Glenn Hughes discussed his friendship with Ritchie Blackmore and disclosed whether or not he had plagiarized a Deep Purple song in a recent interview with Igor Miranda. Blackmore was a part of the band when they recorded “Burn,” one of their current successes. Numerous admirers and music critics have drawn comparisons between the song and another 1940s song by the same singer since it was released. According to the conversation, Blackmore added elements to the popular song by ripping off the original tune. After it had been debated for years, Hughes explained if his bandmate had actually stolen the song: “Look, we wrote the iconic portion of ‘Burn,’ you know, the vibe that was inspired by Jon Lorde.” When we reached the part where we hadn’t, I said, “You know we have to,” and I offered to play those chords. As you can hear, that’s a Glenn invention, but it functions quite well. Purple has never done anything like that middle part where I come in—I call it the bridge portion. Thus, I believed it to be something special. The interviewer brought up the rumors that the tune was lifted verbatim from George Gershwin’s “Fascinating Rhythm” after the conversation about the same song.
It seems that the first person to bring it up was another rocker. To further clarify whether or not it was more typical to take lyrics from other musicians’ songs, Hughes went on: “I don’t think Ritchie stole it from ‘Fascinating Rhythm,’ really.” Well, it sounds that way. Although I don’t believe he did it on purpose, Gene Simmons is the one who informed me about it when we listened to those two songs, therefore it is Gene’s responsibility that he brought it up. But that is how it does sound for the most part. Before both of them left the band, Hughes got the opportunity to perform with Blackmore for two years after joining Deep Purple. Hughes continued, thinking back on their collaboration with Blackmore: It was excellent. Ritchie and I used to be really close at that time. We had a great time together when I was at his house. About Ritchie, all I can say is lovely. He is the subject of many wild tales, yet beneath them all—the rumors, gossip, and stories—he is a decent, amusing, and compassionate man. Hughes posted a photo of himself with Gene Simmons on Facebook in 2019.
The caption of the photo described how Simmons first said the hit sounds like “Fascinating Rhythm.” Fans and followers who noticed the similarity flooded the post’s comments section. Hughes had previously addressed the same subject in an interview, explaining that Blackmore may have appropriated something from prior years and that all artists take inspiration from other artists. The interview is seen below.
