It’s been a wild ride for Ritchie Blackmore.

He was the driving force behind one of heavy metal’s founding members, and formed a second formidable metal band before he radically changed gears and devoted himself to Renaissance-inspired folk music.

But what’s never been in doubt is his remarkable talent.

Blackmore got his start in the mid-1960s, playing with local bands — including Heinz & the Wild Boys — in his native England and recording a number of albums that drew limited attention. He later teamed with keyboard player Jon Lord and co-founded Roundabout — the band that would shortly become Deep Purple.

The band went through some early lineup changes, including a change in singers from Chris Curtis and later Rod Evans, and they scored an early hit with “Hush.”

But when they settled on Ian Gillan on vocals, adding Roger Glover on bass and Ian Paice on drums, things started to take off.

Blackmore’s first stint with Purple would only last through 1975, but the band’s work was iconic. Tunes like “Lazy” and “Smoke on the Water” — a hit in both the U.S. and England — put them firmly on the rock and roll map.

Despite the success, Blackmore increasingly feuded with his bandmates, and left the band in 1975. Without missing much of a beat, Blackmore resurfaced the following year with Blackmore’s Rainbow, with a new lineup that included singer Ronnie James Dio — who would evolve into one of metal’s premier singers, ultimately replacing Ozzy Osborne in Black Sabbath before forming his own band.

Rainbow quickly drew a loyal following, and would later score a hit with “I Surrender.” But friction within the band — and a few changes in lead singer — fueled the group’s breakup in the mid-1980s.

Blackmore quickly moved to his next project — his past. He reformed Deep Purple with a lineup that included Gillan back on vocals. The band recorded and toured through 1993, when it again disbanded.

Taking another shop at rekindling his past success, Blackmore then reformed Rainbow, this time with Doogie White on vocals.

But by 1997, Blackmore appeared ready for a new direction. He formed Blackmore’s Night with his wife, Candice Night. The Renaissance-influenced pop group continues to this day, with the couple releasing eight albums over the years, most recently the 2008 release, Secret Voyage.

Hat’s off to Blackmore for reinventing himself musically. But he’ll be hard-pressed to eclipse the hard rock legacy he created fronting Purple and Rainbow — when I saw him.

And that’s what gets him on our list of ‘Guitar Players You Should Know.’

(NOTE: This is part of my ongoing series of reports on guitar players who fly under the mainstream radar. Keep checking The Listening Room for future installments of guitar players you should know – JF)

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jfitzgibbon