“Blackmore Shaped My Guitar Playing in a Liberating Way”: Bob Dylan Pays Rare Tribute to Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore in Candid Reflection
In a rare and surprising moment of guitar reverence, Bob Dylan has opened up about one of his greatest musical influences—not a folk icon or protest singer, but the enigmatic and electrifying Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow fame.
Speaking in an upcoming interview featured in Legends of Rock, Dylan offered high praise for Blackmore’s trailblazing guitar work, calling him “the best I have ever seen” and revealing how the British guitarist shaped his own approach to playing the instrument.
“Blackmore has influenced my guitar-playing – just in a liberating way,” Dylan said. “I wouldn’t dare try to copy him. That would be pointless. But watching him, hearing him, it opened a door for me. He made you feel like anything was possible with six strings.”
Dylan, who is widely known for his poetic lyrics and groundbreaking songwriting, rarely comments on technical guitarists. But in this moment, he gave a deeply personal insight into how Blackmore’s fiery, classically-tinged solos and rebellious precision left a mark on his own relationship with the guitar.
“We were asked to play on a tribute album once,” Dylan recalled with a laugh, “but there’s no point. You don’t cover Blackmore. You just watch in awe.”
Throughout his decades-long career, Dylan has evolved through folk, rock, country, gospel, and blues—but his appreciation for other masters of the craft has remained steady. And in Blackmore, he sees not just a guitarist, but a visionary who helped redefine what the instrument could be.
“Oh, definitely—he is the best I have ever seen,” Dylan concluded.
The quote is already making waves among music fans, especially those who have long seen Blackmore as one of rock’s most underrated guitar innovators. For Dylan, a man who’s shaped the voice of generations, to name Blackmore as a major influence is both unexpected and thrilling.
As Dylan continues to tour and record well into his 80s, this rare nod to the thunder and elegance of Ritchie Blackmore reminds fans that even legends have heroes—and that musical boundaries are often shaped by admiration as much as invention.
Let me know if you’d like a social media teaser, quote card design, or to fictionalize a full interview between Dylan and a magazine!
