Thin Lizzy Family Tree

October 12, 2023 by Joe Cearlock in Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Thin Lizzy are a very influential rock / hard rock band. They even occasionally dabbled in heavy metal. Phil Lynott was the bassist and vocalist as well as at differing times being the primary writer. Him and drummer Brian Downey were the only consistent members that lasted until the death of Phil in 1983. Since that time the band has remained active essentially as a tribute band. Because Phil died young some of his influences will be from second hand sources as original sources are limited, but the difference will be noted.
Starting with the first album the band consisted of Phil, Brian, and guitarist Eric Bell for their first three albums. After that time the band switched to a four piece consisting of Scott Gorham on guitar, who has been the only consistent member since that time, and on second guitar was Brian Robertson for five studio albums. Gary Moore was in for one album, and Snowy White was then in the band for two. Finally John Sykes filled the second guitar role for the final Thin Lizzy album. The final two albums also saw an additional role in the band with Darren Wharton on keyboard.

Note: I’ve seen several guitar player mention that they didn’t receive as many writing credits as they probably deserved, some more bitter about it than others. Each have some credits to them though.

Phase One

Phase one of Thin Lizzy consists of the first three albums on which the band played as a three piece with Eric Bell.

Django Reinhardt

Max Roach

Buddy Rich

Elvin Jones

Elvis has been dubbed the king of rock and roll. He is said to be an influence on Phil

Roy Orbison

The Shadows were the backing band of Cliff Richards and would eventually be an instrumental rock band. Eric and Gary both named Hank Marvin as his first influence. Snowy named them as the first band he was listening to before hearing Clapton.

Wes Montgomery

Curtis Mayfield

Joe Pass was a jazz guitarist who collaborated with many other notable jazz players. Eric named him as an influence.

The Animals was a blues based rock band. Phil named their version of “House of the Rising Sun” as an influence.

The Yardbirds had a slew of important guitar players come out of the band, such as Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Eric named them as an influence. Gary named Jeff Beck with the Yardbirds as an influence.

Johnny Kid and The Pirates

The Kinks where a rock band he receive a lot of credit for the distortion on their hit “You Really Got Me”. Downey named them as an influence.

The Mamas & The Papas were a folk/pop band. They are said to have been an influence on Phil

The Rolling Stones are among the biggest bands to come out of the 60’s Downey named them as an influence. Scott is a huge fan.

Jimi Hendrix is one of the most revolutionary and influential guitarists of his day. He is said to have ben an influence on Phil. Gary also named Hendrix as an influence.

Van Morrison

Jeff Beck is one of the early guitar legends with his Jeff Beck Group. Phil named their album *Beck-Ola* as an influence. In particular he named Rod Stewart as a vocal influence and said he thought Stewart’s voice had really improved for this album. Scott is a huge fan.

Sly and The Family Stone were a Soul / Funk group. Phil was a fan.

Billy Cobham was an influential jazz and progressive rock drummer. Downey named him as a favorite.

Heads, Hands, & Feet were a British country rock band. Phil named Chas Hodges as an influence on his bass playing.

Phase Two

Phase Two of Thin Lizzy saw a change from a three piece band to a four piece with two guitar players. This phase consists of Scott Gorham on guitar along side guitarists Brian Robertson for five studio albums, Gary Moore was in for one album, and Snowy White for another two.

B. B. King is a blues great. Robertson named him as a player he admires. Gary also names him as an influence.

Freddie King

Otis Rush

Dick Dale

Albert King

John McLaughlin

Albert Collins

John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers are an important blues / blues rock band featuring many important players. Gary named Eric Clapton Peter Green, and Mick Taylor with John Mayall as influences. Snowy said when he first hear Clapton with John Mayall that was what he wanted to play like.

Fleetwood Mac were a blues based rock band. Scott said he is a big fan and their stuff with Peter Green

Free were a blues based rock band. Scott named Paul Kossoff as an influence.

ZZ Top are a big blues rock band. Robertson said he was a big fan after discovering them on tour through Texas.

Return to Forever were a jazz fusion band. Gary named Bill Connors as an influence.

Rush are an influential progressive hard rock band. Downey named Neil Peart as a favorite drummer although Thin Lizzy was active prior to rush or Neil’s joining of the band.

