Child in Time

Deep Purple, 1970. Solo by Ritchie Blackmore.

An epic with a fast middle section.

Ritchie Blackmore's solo arrives after Ian Gillan's first climactic screams and builds in stages. It begins with rounded, bluesy phrases and moaning bends, gains speed and bite, weaves in classical-style arpeggios and ends in a furious triplet run played in unison with Jon Lord's organ. Blackmore himself called it fairly average and said he got it in two or three takes, but its pacing and gradual escalation became a blueprint for long hard rock solos. Listen for the unison run with the organ at the end; guitar and keyboard lock together so tightly that they sound like one instrument.

Child in Time by Deep Purple is ranked #72 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Ritchie Blackmore and the song was released in 1970. It appears on 8 lists, placing as high as #10 (Planet Rock (UK radio) listener poll, reported by laut.de).

The story of Child in Time

Child in Time grew from a borrowed organ figure. Jon Lord started playing a riff adapted from Bombay Calling, a 1969 instrumental by the San Francisco band It's a Beautiful Day, and the rest of Deep Purple reshaped and rearranged it into something much heavier. The exchange went both ways: It's a Beautiful Day later worked Deep Purple's Wring That Neck into their own song Don and Dewey on the 1970 album Marrying Maiden.

Ian Gillan, who had never heard Bombay Calling, wrote the words. He said they came easily because the whole band felt the shadow of nuclear war hanging over them at what seemed the peak of the Cold War. The lyric is short and stark, a meditation on war and innocence, leaving plenty of room for Gillan's wordless wails and for long instrumental passages that climb from a hush to a frenzy.

The song took shape on stage before it was recorded; its earliest known live airing came in September 1969, during the period of the Concerto for Group and Orchestra, and that performance later surfaced on the 1977 compilation Powerhouse. Deep Purple then tracked it at IBC Studios in London in late 1969 with engineer Andy Knight, fitting sessions between gigs. Blackmore recalled it being put together in three stages and called it partly a response to the orchestral project.

Deep Purple in Rock came out on June 5, 1970, reaching No. 4 in the UK, and Child in Time was its longest track at over ten minutes. The band produced the album themselves. The song was later issued as a single in 1972 and found special success in the Netherlands, where it reached the Top 10 and has long been a fixture near the top of annual listener polls.

The solo

Ritchie Blackmore's solo arrives after Gillan's first climactic screams and builds in stages: it begins with rounded, bluesy phrases and moaning bends, gains speed and bite, weaves in classical-style arpeggios and ends in a furious triplet run played in unison with Jon Lord's organ. Accounts of his guitar differ. Guitar Player names a Gibson ES-335 on the track, while Blackmore told an interviewer that by the time of In Rock he had moved to a Stratocaster for its sharper edge, adding that single-coil pickups expose every note. Blackmore himself was modest, calling the solo fairly average and saying he got it in two or three takes, with only about fifteen minutes of studio time set aside for solos. He also noted he played the closing section faster live, though he refused on principle to use tapping to go faster still.

Legacy

Child in Time is one of Deep Purple's landmark recordings and a showcase for Gillan's range and Blackmore's soloing. Guitarist magazine readers voted its solo No. 16 of all time in 1998, it placed No. 25 in John Peel's 1976 Festive Fifty, and Radio Veronica listeners ranked it No. 1 in 1989. It has consistently landed near the top of the Dutch Top 2000. Its brooding drama has also suited screen use, from Twister to a 2025 Stranger Things trailer.

Top 10 facts about Child in Time

Jon Lord's opening organ riff was inspired by It's a Beautiful Day's 1969 instrumental Bombay Calling.
Wikipedia
It's a Beautiful Day returned the favor by borrowing Deep Purple's Wring That Neck for their song Don and Dewey.
Wikipedia
Gillan said the Cold War lyrics came easily because the band felt the nuclear threat looming over them.
Wikipedia
Blackmore called his solo relatively average and said he recorded it in two or three takes.
The Highway Star
Blackmore said he had switched from a Gibson ES-335 to a Stratocaster by the In Rock sessions because it had more edge.
The Highway Star
Blackmore said he played the final unison section faster live but would not resort to tapping, as a matter of principle.
Guitar Player
Guitarist magazine's 1998 readers' poll ranked the solo No. 16 among the top 100 guitar solos.
Wikipedia
Roger Glover recalled thousands of Japanese fans singing along to the song in Tokyo in 1972 as a career high point.
Wikipedia
Twister used the song in a scene showing California Jam 1974 footage, even though the band did not play it at that show.
Wikipedia
Deep Purple revived the song on their 2002 European tour; its final performance was in Kharkiv in March 2002.
Wikipedia

Live versions

Powerhouse (Concerto for Group and Orchestra era) (1977) The earliest known live recording, from September 1969, released on this later compilation.
Scandinavian Nights / Live in Stockholm (1970) Recorded in Stockholm in September 1970, capturing the song in its early improvisational form.
Made in Japan (Osaka and Tokyo) (1972) A 12-minute version from August 1972, from what many consider the greatest hard rock live album.
Deep Purple In Concert (BBC) BBC concert recordings capturing the Mk II lineup performing the song.

Notable covers

Ian Gillan Band (1976) Gillan re-recorded it in a jazzier style as the title track of Child in Time.
Yngwie Malmsteen (1996) Recorded for his covers album Inspiration.
Blackmore's Night (2006) Shortened version sung by Candice Night on The Village Lanterne.
Rata Blanca with Tarja Turunen (2009) Performed live together in Buenos Aires on June 9, 2009.

In our lists

See Them Live — #19
Deep Cuts — #35
The 25 Greatest Hard Rock Guitar Solos — #14
Epic-Length Solos — #16
Played on a Stratocaster — #23

Sources

Who played the guitar solo on Child in Time?

Ritchie Blackmore played the solo on Deep Purple's Child in Time (1970).

What guitar was used on the Child in Time solo?

A fender stratocaster through a Marshall amp, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Child in Time rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#72 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 8 of them.

Who wrote Child in Time?

It is credited to all five members of Deep Purple Mark II: Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord and Paice.

What is Child in Time about?

Ian Gillan wrote it about the threat of nuclear war during the Cold War, a reflection on war and innocence.

What guitar did Ritchie Blackmore use on Child in Time?

Sources disagree: Guitar Player says a Gibson ES-335, while Blackmore has said he had switched to a Stratocaster by the In Rock sessions.

What song inspired Child in Time?

Jon Lord's organ riff was inspired by Bombay Calling by It's a Beautiful Day.

Why did Deep Purple stop playing Child in Time?

Its extreme vocal demands made it hard for Ian Gillan to sing; it was dropped after 2002.