Deep Purple’s vocalist Ian Gillan has the most unique and iconic voice in rock’s history. His song, his voice, and his style of rock have been an inspiration to so many artists over the years. Their appearance has made a big impact on psychedelic rock, progressive rock, and heavier melodies.
Deep Purple was a huge success in 1969 due to the song ‘Hush’ and with it, the band wanted to shift away from the psychedelic blues. The rest of the band wanted to be rock-centric artists, and after getting the hold of Ian Gillan, by their third album, they had the sound they wanted.
The group has achieved countless successes and their work has received many praises and awards. And they have gathered countless fans because of their work. Ian Gillan was also asked to join Black Sabbath and was with them for only record ‘Born Again.’
There were also problems with Black Sabbath. While there was mutual respect between Gillan and Sabbath, Bill Ward recalled, “he didn’t particularly like some of the lyrics that Ian was bringing forward and putting into the songs. Not because Ian doesn’t write good lyrics or anything like that; I think Ian is an excellent performer, a great singer and often at times I think his lyrics can be quite brilliant. But I just have a personal difference in what I like to hear in the way of lyrics, and so I felt terribly disconnected.”
As Ian was one of the greatest rock artists, his list of favorite songs has been a matter of mystery. Well, not anymore, he has revealed some of the songs he loves. And the list is there below.
Ian Gillan’s Favorite Songs of all time
The Beatles ‘Love Me Do’
This is one of the first songs by The Beatles. And this is also one of the most influential songs in the world. This song was revealed back in 2020 when Gillan had an interview with Bravewords. He was there and he was going on about how important The Beatles are.
He said, “I thought his character was the making of the Beatles. And the reason for that is because of the tone of the blend with McCartney – so that nothing stands alone.”
“But when I heard his lead vocal on ‘Twist and Shout’ – which was the first time he really let rip – then I thought, ‘He’s the man.’ And he had a great sense of humor. He was sometimes crude – but always listenable.”
The Beach Boys ‘Good Vibrations’
In an interview with Music Times, Gillan was talking about The Beach Boys. He was there to talk about how they had inspired him. The interview was back in 2014 and he told, “You listen to the production on the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and stuff like that, and George Martin’s production on the Beatles and listen to the early sound recordings from Elvis; it’s impeccable — glorious, glorious sounds, whether you like the music or not.”
He commented that he personally loved ‘Good Vibrations’ from the album Pet Sounds.’
Little Richard ‘Long Tall Sally’
Long Tall Sally was released in 1956 and is one of the best songs out there. Back in 2011 in an interview with WIki Metal, he talked about his jazz influence. He said, “My grandfather, my uncle was a jazz pianist and there was lots of music in the house. I think it gave me the background, but it didn’t inspire me to work as a musician in those days.”
This was the reason, he got into Elvis and Buddy Holly when he was a teenager. He went on to say that his grandfather and his uncle gave him the background to all the music. He revealed Little Richard’s influence was all because of them.
Dusty Springfield ‘I Only Want To Be With You’
In an interview with UOL, Ian revealed some of his favorite songs and, he went on and said, Dusty. He talked about her, “This will probably sound strange, but I grew up listening to Enrico Caruso, Albert Schweitzer, who was a scientist, but also a great organist, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, Wes Montgomery.”
Ian talked about her and admitted that he loved her pop sense. And as an aspiring songwriter, he admired Springfield.
Razzle Dazzle ‘Deep Purple’
Ian Gillan said, “One of my favorites from the band, is on the album “Bananas” (2003).” This album was a banger for their loyal fans. And even after so many years, their sound hadn’t changed that much. This is the first song since the 70s to feature backing vocals that Gillan did not do in the studio.