Vinnie Colaiuta

Phase Three

Phase Three of Thin Lizzy like phase two adds a change in the band structure with the addition of keyboardist Darren Wharton. He joins for the final two Lizzy albums, and is a prominent writer on the final. The final album again sees a change in the second guitar spot, adding John Sykes. John, previously in Tygers of Pan Tang, was quite a bit younger than other guitarists of the band and his influence reflect that of a younger generation.

Ritchie Blackmore

Pink Floyd are one of the more well known progressive rock bands. Darren named them as an influence.

Genesis were a big progressive rock band. Darren is a fan.

Led Zeppelin are one of the most important hard rock bands to exist. John named Jimmy Page as an influence.

UFO are an important hard rock band. John named guitarist Michael Schenker as an influence.

Steely Dan were a soft rock / Rock band. Darren named them as an influence.

Scorpions were among the earliest heavy metal bands and teetered between hard rock and heavy metal over the years. John named Uli Roth as an influence as well as Michael Schenker who filled the same lead guitar spot in the band a different times. In particular he named *Virgin Killer and Taken By Force*, both Uli albums.

John named Gary Moore (yes, previously also of Thin Lizzy) as an influence on him.

In previous bands Phil played covers from The Beatles, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Free, and Jeff Beck.

Phil mentioned Slade having great live shows when they toured together. He didn’t specifically mention their music as an influence, but praised their state performance.

Brian Downey’s earliest influence was from his dad who was the drummer in a local pipe band when he was younger and was a lover of jazz. He said back then all he had was radio which played Irish jig music, dance bands, plus a little pop and also crooners. He also had an older cousin who lived with them and through heard country and western. He first wanted to play after hearing stuff like Elvis Presley, Billy Fury, Cliff Richard, The Shadows, Hank Williams. Then there was the Beatles which had a big impact.

Eric is influenced by Jeff Beck according to Downy. Eric didn’t name him directly, but did name the Yardbirds.

Eric says he first fell in love with music listening to classical music as a kid. He said eh first wanted to play guitar after hearing Lonnie Donegan. He also said he is influenced by some Rockabilly.

Scott’s real love of music came from the British invasion, so much so it was the reason he moved there.

Brian Robertson first began as a classically trained pianist for eight years before picking up guitar. He says he’s not a fan of flashy players like Hendrix. He mentions being a fan of ZZ Top, after discovering on tour in through Texas. He said he admires guys like B. B. King. I have seen other blues guitarists as his influences, but have not been able to corroborate them.

Gary named some favorite songs which are all songs by his noted influences with the exception of “Sarah” from the first Thin Lizzy album.

Darren was classically trained on piano as a kid.

John said Think Lizzy was one of his all time favorite bands prior to joining them.

Bands influenced by Thin Lizzy!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

Bay Area Thrash Legends

Dio needs introduction, several of his guitar players were influenced by Lizzy

Grindcore to Death Metal to Melodic Death

eclectic heavy metal with a melodic death root

Sources:

https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1353355/Phil-Lynott-Thin-Lizzy-influences-Elvis-Presley-Jimi-Hendrix-Van-Morrison-Phil-Lynott-doc
https://www.loudersound.com/features/phil-lynott-birth-of-a-legend
https://geirmykl.wordpress.com/2022/05/24/article-about-phil-lynott-thin-lizzy-from-new-musical-express-april-21-1973/
https://blues.gr/m/blogpost?id=1982923%3ABlogPost%3A488526
https://www.musicconnection.com/in-the-box-eric-bells-thin-lizzy-journey/
https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2022/11/thin-lizzy-eric-bell-interview.html
http://www.thinlizzy.org/brian_d.html
https://www.hotpress.com/opinion/happy-birthday-brian-downey-revisiting-a-classic-interview-22889009
https://www.loudersound.com/features/scott-gorham-and-brian-downey-life-with-thin-lizzy-and-the-phil-lynott-we-knew
https://glidemagazine.com/234573/scott-gorham-of-black-star-riders-and-thin-lizzy-shares-stories-on-lynott-kossoff-new-lp-interview/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea-C83L8FWY
https://geirmykl.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/article-about-brian-robertson-thin-lizzy-from-sounds-september-28-1974/
https://www.goldminemag.com/features/brian-robertson-happily-exists-out-of-the-spotlight
http://rockandrollgarage.com/guitarist-gary-moore-and-the-13-musicians-that-inspired-him-the-most/
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/gary-moore-favourite-songs/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osWvZX3ZzNc
https://www.rockpages.gr/dare/
https://web.archive.org/web/20080410173028/http://www.johnsykes.com/AtomicInterview.htm
https://www.metalexpressradio.com/2008/01/28/interview-with-john-sykes-thin-lizzy/

