Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist. He was a founding member and the lead guitarist of Deep Purple, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds.[1] He is prolific in creating guitar riffs and has been known for playing both classically influenced and blues-based solos.

After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the hard rock band Rainbow,[2] which fused baroque music influences and elements of hard rock.[3][4] Rainbow steadily moved to catchy pop-style mainstream rock.[2] Rainbow broke up in 1984 with Blackmore re-joining Deep Purple until 1993. In 1997, he formed the traditional folk rock project Blackmore's Night along with his current wife Candice Night, shifting to vocalist-centred sounds.

As a member of Deep Purple, Blackmore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016.[5] He is cited by publications such as Guitar World and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest and most influential guitar players of all time.