# Stargazer guitar solo > Ritchie Blackmore's guitar solo on Stargazer by Rainbow (1976) starts at about 3:22. From the album Rising. Ranked #175 of all time across 80 lists. Canonical URL: Rainbow, 1976, from *Rising*. Solo by *Ritchie Blackmore*. 'Stargazer' is one of Ritchie Blackmore's most ambitious recordings, built on a pounding, hypnotic groove and an orchestral backdrop. His solo leans on exotic, Middle Eastern-flavored scales, with fast runs and dramatic bends that suit the song's mythic lyrics about a wizard and his tower. Paired with Ronnie James Dio's powerful vocal and Cozy Powell's thunderous drums, the guitar adds grandeur and menace. The track became a blueprint for much of the power metal that followed. Listen for how Blackmore's lines twist through the scales, giving the solo a strange, otherworldly character that matches the song's sense of doomed ambition. Stargazer by Rainbow is ranked #175 in our consensus of 80 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Ritchie Blackmore and the song was released in 1976. It appears on 2 lists, placing as high as #9 (Planet Rock). ## In our lists - [One and Only](https://greatestsolos.com/list/one-and-only/) — #25 - [The 25 Greatest Metal Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/metal/) — #24 - [Hidden Gems](https://greatestsolos.com/list/hidden-gems/) — #1 - [The Best Ritchie Blackmore Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/ritchie-blackmore-guitar-solos/) — #2 - [The Best Rainbow Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/rainbow-guitar-solos/) — #1 - [Top 20 Guitar Solos of 1976](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-guitar-solos-1976/) — #9 ## Sources - [Planet Rock: The 75 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock/news/rock-news/the-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time) — #9 - [DigitalDreamDoor: 200 Greatest Metal Guitar Solos](https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_metal-guitar-solos.html) — #10 - [Planet Rock: The Top 40 Greatest Guitar Solos Ever](https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock/news/rock-news/the-top-40-greatest-guitar-solos-ever) — #21 ### Who played the guitar solo on Stargazer? Ritchie Blackmore played the solo on Rainbow's Stargazer (1976). ### What guitar was used on the Stargazer solo? A fender stratocaster, according to widely reported accounts. ### Where does Stargazer rank among the greatest guitar solos? #175 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 80 published lists; it appears on 2 of them. --- GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)