Rainbow Family Tree

February 15, 2021 by Joe Cearlock in Family Tree

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Rainbow began when Ritchie Blackmore left Deep purple to form his own band. He is the only consistant member of the band The classic line up featured the legendary Ronnie James Dio and drummer Cozy Powell. Other positions in the band frequently changed. The early albums were written by Ritchie and Dio while later ones would have Joe Lynn Turner in Dio’s spot.. Cozy has a few writing credits during his time. Roger Glover, also formerly of Deep Purple, joined in 1979 and was the most consistent in the band besides Ritchie and also wrote in the band. Keyboardist Don Airey contributed to writing on Difficult to Cure. David Rosenthal replaced him and contributed to writing on the next two albums.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Antonio Vivaldi

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven is of the most well known classical composers. Dio was a big fan.

Django Reinhardt

Mario Lanza

Frank Sinatra

Les Paul

Scotty Moore

Tommy Steele

Cliff Gallup

Jimmy Smith

Sam Cooke

The Shadows were the backing band for Cliff Richards before being an instrumental rock band. They one of the most important and under mentioned bands for the creation of heavy metal being both an influence on Ritchie as well as Tony Iommi. Both were… — The Shadows were the backing band for Cliff Richards before being an instrumental rock band. They one of the most important and under mentioned bands for the creation of heavy metal being both an influence on Ritchie as well as Tony Iommi. Both were influenced by Hank Marvin of The Shadows. Cozzy named drummer Brian Bennett as an influence.

Wes Montgomery

Big Jim Sullivan

Nero and the Gladiators

Bob Dylan

Chick Corea

Brian Auger

Otis Redding

David Bowie was very popular and influential and very different. Doogie Said he was big early influence before hearing Deep Purple for the first time.

The who was one of the first bands to move rock into a harder sound. Ritchie named them as an influence. He said hearing them let the guitars feed back was an eye opener for him. He also said Pete Townshends style of writing is what made him want to… — The who was one of the first bands to move rock into a harder sound. Ritchie named them as an influence. He said hearing them let the guitars feed back was an eye opener for him. He also said Pete Townshends style of writing is what made him want to write his own stuff.

Ritchie named Mike Bloomfield of The Paul Butterfield Blues band as an influence on him.

Isao Tomita was a composer and pioneer of electronic music. David named him as an influence.

One of the most influential guitar players of all time Jimi Hendrix was playing a flashy blues rock / psychedelic style. Blackmore has written riffs inspired by Hendrix. Don said Axis Bold as Love influenced him. Joe said Jimi was his number one r… — One of the most influential guitar players of all time Jimi Hendrix was playing a flashy blues rock / psychedelic style. Blackmore has written riffs inspired by Hendrix. Don said *Axis Bold as Love* influenced him. Joe said Jimi was his number one rock hero.

Cream was one of the heaviest bands around prier to heavy metal, playing a hard blues rock / psychedelic rock. Ritchie wrote riffs inspired by Eric Clapton. Jack Bruce was an influence on Roger.

Vanilla Fudge was a psychedelic band in the late 60’s. When Deep Purple started to take a heavier approach, they were a big influence on Ritchie.

One of the most important and popular progressive rock bands, Pink Floyd was another band named by Dio when asked about favorite bands in his Elf days.

Jeff Beck is one of the influential guitarists that got a start in the Yardbirds before starting his own band. Ritchie named Jeff as his idol.

Deep Purple who started more of a rock band before getting heavier and even at times play heavy metal. They are the prior band of Ritchie and Roger. Dio named them as an influence stating that at the time he was in Elf but wanted to be part of a h… — Deep Purple who started more of a rock band before getting heavier and even at times play heavy metal. They are the prior band of Ritchie and Roger. Dio named them as an influence stating that at the time he was in Elf but wanted to be part of a heavier band. He mentions Deep Purple as his favorite band at the time. Don said seeing Deep Purple live for the first time had a huge impact on him. Joe considered Ritchie as a hero of his and Deep Purple as his favorite band. Doogie was also influenced by Deep Purple.

