Quotes By Ritchie Blackmore

I criticize my own work pretty harshly.

Jimi... He was the gov'nor and that's it. He was brilliant, wasn't he?

I don't put myself on Jeff Beck's level, but I can relate to him when he says he'd rather be working on his car collection than playing the guitar.

I was impressed by Hendrix. His attitude was brilliant. Even the way he walked was amazing.

Learning to play with a big amplifier is like trying to control an elephant.

Everything I do is usually totally spontaneous.

I can never remember what I do even in the studio.

I feel like I own the stage.

If a ballet dancer falls over, it's knowing how to get out looking clumsy that counts.

I can turn on some jazz guitarist, and he won't do a thing for me, if he's not playing electrically. But Jeff Beck's great to listen to.

When I was 20, I didn't give a damn about song construction. I just wanted to make as much noise and play as fast and as loud as possible.

I've always played every amp I've ever had full up, because rock and roll is supposed to be played loud. Also, that's how you get your sustain.

Hendrix inspired me, but I was still more into Wes Montgomery. I was also into the Allman Brothers around the time of those albums.

The only way you can get good, unless you're a genius, is to copy. That's the best thing. Just steal.

Those record companies don't know what's happening at all.

When something is not good, it's bad. Period.

What's the point of re-releasing an album? The original sounded good, why change something about it?

But you have to give your whole life to a cello. When I realized that, I went back to the guitar and just turned the volume up a bit louder.

Stevie Ray Vaughan was very intense. Maybe that's what caught everybody's attention. As a player, he didn't do anything amazing.

If you can play well in the studio, you can play well on stage.

I like leaping around on stage as long as it's done with class. None of this jumping up in the air and doing the splits.

I have never met one person who likes Grand Funk.

I found the blues too limiting, and classical was too disciplined.

I never work out my leads. Everything I do is usually totally spontaneous. If someone says, 'That was good; play that again,' I'm not able to do it.

Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and I wanted to be a hard rock band - we wanted to play rock and roll only.

I'm not good enough, technically, to be a classic musician. I lack discipline.

Session work makes you more strict. You can't hit notes all over the place. You've got to make each one really count.

I don't use the twang bar anymore. It's become too popular.

Simplicity is the key.

When you've toured for about 10 years like me, you end up feeling like you're always waiting for somebody or something. The whole day is a drag.