Legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has received the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award from The National GUITAR Museum.
The 80-year-old Blackmore, who is the founding member of Deep Purple and Rainbow, is the 16th recipient of the award. Previous awardees include fellow great guitarists Tony Iommi, Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Beck and Alex Lifeson.
The National GUITAR Museum presents the award to musicians in recognition of a lifetime of contributing to the legacy of the guitar and having a singular historical importance to the development and historical appreciation of the instrument.
"I'm rather thrown by the magnitude of this honorable award," Blackmore said. "I am grateful to accept this award and this recognition."
The National GUITAR Museum's executive director, HP Newquist, said, "Most people know Ritchie from being the driving creative force behind two of the defining hard rock bands of all time—Deep Purple and Rainbow."
"But before starting those bands, he had a long career as a London session musician, performing on records by numerous artists, including The Outlaws," he continued. "And then—after helping to define hard rock guitar in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s—he formed Blackmore's Night, incorporating medieval and Renaissance acoustic music into his immense repertoire."
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