Todd Rundgren

Keith Emerson

Shuggie Otis

Led-Zeppelin is more of a peer to Deep Purple, but Ritchie said after hearing the first Zeppelin album Deep Purple decided to go in a heavier direction. Dio named them as an influence and said he was mostly influenced by British bands at the time. … — Led-Zeppelin is more of a peer to Deep Purple, but Ritchie said after hearing the first Zeppelin album Deep Purple decided to go in a heavier direction. Dio named them as an influence and said he was mostly influenced by British bands at the time. Joe was a big Zeppelin Fan.

Mountain with guitarist influential guitarist Leslie West was another band that was big influence on Ritchie as Deep Purple moved to a heavier sound.

King Crimson are a hugely important progressive rock band. Dio was a big fan in his early days.

Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion / progressive rock band. Don named their album Inner Mounting Flame as an influence on him. — Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion / progressive rock band. Don named their album *Inner Mounting Flame* as an influence on him.

The Doobie Brothers were a popular rock/pop band. Joe named Michael McDonald as one of the singers he imitated when he was young.

Rick Wakeman

Bad Company were a popular hard rock / blues rock band. Joe named Paul Rogers as one of the singers he used to imitate.

Foreigner were a popular rock band particularly in the late 70’s. Ritchie said he was influenced by their singer but thought their music was lacking. This was in response to the similarities of Joe Lynn Turner era sounding very similar to them. D… — Foreigner were a popular rock band particularly in the late 70’s. Ritchie said he was influenced by their singer but thought their music was lacking. This was in response to the similarities of Joe Lynn Turner era sounding very similar to them. Doogie mentioning listening to singer Lou Gramm

Kit Watkins

John Sloman

Ritchie named a lot of country guitar players as being really good but didn’t name them as direct influences. These include Jimmy Bryant, Chet Atkins, Glen Campbell, and Buck Owens & The Buckeroos. He would do the same for blues players Peter Green with John Mayall, B.B. King and Mick Taylor who played with both John Mayall and The Rolling Stones.

Dio said he grew up with opera around him and it influenced his later style.

Dio says that Alice Cooper’s stage performance influenced him to find his own style.

Dio mentions Aerosmith’s “Dream On” is a favorite song of his.

Cozy Powell played on three studio albums. His early influences were Brian Bennett from the Shadows and Bobby Elliot from the Hollies. He would watch them to learn how they were playing. He has a few co-writing credits with the band.

Graham Bonnet was the vocalist on Down to Earth but did not contribute to writing.

Roger says he is more influenced by writers than players. He said even though he has a lot of respect for someone like Jaco Pastorius he prefers good song writers even if they are not technically as proficient.

Rodger Glover’s bass influences include many Motown players.

Don Airey studied classical music in school.

Joe named some punk singers were an influence on him but didn’t know who. He also plays guitar and says he would copy licks from Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, and Jimmy Page. He also played according as a kid.

Doogie sung and co-wrote on the only album from Rainbow in the 90’s, Stranger in Us All. In the 80’s Doogie said he was listening to black soul singers and didn’t like hair metal.

Paul Morris played keyboards on Stranger in Us All but only has one co-writing credit.

Bands influenced by Rainbow!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

Later drummer, Mikkey Dee named Rainbow as an influence.

Influential New Wave of British Heavy Metal

One of the most influential metal bands.

Dio’s band had members influenced by his previous band.

FUCKIN’ SLAYER!!!!!

One of the biggest and most influential Symphonic bands

Sources:

(some sources originally listed for Deep Purple and Dio Family Trees)
https://www.givememetal.com/hardrocktrees/deep-purple-family-tree
https://www.givememetal.com/heavymetaltrees/dio-family-tree

https://ritchieblackmoresrainbow.wordpress.com/sounds-july-25-1981/
http://www.maximumink.com/index.php/articles/permalink/don_airey
http://www.metal-experience.com/interviews/Interview%20Don%20Airey%202008.htm
http://www.musiclifemagazine.net/joe-lynn-turner-revisits-some-of-his-classic-rock-influences-on-new-album/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWH7-NmDJ4w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfLTBNFi3fs
https://www.kvraudio.com/interviews/embracing-change-the-right-way-an-interview-with-david-rosenthal-41845
http://kkdowning.net/steelmill/Interviews/doogie-white/
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/14-joe-lynn-turner-rainbow-deep-purple/id1533773809?i=1000507243905&fbclid=IwAR3AUQghC6NvtF8HUqyH2yGeVVWzfnAeCbL6FAwbniUO9CvejrV0Yy08NHU

