# Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
**Long Live Rock 'n' Roll** is the third studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released on 14 April 1978 on Polydor and the last album the band recorded with lead singer [Ronnie James Dio](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronnie-james-dio).[1](https://www.senscritique.com/album/long_live_rock_n_roll/6016148) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/long-live-rock-n-roll-mw0000191415) Built around guitarist [Ritchie Blackmore](https://www.edgepedia.org/ritchie-blackmore) and Dio, it continued the "castle rock" style of the band's first two records while pointing toward the more commercial sound Blackmore would pursue after Dio left.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-album-of-the-week-club-review)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 14 April 1978, Polydor; Rainbow's third studio album[1](https://www.senscritique.com/album/long_live_rock_n_roll/6016148) |
| Final Dio album | The last Rainbow record with Ronnie James Dio on lead vocals[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/long-live-rock-n-roll-mw0000191415) |
| Chart peak | Number 89 on the Billboard 200[4](https://hardrockdaddy.com/2017/04/09/day-hard-rock-rainbow-releases-long-live-rock-n-roll/) |
| Title track credits | Music by Ritchie Blackmore, lyrics by Ronnie James Dio; studio recording runs 4 minutes 24 seconds[5](https://classicrockartists.com/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-1978/) |
| 1978 lineup | Blackmore (guitar), Dio (vocals), Cozy Powell (drums), Bob Daisley (bass), David Stone (keyboards)[6](https://classicrockartists.com/members-of-rainbow/) |
| Producer | Martin Birch, who also produced the band's earlier records[7](https://maxvibe.rocks/rainbow/) |
| Standout tracks | Gates of Babylon, Kill the King, and the title track, later an anthem for Dio's solo career[3](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-album-of-the-week-club-review) |
## Background and recording
Rainbow was formed in 1975 after Ritchie Blackmore quit [Deep Purple](https://www.edgepedia.org/deep-purple), recruiting members of the American band Elf around their singer Ronnie James Dio.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5219/biography) After the 1975 debut *Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow*, only Dio was retained from that lineup, and Blackmore brought in more experienced players such as drummer [Cozy Powell](https://www.edgepedia.org/cozy-powell); the following albums, *[Rising](https://www.edgepedia.org/rising-rainbow-album)* (1976) and *Long Live Rock 'n' Roll* (1978), had a grandiose quality enriched by Dio's sword-and-sorcery lyrics, typified by epics such as Stargazer and Gates of Babylon.[9](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/some-of-the-guys-never-wanted-to-do-that-song-in-the-first-place-this-is-crap-too-poppy-i-thought-it-was-great-but-i-had-no-idea-that-it-would-become-the-bands-signature-tune-the-70s-hit-that-reinvented-a-legendary-rock-band)
The album sessions were marked by the band's habitual lineup churn. Bassist [Jimmy Bain](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-bain) and keyboard player Tony Carey were replaced by [Bob Daisley](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-daisley) and David Stone respectively, while Blackmore kept Dio and Powell.[10](https://www.backseatmafia.com/not-forgotten-rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll/) Although both Daisley and Stone were credited on the album, Tony Carey has insisted that his own keyboard parts were used on most of the songs in the final mix; Blackmore also played bass on several of the album tracks.[11](https://ritchieblackmoresrainbow.wordpress.com/long-live-rock-n-roll-2/)
**Kill the King arrived early.** Even before the album was completed at a recording studio in France, the band had been playing "Kill the King" regularly on tour dates dating back to the middle of 1976. In a rare occurrence, the song appeared on the live album *On Stage* in 1977 before the studio version was ever released.[4](https://hardrockdaddy.com/2017/04/09/day-hard-rock-rainbow-releases-long-live-rock-n-roll/)
## Songs
The track list runs: Long Live Rock 'n' Roll; [Lady of the Lake](https://www.edgepedia.org/lady-of-the-lake); L.A. Connection; Gates of Babylon; Kill the King; The Shed (Subtle); Sensitive to Light; and Rainbow Eyes.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-album-of-the-week-club-review)
Ritchie Blackmore wrote the music and Ronnie James Dio wrote the lyrics for the title track, which runs 4 minutes 24 seconds in Rainbow's studio recording.[5](https://classicrockartists.com/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-1978/) The song was released as a single weeks before the parent album reached stores.[5](https://classicrockartists.com/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-1978/) Its lyrics, in which Dio sang of "writing on the wall", proved prescient for the band's future, and the triumphant track became an anthem for [Rainbow](https://www.edgepedia.org/rainbow-rock-band) and later for Dio in his solo career.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-album-of-the-week-club-review)
