personable, and even wrote out some absolutely insane solo for me to try.

I met him after a Rainbow concert in 1975. He was perfectly pleasant and friendly--readily gave me an autograph.

My guitar hero was Frank Marino. I wrote him a letter once thanking him for the inspiration and he actually wrote me back. The man is a class act. It's cool when your heroes don't disappoint.

As an Englishman Blackmore has probably never been the kind of "hey, what's up dude?" kind of guy...

It‘s funny to read all of this here. I met Ritchie on several occasions, mostly before or after a concert. I can‘t imagine anyone more relaxed or willing to talk about anything than him. The first time I met him, I just walked up to him after a concert. That was in the time when there were no barriers and no security people. Ritchie stayed after the concert to check out a small amp he‘d placed on top of his Marshall stack. I asked him what that was about and he politely answered that he was just trying something out and didn‘t know if it would work like he thought it would. The second time I met him in a dressing room that he shared with Ian. Ian was drying his hair or something and they both leafed through my then already sizeable autograph collection, commenting on each and every band as they went. Ritchie even asked some questions on the guitars they were playing (there were pictures that went along with the autographs, some of them showed the instruments). With that we had a common subject and we talked about different guitar types and features for some time. Ritchie even let me play on one of his guitars. (He carefully wiped the strings afterwards 😁) Talk music and not people with a musician, and you can‘t go wrong.

I did some work at his house about 3 years ago here in NY. He didn’t seem bad at all.

I met Ritchie when Rainbow rehearsed at the studio I was running,(LI NY) for the "Down to Earth" record and tour. He was a gentleman, as were all the band members, Roger, Cozy, Don, and Graham. I accompanied Ritchie and the Band to the local mall, where they purchased sound equipment for the tour vehicles. That is a favorite memory, walking thru the mall with a famous group, and none of the teenage kids knew anything ! Most of the time they stayed in the lounge and watched football.....

Do a utube search and you can listen to Ritchie on the Strat covering a B.B. King song "The Thrill Is Gone", the song is on William Shatner's new album "The Blues" that was released 10/02/2020. I guess Ritchie had worked on a previous album from Shatner and so Captain Kirk rang up Ritchie to see if he would lay down a track on this album. Now we all know about Ritchie's approach-ability and what not, so that means Shatner must have super powers to pull off that seemingly impossible feat, twice. Strange but true.

My friends and I happened to be staying at the Apollo Hotel on the Australian Gold Coast, while most of the band were taking a break from their tour. This was in the 1970s! We were having fun in the bar one night, and for some reason Ritchie's personal roadie invited us to join them. Apparently, Ritchie likes to have a bit of a coterie around him when he's hanging out! We had a bloody great weekend with the guys, especially Jimmy Bain. who was happily living on mandies much of the time, and Cozy Powell who was a fantastically personable and funny guy! Ronnie was just mainly sight-seeing and we didn't see him too much, but he was an absolutely lovely person to talk to. We had some in-room parties, and we even jammed with Ritchie on acoustics, especially Beatles songs and that sort of thing! We all got on well with Ritchie and I didn't see any of the prima donna stuff going on. He is a serious sort of guy, but he does have a very humorous side to him. I feel very fortunate to have had that experience!

That is the reason I love Tony Iommi...such a sweet soul...God bless him

Imaging people like Van Halen, Ulrich and Lynch come to you fanboying and you say: "go away!" :-D

I am proud to say I've met two of my guitar heroes: Joe Bonamassa and Paul Dean. Both super nice guys. Paul Dean was really cool. He's not going to appear on any top 100 guitarists list but I still loved his work with Loverboy. I shook his hand and told him he was a favorite of mine. He looked at me and said, "No way! Get outta here!" Like he couldn't believe he'd top anyone's list. He then posed with my wife as I took a picture... I have that picture still. It is very special to me. Also, I bumped into Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers at a biker event. I wanted to greet him but he had just gotten off his bike, a vintage Harley, after a very long ride. The poor guy looked WASTED. I'm sure all he wanted to do was go to the beer tent and rest. We locked eyes for a split second and I'm sure he saw that I recognized him... I didn't wish to bother him so I just let the chance to meet him pass.

