The song containing rock and roll’s most iconic riff was inspired by the fire that destroyed the Montreux Casino in Switzerland today in 1971. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention were playing a show at the casino when some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground. Miraculously, no one died and only a handful of people were injured, none seriously.
The Montreux Casino was a wooden structure built in 1881. It was the site of many concerts over the years and had recently become the venue for the Montreux Jazz Festival. This festival was started by Claude Nobs and it attracted luminaries like Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone. Claude also booked rock bands at the venue, including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd. The Casino and the recording studios in Montreux helped attract bands to the city and many well-known albums and songs were recorded there, including “Bonzo’s Montreux” by Led Zeppelin, six different albums by Queen, AC/DC’s “Fly on the Wall” and the Rolling Stones’ “Black and Blue”.
On this night in 1971, Deep Purple was in town to record their album “Machine Head” and they were staying in a hotel across from the Casino, which was on the shore of Lake Geneva. Large glass windows looked out over the lake from where Frank Zappa and the Mothers were playing and the hotel was visible from there. About an hour and a half into the show Zappa and the band started playing their song “King Kong”. A minute or two into the song an audience member sent a flare (some say it was more of a bottle rocket and some say it was a lit book of matches) up into the ceiling.
At first the band and the crowd were unaware of what was happening. As the smoke began to fill the room the fire alarm sounded. One of the members of the band jokingly shouted, “Fire! Arthur Brown in person”. Luckily, Zappa realized the gravity of the situation and calmly instructed the audience members to head to the exits. Due to the layout of the venue the audience members closest to the stage were trapped. According to Claude Nobs, Zappa left the stage and smashed the windows with his heavy-bodied Gibson guitar and provided audience members an escape route. Claude himself assisted in getting the audience out through the broken windows.
Deep Purple was watching the fire from their hotel and soon realized they would have to find an alternate location to record their album. A few members of the band were at Zappa’s show and recounted the tale to the rest. Inspired by the events, Ian Gillan penned the lyrics and Ritchie Blackmore came up with the riff (which he had been fooling around with prior to this incident) and “Smoke on the Water” was born.
The band had limited time to record their album for a number of reasons. Their visas were set to expire and they had also rented an expensive mobile recording studio from the Rolling Stones. Claude Nobs helped them find an alternate location to record and Deep Purple ended up at the Grand Hotel. They originally weren’t going to include “Smoke on the Water” on the album but after they played it for Claude he insisted it was going to be a hit. The band dedicated the album to Claude and “Smoke on the Water” eventually reached #4 on the singles chart in the United States. It remains the band’s biggest hit to this day.
The Casino was rebuilt and continues to host musical events. Frank Zappa died on the 22nd anniversary of the fire. Claude Nobs passed away in 2013 at the age of 76.
Live recording of the incident:
“King Kong” – the song Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention were playing at the time of the fire:
Deep Purple – “Smoke on the Water” off the album “Machine Head” 1972:
“Smoke on the Water” lyrics:
We all came out to Montreux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
It was empty cold and bare
With the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Making our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We made a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know, I know we'll never forget
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