Gates of Babylon was the album's epic centerpiece, another of Dio's desert-themed tales. Critics have connected it to Stargazer from *Rising*: it expands the idea that rock could use the so-called eastern scales, including the [double harmonic scale](https://www.edgepedia.org/double-harmonic-scale) (also called the Arabic or Gypsy major scale), to step outside the blues-rock idiom.[12](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/guitarists/ritchie-blackmore-guitar-genius-in-five-classic-tracks) Kill the King, in contrast, is a fast, battle-themed track in which Blackmore drives the band at top speed, and has been described as a precursor to battle metal.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-album-of-the-week-club-review) The closing Rainbow Eyes, a soft ballad, divides the fanbase.[10](https://www.backseatmafia.com/not-forgotten-rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll/)
## Reception and legacy
The album peaked at number 89 on the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) 200 chart.[4](https://hardrockdaddy.com/2017/04/09/day-hard-rock-rainbow-releases-long-live-rock-n-roll/) Reviewers have generally ranked it just behind *Rising* among the Dio-era records. The Louder album-of-the-week review singles out the title track, Gates of Babylon, Kill the King, and Blackmore's opening to The Shed as some of the finest music of Rainbow's entire career.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-album-of-the-week-club-review) AllMusic judged that Dio "went out on a high note" with the record.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/long-live-rock-n-roll-mw0000191415)
The album's commercial performance shaped what came next. Blackmore had been impressed enough with the title track's success as a single that he began considering a shift toward a more mainstream hard rock sound, a direction Dio wanted no part of.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5219/biography) Dio left the band after the album, and Blackmore replaced him with [Graham Bonnet](https://www.edgepedia.org/graham-bonnet); the 1979 album *[Down to Earth](https://www.edgepedia.org/down-to-earth-rainbow-album)* brought the chart success Blackmore had sought, with Top 10 hits in [Since You Been Gone](https://www.edgepedia.org/since-you-been-gone) and All Night Long.[13](https://www.loudersound.com/features/monsters-of-rock-history-of-the-heavy-metal-festival)
Retrospective commentary also places the record in its moment: it still carried the "castle rock" style of the first two albums even as hints of the later, more direct Rainbow sound were appearing.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-album-of-the-week-club-review)
## References
1. [Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, album page, SensCritique](https://www.senscritique.com/album/long_live_rock_n_roll/6016148)
2. [Rainbow: Long Live Rock 'n' Roll Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/long-live-rock-n-roll-mw0000191415)
3. [Rainbow: Long Live Rock 'N' Roll - Album Of The Week Club review, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-album-of-the-week-club-review)
4. [This Day In Hard Rock: Rainbow Releases 'Long Live Rock 'n' Roll', Hard Rock Daddy](https://hardrockdaddy.com/2017/04/09/day-hard-rock-rainbow-releases-long-live-rock-n-roll/)
5. [Long Live Rock 'n' Roll: The Story Of Rainbow's Anthem, Classic Rock Artists](https://classicrockartists.com/rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll-1978/)
6. [Members Of Rainbow: The Complete Lineup History, Classic Rock Artists](https://classicrockartists.com/members-of-rainbow/)
7. [Rainbow - Music Videos & History, MaxVibe Rocks](https://maxvibe.rocks/rainbow/)
8. [Rainbow — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5219/biography)
9. [The '70s hit that reinvented a legendary rock band, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/some-of-the-guys-never-wanted-to-do-that-song-in-the-first-place-this-is-crap-too-poppy-i-thought-it-was-great-but-i-had-no-idea-that-it-would-become-the-bands-signature-tune-the-70s-hit-that-reinvented-a-legendary-rock-band)
10. [Not Forgotten: Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Backseat Mafia](https://www.backseatmafia.com/not-forgotten-rainbow-long-live-rock-n-roll/)
11. [Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow fan site](https://ritchieblackmoresrainbow.wordpress.com/long-live-rock-n-roll-2/)
12. [The guitar genius of Ritchie Blackmore in 5 classic tracks, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/guitarists/ritchie-blackmore-guitar-genius-in-five-classic-tracks)
13. [The epic story of Monsters Of Rock, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/features/monsters-of-rock-history-of-the-heavy-metal-festival)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical practice and theory › Popular music genres › Rock works, labels, discographies, awards, and infrastructure › Rock studio albums › 1970s rock albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license