Awesome review, enjoyed it!

Excellent As Always :)

When I met Eddie and Ritchie it was at the Whiskey . I was a kid. My cousin owned the place . Eddie was the nicest guy always teasing me and showing me guitar licks.

If I have to know what not to do before meeting someone I'll just leave them alone. Not worth my time. People like that need to realize I think just as much of myself as they do of themselves.

Like Neil Peart of Rush wrote, I can’t pretend a stranger is a long awaited friend.

You should know not to bother these people, when they're having a private conversation.

The picture of Ritchie in the black hat almost looks like Ritchie has horns.

I am getting a kick out of the awesome stories people have posted here. The closest I got to meeting him was having a Japanese poster of him with the 25th anniversary strat on my bedroom wall in '79. He was perfectly polite there.

When i saw Richies band Rainbow in 75 i felt i had witnessed one of the best musicians ever in history. Like Mozart or something. I felt really fortunate to carch that show. Plus got introduced to Ronnie Dio.

3:47 that's a really cute 80s girl right there...

If you meet Ritchie Blackmore it's a mistake to smile too quickly and too often, he won't trust you.

I worked on Gillan's Double Trouble tour. At the Poole gig, I arranged with Ian's manager for my first wife to meet him. I took her to the dressing room and was let in. Ian looked at her, stood up and threw up in front of her. The manager made up for it by giving me a signed poster for her. I also ended up with a piece of one of John McCoy's broken basses.

I was told by someone prominent in the music business (at the time) to never meet your idols, as you’ll be disappointed. So I never have.

Lars said that somebody was "arrogant"... Oh wait.

He was/is very English. When you meet a stranger its a " Oh hello and pleased to meet you" vibe. You extend hands to shake them. Hi dude doesn't work!

I was fortunate enough to hang with Richie... We were at the Rainbow where my band Mandrake were opening for Quit Riot in 1976.. He was sitting at the VIP bar upstairs by himself. Everyone was afraid to go over and introduce themselves, not me. I marched right over to him said hi, my nome is Mark i'm the drummer in the band you just watched, can I buy you a beer. Sat their all night getting hammered with Richie, awesome, he drinks Heineken beer.

AC DC blew the candles out, love it!

He was a really decent guy....shook my hand when I met him.

Thank You for sharing 🙂😊

love the stories, thanks for sharing

Ritchie is a genius on the guitar but still human. No one achieves perfection in music or humanity.

I saw Rainbow in 1982 and followed the tour bus to the hotel across the river where they were staying. I brought my Made In Japan album and Blackmore was signing some fan's albums at the entrance. I introduced myself politely and said, "Mr. Blackmore, I'm a guitarist and you're my favorite rock guitarist." He said, "Oh, so you've been playing a couple of years." I said, "No, seven". He briefly looked up at me as if he was surprised.....stone cold look, ha.....and then handed the album back to me. He signed his name underneath his picture on the inside. I was fortunate. He wasn't rude to me. True story.

All I know is I've been a major fan since my teens and listen to the album's over and over especially the live stuff seen for myself Feb 1985 2 nights in a row it was announced on WMMS (rocks the rivers and shakes the lakes)D.P certainly more than done that for sure.Blackmore Shredded.all I know is never pester a living musical genius (elementary my dear watson elementary)✌️❤️🤘🌟🐸😎

I met Lemmy in Las Vegas and he actually shook my hand and thanked me for going to see Motörhead later. I thought he gave me a very sparse, lame response but in retrospect I walked up and bugged the dude during a likely precious moment of relaxation. His image would have definitely allowed him to be a huge ass to me but he was not.

''Don't go in my dressing room, don't through shit on the stage, don't touch my guitars or any of my personal things''....I would say the same, can't see the problem with that! I agree with Blackmore. I judge him on all the masterpieces he has given us, not if he isn't interested in fan boys.

It's not always good to meet your heroes. They're just people...

I met Ritchie in 2009, at a blackmores night show in germany. Had a job as backstage security. Wanted to meet him, but he don't wanna see anybody. Later that day Candice took me by the hand and brought me to Richies dressing room. We sat together drank some of his Whisky and had a nice talk about guitars. But he didn't wanne give any autographs.

