“We were opening for Deep Purple, and Ritchie Blackmore got food poisoning and was in the hospital overnight”: How a support slot with Deep Purple and a last-minute guitarist replacement led to Eric Johnson meeting Christopher Cross

Eric Johnson performs on stage during the G3 tour stop at The Magnolia on February 07, 2024 in El Cajon, California.

In the ’70s and early ’80s, Eric Johnson cut his teeth in the session world, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Cat Stevens, Carole King, and Steve Morse, before eventually taking the plunge to release his debut solo album, Tones, in 1986.

However, before embarking on his solo journey, there was also a group called Mariani, through which he ended up supporting Deep Purple – and ended up developing a fruitful relationship with the Grammy Award–winning Christopher Cross.