Writing
The song has rather controversial writing history. Though it is officially credited to Rod Evans, Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore, according to Jerry Bloom's authorized biography of Ritchie Blackmore it was written by a guy called Bill Parkinson and named "Lost Soul". The song was conceived as a drum solo for Carlo Little (Rolling Stones' original drummer), who like Blackmore had played with The Savages, the backing band for Screaming Lord Sutch. Simper said Blackmore learned the melody "note for note" from Little. Bill Parkinson was lead guitarist with the Savages Jul-Sep 1966, while Blackmore had played with Sutch May-Oct 1962, Feb-May 1965 and Dec 1966-Apr 1967, so their paths had clearly crossed. As this song, along with "Hush," pushed the fledgeling band sky high, it wasn't surprising that word about it got back to Parkinson. Not happy with regard "to what he saw as the rip-off" of "Lost Soul," Parkinson turned up on Simper's doorstep to complain. He threatened court action to Simper, who at that time already left Deep Purple but agreed with some reluctance to testify for him. "But," Simper said, "...I never saw Bill again. Apparently they paid him off with about £600."
Read more about this topic: Mandrake Root
Famous quotes containing the word writing:
“In writing songs I’ve learned as much from Cézanne as I have from Woody Guthrie.”
—Bob Dylan [Robert Allen Zimmerman] (b. 1941)
“Good writing is a kind of skating which carries off the performer where he would not go, and is only right admirable when to all its beauty and speed a subserviency to the will, like that of walking, is added.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“...I don’t have an inner drive to do as well as anybody else ... I have a great pleasure in writing and part of that is political and part of that is I’m surprised that I’ve done as well as I have. I really am just surprised.”
—Grace Paley (b. 1922)