AC/DC Family Tree

November 16, 2020 by Joe Cearlock in Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

AC/DC are probably the most quintessential hard rock band. Their strait forward hard hitting rock style has made them super popular and influential. At the heart of the band has always been brothers Malcom and Angus Young on guitars until the death of Malcom in 2014 at which time nephew Stevie Young stepped in. Bon Scott was on vocals for the first 7 albums before his death. Brian Johnson then appeared on every album since. Music has always been written by Malcom and Angus with respective singers until the 90’s at which time everything is written by Malcom and Angus. Unfortunately I have had defaulting finding Bon and Brian’s influences and any help is welcome.

Muddy Waters

John Lee Hooker

Elmore James

Little Richard is one of the original rock ‘n’ rollers. Malcolm said he use to play the rhythms of his piano parts. According to Angus, Little Richard was Bon’s biggest idol.

Chuck Berry

Freddie King

The Yardbirds had some of the most important guitar players of their time get their start with the band including Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton. Malcolm named The Yardbirds as an influence.

The Kinks were were a 60’s rock band probably best known for their song “You Really Got Me”. Malcom named them as an influence.

The Rolling Stones were a huge blues based rock band. Malcolm named them as an influence.

John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers is an often cited band. It tends to be mostly because of period that Eric Clapton was on guitar. Malcolm named Clapton’s work with the Bluesbreakers as an influence.

Malcolm said him and Angus were playing guitar as kids before The Beatles. At the time they tried to play some instrumental surf music on an old acoustic.

The famous duck walk done on stage by Angus comes inspired by Chuck Berry.

Angus’s rock ‘n’ roll influences came first and he later got more into blues guys.

Angus would learn a lot from his brother Malcolm.

Angus isn’t a fan of Clapton. He says “even on a bad night Chuck Berry is a lot better than Clapton will ever be. Clapton just sticks licks together that he has taken from other people – like B B King and the other old blues players—and puts them together in some mish-mashed fashion." The only great album he ever made was the Blues Breaker album he did with John Mayall and maybe a couple of good songs he did with Cream. The guy more or less built his reputation on that. I never saw what the big fuss was about Clapton to begin with.” He said he wasn’t a fan of Eddie Van Halen and said “Malcolm’s still a better guitarist than Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen certainly knows his scales, but I don’t enjoy listening to very technical guitarists who cram all the notes they know into one song. I mean, Van Halen can do what he does very well, but he’s really just doing finger exercises. If a guitarist wants to practice all the notes he can play, he should do it at home. There’s definitely a place for that type of playing, but it’s not in front of me.” He said he saw Deep Purple and wasn’t a big fan. He said they were the poor man’s Led Zeppelin and called Led Zeppelin a poor imitation of The Who. Angus is very much an old school guy into Chuck Berry and old blues players. On the other hand he says Jeff Beck who is very technical knows how to rock and roll when he wants to. Angus says he was a fan of the early stuff he did with Rod Stewart. He said “Jumping Jack Flash” and “Street Fighting Man” from The Rolling Stones were the last progresses in a positive direction for Rock ‘n’ Roll. He’s not a fan of punk either.

Clapton and Hendrix are often miss cited as an influence on Angus. It comes from an interview where the context is him saying that they use blues techniques similar to Freddie King which he was influenced by.

Angus is a fan of Jerry Lee Lewis and said if he played piano he’d probably perform like him.

Bands influenced by AC/DC!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

German Thrash and first wave black metal

FUCKIN’ SLAYER!!!!

Classic Death Metal

An eclectic metal band rooted in Melodic Death

Sources:

https://earofnewt.com/2016/08/14/that-time-acdcs-malcolm-told-me-that-his-biggest-influences-were-the-old-rockers-and-early-clapton/
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8039617/acdc-malcom-young-interview-2003-death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byfweknh6Po
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcGAScb_woY
https://destroyerofharmony.com/2013/04/24/angus-young-guitar-world-march-1986-part-1/
https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/angus_young_explains_major_guitar_struggle_as_beginner_recalls_brutal_acdc_shows_at_clubs_worse_than_toilets.html
https://www.loudersound.com/features/acdc-interview-angus-young-and-bon-scott-on-booze-sex-and-rocknroll
http://bravewords.com/news/ac-dc-guitarist-angus-young-remembers-bon-scott-when-i-think-back-in-hindsight-he-was-a-guy-that-i-always-knew-was-full-of-life

