Just how popular was Deep Purple really in the US in the 70s?

Inspired by a thread on Aerosmith with a similar title, I decided to throw out a similar question to our forum members who were around during the '70s: Just how popular was Deep Purple in the US at this time? I'm not totally in the dark on the answer, I mean I can look at the charts and see that most of their albums were top ten in the US from 72 to 74 (i.e. Machine Head, Made In Japan, Who Do We Think We Are, and Burn), and "Smoke On The Water" almost made it to #1, so obviously a lot of people were buying their product, but I guess I'm interested in how they ranked amongst the high school youth during that time compared to say, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, the Stones, etc.

Obviously Zeppelin and the Stones would have been considered first tier--their albums and concerts not just albums and concerts, but "events." Was Purple ever truly in that echelon in the States, or were they kind of the kings of the 2nd tier? Were they ever a "household name"? I know that in Japan and Europe at the time, they were arguably bigger than Zeppelin, while in the US, Zeppelin was the big banana, but were there those in the US who truly considered them their favorite band? Obviously the Perfect Strangers album and tour did really well, so there were those out there clamoring for a reunion...

I guess I didn't need to take 2 paragraphs to ask what's a basic question, but I'm hoping to hear some anecdotes/memories from those who were there...

 

I remember everyone with a guitar learning the riff for Smoke On The Water.

 

Yep. I was already selling guitars back then and the riff from "Smoke On The Water" was played.....constantly.

 

They're still a household name because of Smoke On The Water.

 

Considering how many times a day Smoke On The Water was on the radio (and still is), they were pretty popular.

 

Everyone had Machine Head and some had Made In Japan and I heard Burn once or twice but since then I've heard a lot more Aerosmith.

 

From the unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal perspective....
As big as Zeppelin and bigger than Sabbath. At least in the Bay Area, CA.

 

As big as Aerosmith.

 

They played the Astrodome in 1974!
Burn tour DP Mark III
Pretty hard to sell that many tickets and dome was pretty full.
Opening acts: Elf, J. Geils Band

 

I think all of the lineup changes kind of hurt them as time went on. All of the albums with both Gillan and Blackmore were very popular.

 

I lost interest after Rod Evans. But yes, they were popular.

 

First tier then. They toured America 4 different swings in 1972 alone. Two top ten albums back to back (Machine Head and Made in Japan).

 

When Coverdale and Hughes were in the band they played Radio City Music Hall in New York, not Madison Square Garden.

 

I measure their popularity by the fact that in the book FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, allegedly based on truth, scalper Damone had a yearly ritual on Blackmore's birthday in which he'd play every record he had that Ritchie played on. Also, Cal Jam!

This didn't happen for me til 1985, but they were also for what it's worth the first "hard"/metal-y band that I became a true and unmitigated fan of in my teens. I found the genre a little too....rough and DP were my entree. I didn't become a full fledged lover of the likes of AC/DC or even Zep until college, weirdly. Lot of that based on crummy high school clique politics. I was into "smarter" stuff like Who, Beatles, Kinks, Jefferson Airplane, mid-80s college/proto-indie rock. Ironically, the older I get, the more I appreciated seemingly dumb or brutal music.

 

1971 - MSG
1973 - three nights at MSG
1974 - MSG
Radio City Music Hall wasn't until 1976 - with Bolin.

 

Deep Purple second on the bill to Aerosmith? DP's first US tour in 1974? Do I detect a New England bias here? Purple's first US tour was in 1968, unless they're thinking of the MKIII lineup's first tour.

 

Only Machine Head ever went platinum (eventually hitting double) from their original run. As others have noted, lineup changes hurt them. I'd add a weakness in the songwriting department didn't help. Of course Smoke on the Water and Highway Star are excellent band originals, but Speed King is a medley and Hush is a cover. Those were best known Purple songs prior to their disbanding.

 

The '71 and '73 shows were at the Felt Forum which was about a third of the size of the 'main' Garden.

 

AOR rock radio in Jacksonville Fla in the early 80s years immediately pre-mk ii reunion heavily played five DP tunes as I recall: Hush (mostly on the 60s themed "electric lunch"), Smoke, Highway, Space Truckin, and Tokyo. No Coverdale stuff was still being played.

 

A vivid memory from the 70s was going to the pawn shops with a musician buddy of mine when he would either hock his guitar and amps for "party" money or reclaim them when whoever was his girlfriend of the week had "loaned" him enough.
It seemed like every single visit that somebody was thudding out Smoke On The Water on one of the many guitars for sale.

 

Deep Purple like Black Sabbath had a very strong following in the USA.
They could sell out arenas in most parts of the country.
I saw the Perfect Strangers tour in 1985 and they sold out McNichols arena (Big Mac) in Denver.

 

When I was a kid in the 70's in the US, Deep Purple were very big in our circles.

I would put them below Led Zep for sure, but way bigger than Black Sabbath. The lineup changes hurt them big time.

We were so excited for the reunion with Perfect Strangers. One of my top ten live shows was Deep Purple on that tour in Detroit. Wow! They delivered big time. So much energy on stage and they just rocked out for the whole show.

 

Guess they were much more popular here across the Iron Curtain. As big as the Beatles here in USSR and eternally loved by every self-respecting russian music lover or so it seems.

 

This is how I remember it too. In fact I recall that Made In Japan was only available as an import until demand grew so strong that WB had to release it domestically.

 

Being in Houston I miss the astrodome! Was huge part of my childhood..deep purple as big as zep? Not too sure about that one.