Deep Purple is a 1933 song written by Peter DeRose with lyrics added by Mitchell Parish in 1938. It began as a piano piece and was first recorded as an instrumental by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra in 1934, helping it become a standard of the Big Band era. In the late 1930s it was widely covered as a sentimental ballad, with popular versions by Larry Clinton and Bea Wain, Jimmy Dorsey, and others. A 1963 vocal version by Nino Tempo & April Stevens, from the album Deep Purple, topped the US charts and earned the Grammy for Best Rock and Roll Recording, notable for April Stevens’s spoken interlude in the second half. The British rock band Deep Purple took their name from this song because it was a favorite of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore’s grandmother, though the band never recorded or performed the tune themselves. Donny and Marie Osmond also covered Deep Purple in 1975, taking it into the Top 20 and extending its legacy across genres.