Van Halen Family Tree

October 21, 2020 by Joe Cearlock in Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Van Halen were revolutionary when they emerged. They have been on my list to do for a long time and with the recent passing of Eddie Van Halen I decided I can’t put it off any longer. As much as Jimi Hendrix brought forth a revolution for guitar players, a decade later Eddie would revolutionize guitar again. Besides guitar Eddie also played all keyboards in the band. Easily Eddie is one of the most influential guitar players there has ever been. The core lineup of Van Halen was consistent with Eddie and Alex at the heart of the band. Michael Anthony was on bass from the first album through 2006 at which time bass was taken over by Eddi’s son Wolfgang. The classic line up would be with David Lee Roth on vocals for the first six albums. He was replaced with vocalist/guitarist Sammy Hagar for the next four albums. This period is often referred to as Van Hagar. Gary Cherone would be the vocalist for one album. Dave would return for an album again in 2012. Writing in Van Halen has always been a collaborative effort with writing credits shared but Eddie was the one behind the riffs. Because Gary Cherone was only in the band for one album I will put his influences at the bottom instead of with the main list.

Showtunes

Broadway brought to the T.V., Dave’s earliest influences from from showtunes like West Side Story and Damn Yankees.

James Brown was Soul Brother No. 1. He was a big influence and Dave.

Major Lance

Marvin Gaye

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

Dick Dale

Wilson Pickett

The Temptations

Lou Rawls

The Dave Clark Five were a rock / pop band very similar to the Beatles. After moving to the US, DC5 was the band that made Alex and Eddie want to play rock music.

The Yardbirds featured the most influential guitar players of their time including Eric Clapton. Sammy named them with Clapton as an influence.

The Who were rock band occasionally verging on progressive and hard rock. Eddie named Pete Townsend as a big influence on his rhythm playing. Michael is also a big fan of John Entwistle. They are also an influence on Gary.

Cream were a very influential psychedelic blues based band. Eddie named Eric Clapton as his biggest influence and said he use to learn his solos note for note. Particularly he was a fan of the live stuff. Michael named Jack Bruce as one of his bigge… — Cream were a very influential psychedelic blues based band. Eddie named Eric Clapton as his biggest influence and said he use to learn his solos note for note. Particularly he was a fan of the live stuff. Michael named Jack Bruce as one of his biggest influences. Like Eddie, Sammy said he tried to learn all of Clapton’s solos.

John Mayall had several guitar players notably Eric Clapton and Peter Green. Eddie said he prefers Clapton’s stuff with Cream but Sammy was into everything Clapton and was equally inspired by his time with John Mayall and also named Peter Green as … — John Mayall had several guitar players notably Eric Clapton and Peter Green. Eddie said he prefers Clapton’s stuff with Cream but Sammy was into everything Clapton and was equally inspired by his time with John Mayall and also named Peter Green as an influence.

The Electric Flag were a psychedelic blues rock / soul band. Michael named them as the first band that made him want to play bass and named Harvey Books as one of his biggest influences.

Led Zeppelin are one of the most influential and earliest hard rock bands. Michael named John Paul Jones as one of his biggest influences. They are also an influence on Gary.

Elton John

The Persuasions

Mother’s Finest is a Funk based rock band. They are an influence on Dave.

The hard rock band Montrose was where Sammy got his start. Sammy said that Ronnie Montrose was an influence on him and he still plays guitar like him.

Alex and Eddi’s dad was a musician who played saxophone and clarinet on live radio. They both started playing piano and taking lessons around 6 or 7 years old as their parents wanted them to be concert pianists. They played classical style. Originally Eddie played drums and Alex played guitar but Eddie says they switched when Alex got better at drums than him. They both studied music (theory) under Truman Fisher who also taught Frank Zappa. Eddie said he learned what not to do but Alex learned theory very well although Eddie writes most of the music.

In a interview with Eddie in 78, he said that Dave didn’t even own a stereo and listened to what ever was in the radio.

Although it might seem reasonable that Hendrix was an influence on Eddie, but in fact he said he liked him but never really got into him and never even bought any of his records. He said he was never really that inspired by Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore either. He did however say he grew up with a lot of The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, Cream, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix.

