The National Guitar Museum announced that Ritchie Blackmore, the esteemed guitar legend whose vast career spans more than 60 years, has received its annual “Lifetime Achievement” Award. Blackmore is the sixteenth recipient of the award.
Ritchie Blackmore joins previous award winners including Honeyboy Edwards, Jeff Beck, Bonnie Raitt, Liona Boyd, Jose Feliciano and B.B. King. Recipients are recognized for a lifetime of contributing to the legacy of the guitar and having a singular historical importance to the development and historical appreciation of the instrument.
HP Newquist, The National Guitar Museum executive director, commented: “Most people know Ritchie from being the driving creative force behind two of the defining hard rock bands of all time — Deep Purple and Rainbow. But before starting those bands, he had a long career as a London session musician, performing on records by numerous artists, including The Outlaws. And then — after helping to define hard rock guitar in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s — he formed Blackmore’s Night, incorporating medieval and Renaissance acoustic music into his immense repertoire.”
Said Blackmore, “I’m rather thrown by the magnitude of this honorable award. I am grateful to accept this award and this recognition.”
Blackmore‘s guitar playing has inspired countless numbers of musicians to follow in his wake, and very few guitarists can match his lifetime of achievements. His influence is pervasive amongst players in a wide variety of genres, from blues-rock and heavy metal on to neoclassical and pop rock. It is conceivable that every electric guitarist on the planet has learned how to play the riff Blackmore came up with for Smoke On The Water.
Added Newquist, “It’s difficult to find any modern guitarist who has incorporated so many diverse styles into their playing — and then fused them all into something recognizably their own over their entire career. Ritchie was one of the first electric guitarists to add classical melodicism to his playing, along with classical speed and finesse. I think that most of the early ’80s guitarists who played lightning fast riffs and claimed to be learning from Bachand Mozart were, in fact, borrowing from Ritchie.”
Ritchie Blackmore joins previous The National Guitar Museum “Lifetime Achievement” award recipients:
2010: David Honeyboy Edwards
2011: Roger McGuinn
2012: B.B. King
2013: Vic Flick
2014: Buddy Guy
2015: Tony Iommi
2016: Glen Campbell
2017: Bonnie Raitt
2018: Liona Boyd
2019: Jose Feliciano
2020: Eddie Van Halen (in memoriam)
2021: Al Di Meola
2022: Jeff Beck
2023: Tommy Emmanuel
2024: Alex Lifeson
2025: Ritchie Blackmore
The National Guitar Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to the history, evolution, and cultural impact of the guitar. Its touring exhibitions have been featured in more than 60 museums worldwide.
In the coming year, those exhibitions will become the basis of The National Guitar Museum.
6 Responses
While I like Bonnie Raitt, and think she is talented, the fact that she was inducted before Blackmore, is amusing, to “say” the least.
Where is Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Johnson, etc.?
EVH made the list in 2020.
And as for Blackmore, I feel like both he and Deep Purple get a little lost in the shuffle of great late ’60s/early ’70s British blues/hard rock bands. Some of it may have to do with the fact that their record company and management haven’t promoted his/their importance (see: The Kinks) as much as some of their peers.
Blackmore has become more of a guitar player’s guitar player than a household name like Jimmy Page or Jeff Beck or Tony Iommi.
Regardless, I’m glad to see that The Man in Black is getting his due recognition.
Yes, I stand corrected, not sure how I missed Van Halen‘s name? Sadly, it was a posthumous induction.
Based on the criteria for award, how can Jimi Hendrix not be a recipient? IMO, he’s more worthy than Blackmore, a sloppy guitarist, and many others on this list. Hendrix’ guitar impact is just as great as Eddie Van Halen’s impact.
It is great that they have a lifetime achievement award! And a National Guitar Museum! But who is running the show here? Kip and Lafonda from Napoleon Dynamite!?! The US as a whole seems to be one unorganized mess! I have been to other countries and they are way more better than opposite day that you have with your children here everyday!! Perfect Strangers live! The two cd and dvd is my favorite Deep Purple cd besides Who Do you Think We Are!! The passion! The clear A+ recording and the length of the live cd!
Why do all these award entities wait till people are near death before giving awards? Makes no sense.