Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the founding members of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. Blackmore is prolific in creating guitar riffs and is often noted for his classically influenced solos. During his solo career, Blackmore established the heavy metal band Rainbow, which fused baroque music influences and elements of hard rock. Rainbow steadily moved to catchy pop-style mainstream rock. He later formed the traditional folk rock project Blackmore's Night, transitioning to vocalist-centered sounds. As a member of Deep Purple, Blackmore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016. He has been cited by publications such as Guitar World and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest and most influential guitar players of all time.