Eddie was also a fan of Allan Holdsworth.

The interesting thing about Eddie is that he’s questioned about influences and talks with respect about players like Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Hendrix, but he doesn’t talk like he’s very influenced by anybody outside of Clapton and Townsend. He says his playing style isn’t like any of them. With as unique as Eddie is and what he has said in interviews, I’m led to the conclusion that his uniqueness comes from himself rather than being a combination of styles that influenced him. He was a very good piano player as well and I think some of his unique guitar style comes from playing piano first. That would also explain some of the classical sounding stuff in his playing. (On a side note him and Randy Rhoads both have a similar style and both started as piano players.)

Eddie said he never used to tune the guitar to anything and Michael would just tune to him.

In the early days of Van Halen playing clubs, Alex said they had like 300 covers they knew and played everything from James Brown and Ohio Players, to Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. At the time they were expected to play five 45 minutes sets of top 40’s. Eddie said that Black Sabbath was the closest to his heart out of the bands they covered. He used to also sing lead for Sabbath songs and was particularly a big fan of “Into the Void”.

I have yet to find any interviews of Alex naming influences. I’ve seen John Bonham, Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, Ray Phillips, and Buddy Ritch named by people, but I have not been able to find any confirmation of this.

If you are familiar with the “Panama” video and remember the band swinging on wires; this idea came from Dave seeing the Peter Pan Broadway show as a kid.

When it comes to Dave’s showman ship, dancing and jumping splits, that all comes from the The Berry Brothers and the Nicholas Brothers, both of which were dance teams. He also takes influence from Frankie Manning and other swing time dancers. Much of Dave’s influences come from early 60’s black culture. He names Soul Train and the movie Super Fly as having a big influence on him.

As a kid Dave played saxophone.

Gary was only on one album. His influences include Alice Cooper, Queen, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and the Who.

Bands influenced by Van Halen!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

Zakk Wylde names Eddie as a big influence.

The inspiration to extreme forms of metal.

Dio guitar players have been heavily inspired by Eddie.

FUCKIN’ SLAYER!!!!!!!

Widely considered the fathers of death metal.

An eclectic metal band rooted in melodic death

Sources:

https://web.archive.org/web/20111022020333/http://jasobrecht.com/eddie-van-halen-complete-1978-interviews/
https://www.guitarworld.com/features/eddie-van-halen-first-guitar-world-interview-1981
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/who-were-eddie-van-halen-influences-1071780/
https://www.loudersound.com/features/eddie-van-halen-the-1978-interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xgmZrMw7wc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXM62CQmwDY&t=4s
https://www.vhnd.com/2020/04/04/never-before-heard-alex-van-halen-interview-from-1981/
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/story/2020-10-06/ediie-van-halen-dead-at-65-revisit-our-interviews-with-the-singular-rock-guitar-great
https://www.vhnd.com/2009/03/24/michael-anthony-my-top-3-bass-players-of-all-time/
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/music-news/david-lee-roth-reveals-surprising-van-halen-influences-235352978.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0FpV3nZpEQ
http://bravewords.com/news/sammy-hagar-talks-about-influences-new-chickenfoot-album-his-voice-today-ive-got-the-tone-ive-always-been-looking-for
https://www.loudersound.com/features/sammy-hagar-interview-diamond-dave-the-van-halens-and-a-long-life-in-rock
https://www.americanmusical.com/content--name-Gary-Cherone-Interview
https://www.guitarworld.com/magazine/tony-iommi-and-eddie-van-halen-discuss-their-careers-friendship-and-past-three-decades-our-favorite-instrument

Deep Purple Family Tree

August 11, 2020 by Joe Cearlock in Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Deep Purple have been hugely influential on metal music although they have only played a limited amount of metal songs being more rock/hard rock band. Because we don’t consider Deep Purple a metal band and because only their classic line ups have been influential to metal this list of influences will only focus on the classic line up (1970-1975). Ritchie Blackmore is one of the most influential guitar players on metal and the same can be said about John Lord on keys, Ian Paice on drums, Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes on vocals. We will not focus on David Coverdale because I haven’t seen him named as an influence by any metal bands although I will revisit this list if that becomes the case in the future. I haven’t seen Roger Glover listed as an influence by anyone but we will still look at him because he had a hand in the classic Deep Purple sound. Deep Purple have very diverse influences ranging from many style of music.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Antonio Vivaldi

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven is probably the most well known classical composer. He is one of Jon’s classical influences.

