#41 ·
wanderingraven20 said:The backstory of "Smoke on the Water" is actually pretty wild. Frank Zappa was performing at some venue in Aspen, right by the shores of Lake Tahoe in Switzerland, when someone fired a flare mid-set and set the whole hall on fire. Zappa yelled that there was a fire and everyone needed to get out, but the crowd just assumed he was messing around or part of the act. It wasn't until the flames were actually taking over the building that they realized it wasn't a joke—and by then, the place was basically toast.
The next morning, the Purple Rain fans who were also at the festival watched from their hotel as the smoke from the burned-down venue drifted over the lake like a thick fog. All they had to do was add those iconic chords to that scene...
You're telling me something I already knew...☕ 🙄