Deep Purple was put together in Hertford in spring 1968, with Rod Evans, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Nick Simper and Ian Paice.
The debut album Shades of Deep Purple came out that summer, and the cover Hush went to number four on the US Billboard chart.
Before the year was out came album number two, The Book of Taliesyn – the band was bigger in the USA than at home in Britain.
The Book of Taliesyn is the second studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, recorded only three months after Shades of Deep Purple and released by Tetragrammaton Records in December 1968, during their first US tour. The name for the album was taken from the 14th-century Book of Taliesin.
From English Wikipedia · read more
Rod EvansVocals
Ritchie BlackmoreGuitar
Jon LordOrgan and keyboards
Nick SimperBass
Ian PaiceDrums