Writers: Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Ian Paice, and David Coverdale
Producer: Deep Purple
Recorded: November 1973 at the Montreux Conference Center, Montreux, Switzerland
Released: February 1974
| Players: | David Coverdale—vocals Ritchie Blackmore–guitar Glenn Hughes–bass, vocals Jon Lord–organ Ian Paice–drums |
| Album: | Burn (Warner Bros., 1974) |
“Burn” ushered in the era of Deep Purple's “Mark III” lineup, which found David Coverdale replacing Ian Gillan as lead singer and Glenn Hughes replacing Roger Glover on bass. Coverdale, a semi-pro singer, came to the band's attention after he sent a tape to its management company. When he was asked to supply a photo of himself, the only one he had was as a youth in a scout uniform. Hughes had a stronger resume, having been the singer-bassist in the band Trapeze.
Coverdale was reportedly so anxious to please his new bandmates that he wrote seven different sets of lyrics for “Burn” in order to realize guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's desire for a song with a strong medieval theme.
An edited version of “Burn” was released as a single but failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100, bubbling under at Number 105.
“Burn” opened Deep Purple's shows from 1974-76, and was also featured in some of the band's '80s concerts.
To record the Burn album, Deep Purple repaired to Montreux, Switzerland–where it made its legendary Machine Head album–with the Rolling Stones' mobile recording unit.
The Burn album peaked at Number Nine on the Billboard 200 and at Number Three on the U.K. chart.