List of Rainbow band members

The original lineup of Rainbow featured guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and vocalist Ronnie James Dio, as well as bassist Craig Gruber, drummer Gary Driscoll and keyboardist Micky Lee Soule (not pictured).

Rainbow are an English-American hard rock band originally from Hertford, Hertfordshire. Formed in 1975 by then-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, the original lineup of the group also included former Elf members Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Craig Gruber (bass), Gary Driscoll (drums) and Micky Lee Soule (keyboards), who recorded and released the self-titled album Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow that year.^[1] Gruber, Driscoll and Soule were quickly replaced with Jimmy Bain, Cozy Powell and Tony Carey, respectively, after the album's release.^[2] Rising and live album On Stage were recorded with this second lineup, before Bain and Carey were sacked by Blackmore in January 1977.^[3] Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, released in 1978, featured bassist Bob Daisley and keyboardist David Stone, in addition to Powell.^[4]

After the release of Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Dio left due to disagreements with Blackmore.^[5] Graham Bonnet replaced Dio for 1979's Down to Earth, which also saw the addition of bassist Roger Glover and keyboardist Don Airey.^[6] Bonnet left after the album's release and was replaced by Joe Lynn Turner, while Powell also left the group to be replaced by Bobby Rondinelli; both new members performed on Difficult to Cure.^[2] Keyboardist David Rosenthal replaced Airey for 1982's Straight Between the Eyes and 1983's Bent Out of Shape, the latter of which featured drummer Chuck Burgi who replaced Rondinelli.^[2] Rainbow broke up for the first time in 1984.^[2]

After Blackmore left Deep Purple for the second time in 1993,^[7] Rainbow reformed with vocalist Doogie White, bassist Greg Smith, drummer John O'Reilly and keyboardist Paul Morris, releasing the album Stranger in Us All in 1996.^[8] However, the band's return was short-lived as it broke up again in 1997 as Blackmore shifted focus to Blackmore's Night.^[9] In November 2015, it was revealed that Blackmore would be returning to the Rainbow moniker for a number of shows in 2016 with vocalist Ronnie Romero, bassist Bob Nouveau (Bob Curiano), drummer David Keith and keyboardist Jens Johansson.^[10]

Members

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Ritchie Blackmore	1975–1984 1993–1997 2015–present	guitars	all Rainbow releases
	Jens Johansson	2015–present	keyboards	Memories in Rock - Live in Germany (2016)
	David Keith	2015–present	drums	Memories in Rock - Live in Germany (2016)
	Bob Nouveau	2015–present	bass, backing vocals	Memories in Rock - Live in Germany (2016)
	Ronnie Romero	2015–present	vocals	Memories in Rock - Live in Germany (2016)

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Ronnie James Dio	1975–1979	vocals	Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) Rising (1976) On Stage (1977) Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) Finyl Vinyl (1986) – two tracks only Live in Germany 1976 (1990) Deutschland Tournee 1976 (2006) Live in Munich 1977 (2006)
	Gary Driscoll	1975	drums	Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975)
	Craig Gruber	1975	bass	Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975)
	Micky Lee Soule	1975	keyboards	Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975)
	Cozy Powell	1975–1980	drums	Rising (1976) On Stage (1977) Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) Down to Earth (1979) Finyl Vinyl (1986) Live in Germany 1976 (1990) Deutschland Tournee 1976 (2006) Live in Munich 1977 (2006) Denver 1979: Down to Earth Tour (2015) Long Island 1979: Down to Earth Tour (2015)
	Jimmy Bain	1975–1977	bass	Rising (1976) On Stage (1977) Live in Germany 1976 (1990) Deutschland Tournee 1976 (2006)
	Tony Carey	1975–1977	keyboards	Rising (1976) On Stage (1977) Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) – two tracks only Live in Germany 1976 (1990) Deutschland Tournee 1976 (2006)
	David Stone	1977–1979	keyboards	Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) Finyl Vinyl (1986) – two tracks only Live in Munich 1977 (2006)
	Mark Clarke	1977	bass	none
	Bob Daisley	1977–1979	bass	Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) Finyl Vinyl (1986) – two tracks only Live in Munich 1977 (2006)
	Roger Glover	1979–1984	bass	all Rainbow releases from Down to Earth (1979) to Finyl Vinyl (1986) Denver 1979: Down to Earth Tour (2015) Long Island 1979: Down to Earth Tour (2015)
	Don Airey	1979–1981	keyboards	Down to Earth (1979) Difficult to Cure (1981) Finyl Vinyl (1986) Denver 1979: Down to Earth Tour (2015) Long Island 1979: Down to Earth Tour (2015)
	Graham Bonnet	1979–1980	vocals	Down to Earth (1979) Finyl Vinyl (1986) – two tracks only Denver 1979: Down to Earth Tour (2015) Long Island 1979: Down to Earth Tour (2015)
	Joe Lynn Turner	1980–1984	vocals	all Rainbow releases from Difficult to Cure (1981) to Finyl Vinyl (1986)
	Bobby Rondinelli	1980–1983	drums	Difficult to Cure (1981) Straight Between the Eyes (1982) Live Between the Eyes (1982) Finyl Vinyl (1986)
	David Rosenthal	1981–1984	keyboards	all Rainbow releases from Straight Between the Eyes (1982) to Finyl Vinyl (1986)
	Chuck Burgi	1983–1984 1995–1997	drums	Bent Out of Shape (1983) Japan Tour 1984 (1984) Finyl Vinyl (1986) Black Masquerade: Rockpalast '95 (2013)
	Paul Morris	1994–1997	keyboards	Stranger in Us All (1995) Black Masquerade: Rockpalast '95 (2013)
	Greg Smith	1994–1997	bass	Stranger in Us All (1995) Black Masquerade: Rockpalast '95 (2013)
	Doogie White	1994–1997	vocals	Stranger in Us All (1995) Black Masquerade: Rockpalast '95 (2013)
	John O'Reilly	1994–1995	drums	Stranger in Us All (1995)
	John Miceli	1997	drums	none

Timeline

Lineups

References

External links

• Ritchie Blackmore official website