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Speed King
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| "Speed King" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dutch release picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Deep Purple | ||||
| from the album Deep Purple in Rock | ||||
| B-side | "Into the Fire" | |||
| Released | May 1970[1] | |||
| Recorded | January 1970[2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:55[3] | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Deep Purple | |||
| Deep Purple singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Speed King" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple, from their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock.[3] The song has been cited as an influence in the development of speed metal.[6]
Although released as B-side to the "Black Night" single in the United Kingdom and many other countries, "Speed King" was released as a single in its own right in The Netherlands and Germany, ahead of the Deep Purple In Rock album.
Studio version
[edit]"Speed King" was the first Deep Purple song to be written by vocalist Ian Gillan, who stated that before the lyrics were fully formed, the song's working title was "Kneel & Pray".[7][8] The song reportedly developed from a bass riff by Glover, who was trying to emulate Jimi Hendrix' "Fire".[3] Gillan developed the lyrics by writing down a mix of lines from Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry songs in the order that they came to mind. In an interview with Gillan, he stated: "The first things that came into my head were Chuck Berry and Little Richard words, so I just stole them."[8]
The song has been cited as an influence on the development of speed metal. The song's aggressive guitar riffs, loud volume, and relatively fast tempo would later become some of the defining characteristics of speed metal and other subgenres of heavy metal.[5][6][9]
Personnel
[edit]- Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
- Ian Gillan – vocals
- Roger Glover – bass
- Jon Lord – organ
- Ian Paice – drums
References
[edit]- ^ "Speed King single".
- ^ Robinson, Simon (1995). Deep Purple in Rock (CD Booklet). Deep Purple. London, UK: EMI. pp. 11–13. 7243 8 3401925.
- ^ a b c d Joe Viglione. Speed King at AllMusic. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ^ Eddie Trunk (30 August 2011). Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Abrams. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-61312-142-9.
- ^ a b "A Subjective History of Speed Metal". Dead End Follies. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ^ a b "A History Of ... Speed Metal". The Mighty Decibel. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ^ McIver, Joel (3 June 2020). "How Deep Purple's classic In Rock was made (originally Classic Rock Issue 83)". Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ a b "ProgSheet - Ian Gillan Interview". progsheet1.hypermart.net.
- ^ Starkey, Arun (22 January 2025). ""One classic song after another": the hard rock album Tony Iommi hails as a masterpiece". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
