“Jon offered me the gig and I turned him down. It still amazes me how close I came to not following this path”: Roger Glover’s path to bass greatness with Deep Purple

Deep Purple 1973 Roger Glover. Singer Ian Gillan and drummer Ian Paice performing with English rock group Deep Purple.

Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple formed the holy trinity that would ultimately induce heavy metal. Yet while the band has always pinned the meters in terms of popularity, sales, and volume, critical acclaim has been less than royal – especially when viewed in the context of Zeppelin and Sabbath.

Consider Roger Glover's snarling bass guitar on Purple's 1972 classic, Machine Head – a record that would set the tone for decades of ensuing music – and it's clear his contribution to the canon of rock bass has been largely overlooked.