In 1972 Deep Purple hit it big with Machine Head!
Their sixth album was recorded in 71 in Montreux, and considered to be the gold standard of the Mark II line-up, which features Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
Deep Purple was dedicated to time on the road so they wanted their next album to sound closer to their live shows. They hired the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio to record performances at the Montreux Casino, but during a Frank Zappa concert the casino burned to the ground after someone fired a flare gun into the ceiling. The band would book the Grand Hotel, which was closed for the winter, and converted it for recording. These events, of the week, became the inspiration for "Smoke on the Water".
Along with the rippin "Highway Star," and "Space Truckin,'" made Machine Head, Purple's biggest album, topping the charts in the UK, and heavily influencing the development of heavy metal and hard rock.