Frédéric Chopin

Chopin was a classical pianist and composer. He was one of Jon’s classical influences.

Franz Liszt

Fraz was a Romantic period pianist, and composer among other things. He is one of Jon’s “classical” influences.

Enrico Caruso

Django Reinhardt

Les Paul

Oscar Peterson

Ella Fitzgerald was a jazz/swing/ classic pop singer. She was an influence on Gillan.

Gene Krupa

One of the most important rock and roll stars, Little Richard had an influence on both Jon, and Gillan from both his singing and piano playing. Paice said LIttle Richard’s band was probably the greatest rock n roll band.

Little Walter

Dave Brubeck

Buddy Rich

Scotty Moore

Elvis the dubbed “the king of rock n roll” by many, was an influence in Gillan.

Tommy Steele

Cliff Gallup

Jimmy Smith

Who? Ricky or Rick Nelson was basically a 50’s teen idol who played rock n roll, country, pop, basically a 1950’s Justin Bieber. Not so much of an influence as Ritchie just strait up stole the riff he would use for “Black Night”

Ray Charles was pioneer of Soul music and an influence on Gillan.

Big Jim Sullivan

Nero and the Gladiators

Cliff Bennett and The Rebel Rousers were a British R&B group. Ian Gillan said he spent the next 30 years trying to get his voice to sound like Cliff Bennett after seeing them.

Wes Montgomery

Jerry Lee Lewis was a rock n roll singer/piano player. He had a huge influence on Jon being the first rock n roll he heard.

James Brown is the king of funk and an influence of Gillan.

Bob Dylan

Dusty Springfield was a pop singer in the 60’s. She was an influence on Gillan.

Graham Bond

Vanilla Fudge was a psychedelic band in the late 60’s. When Deep Purple started to take a heavier approach, they were a big influence on Ritchie, Paice, and Jon.

Shuggie Otis

Led-Zeppelin is more of a peer to Deep Purple, but Ritchie said after hearing the first Zeppelin album the band decided to go in a heavier direction.

Jon Lord played classical piano till he was 18. In an interview in 1989 he said he was going back to re-learn classical stuff that is noted above. I keep seeing Jimmy McGriff and Jack McDuff listed as influences but I haven’t’ seen any sources to back this up yet.

Ian Paice, besides what is noted above he is also influenced by Bobby Elliot of The Hollies.

Ian Gillan came from a musical family and was exposed to a verity of styles. He first got into rock n roll after hearing “Heartbreak Hotel.” He said he is influenced by a lot of blues singers like Sonny Boy Williamson but there are two blues singers that went by the name and he did not specify which one. Before being in Deep Purple he sung in a harmony group and is a big fan of the Beach Boys.

Rodger Glover’s bass influences include many motown players. He says he wrote the riff to Maybe I’m A Leo after hearing John Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep”.

Bands influenced by Deep Purple!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

The influential Michael Schenker named Deep Purple as an influence.

Scorpions of one of many bands with a vocalist influenced by Gillan.

The Metal Gods

Out of the NWOBHM, Iron Maiden are one of the most influential bands.

If you don’t know Ozzy, I don’t know how to help you.

Deep Purple were the once named as Ronnie’s favorite band as well as them influencing members of his band.

Hugely influential thrash masters

Taking Black metal in a progressive direction.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22yOjWthGI
https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-real-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-ritchie-blackmore
https://www.newsweek.com/ritchie-blackmore-deep-purple-rainbow-blackmores-night-539420
https://guitar.com/features/ritchie-blackmore-recalls-life-deep-purple/
https://www.vintageguitar.com/32424/ritchie-blackmore-3/
https://noisecreep.com/deep-purple-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame/
https://www.chrissjuicebar.com/portfolio-items/ian-gillanlead-singer-songwriter-and-lyricist-for-deep-purple-one-of-the-most-influential-artists-of-hard-rock-and-heavy-metal/
https://www.thehighwaystar.com/interviews/lord/jl19890100.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM7TidriOz4
https://www.thehighwaystar.com/interviews/paice/ip199812xx.html
https://pearldrum.com/artists/drumset-artists/ian-paice
https://www.rogerglover.com/bass-players-question-time/personal/