I read a commentary from Doogie White ( vocalist on Rainbow's Stranger in Us All album, 1995, one of the best guitar driven albums, Rainbow recorded) that Ritchie fired the original bass player that was supposed to record the album, because the guy would constantly step out of the studio, to smoke a cigarette or drink some wine, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF LAYING DOWN TRACKS FOR THE ALBUM. Doogie said that the bass player did it so much, that Ritchie asked his supporters to go to the pub, after the recording session, and fire the bassist. I read several comments from readers, putting down Ritchie for doing this, but you have to understand, Recording studios cost money, and time is of the essence, the longer it takes to record something, the more money it costs. This guy was literally stepping out repeatedly, in the middle of recordings, and making everyone else wait. As a musician, myself, this behavior is very unprofessional, and Ritchie being the perfectionist, that he is, I don't blame him for firing the guy, I think Ritchie gets a raw deal. It's easy to hate or judge someone. There's always 2 sides to every story.

Be good to people on the way up and they will be good to you on the way down. There will always be gravity to bring you down.

All of us have our stupid moments. Ritchie is no exemption. But he's just keeping it real. I suppose being a rockstar - and a guitar wizard at that - is very stressful at times.

Thanks for the Kool info.😎✌️💥

My friend met him in the late 70s in Deep purple.he paused to take a picture with him.lovely guy,couldn’t have been nicer

I think, the people got it wrong, he just didn't want to be approached in a rude way, or to be "challenged", it was just a defense mechanism, you can see that with many celebrities who get mad when they get "called up" on the street or in restaurant, etc.

When I met my musical hero I found out the hard way that he also had a few do's and don'ts. I got abused but it was worth it. The guy is a legend and meeting him was awesome but damn, that Zamfir sure can be a miserable bastard.

One of my friends meet Blackmore in record studies He got a positive impressions of him

In the early-2000s I was contacted by one of Ritchie's crew that they needed to bring me a guitar no one else could fix and it was a rush (I'm a tech). Being a huge Blackmore fan I couldn't wait for the guitar to come in. In walks...the lute- I was expecting THE Strat. It had some weird ground loops in it that were making it hum like crazy. After 2 days of praying to all my Gods I figured it out and fixed it and they offered me a touring job. The money was sick, especially since I was a 20-something, and I was told Yngwie took out Blackmore's techs when they were touring on opposite schedules (another guitar hero of mine) which would have doubled the salary, but I was hesitant. They called me back a day later and asked if I wanted the job. I said I appreciate the opportunity more than you know, but I've been doing a lot of reading and I'm kinda scared. I said I've read and heard some things about Ritchie flipping out and people maybe being kicked off the tour/left places if a show doesn't go well, and I know for a fact Yngwie is tough to work for. The crew member was like It's very rare, you just gotta remember that he's your employer, people have bad nights, and, as long as you didn't screw up don't take it personally- plus if you can hack Ritchie, Yngwie is a breeze! I was like Dude, not psyched to hear Yngwie is the chill one, and I'm a mouthy 20-something, if he flies off the handle, so will I, he's gonna leave me in like Germany and I'll hafta live there, I'm not worldly. He laughed and said We'll come back for you, or *I* will come back for you, I promise. I turned the gig down- stupidly, or maybe not so much given my inability at the time to NOT take something personally. When I saw the video of Mustaine publicly shitting on his tech a few years back, my first thought was That would have been me on the Blackmore or Yngwie tour. However I WILL say a friend of a friend was on that tour for many years, on the other side of the stage, and never witnessed any guitar techs being left anywhere and he said it was a fantastic time.

I love blackmore

Like any genius, Ritchies attitude strange and different from regular people.Just listen his music and you forgive him anything.Every his solo is piece of art, his feeling of music impossible to teach.So guys relax and enjoy genius of RITCHIE BLACKMORE !

What a cool and funny video. Thanks, Kar's Guitar Channel.

Also i met Eddie once at Universal City Walk in LA back in 2012 , im the guy who took the now famous photo of EVH stood infront of his Giant Frankenstrat guitar , anyway he was awesome and gave me 10 mins of his time to chat about music and guitar as i play guitar too so was very humbled that he acknowledged me RIP EVH