Did anyone else catch Ritchie Blackmore admitting that the iconic “Smoke On The Water” riff was inspired by Beethoven’s Fifth—and that Nero & the Gladiators did it first? This totally flips the script on who really started the classical-meets-rock trend. Some fans are saying Deep Purple owes more to Beethoven (and those Roman-costumed rockers) than we thought. Is Blackmore’s riff less original than we believed, or is it just genius inspiration? #Entertainment #Music #DeepPurple