
Deep Purple - "Highway Star"
From 100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal by Brian Slagel
February 23, 2026 · 50 min
About this episode
Brian Slagel and Riki Rachtman discuss the significance of Deep Purple's 'Highway Star' and their early musical experiences.
Deep Purple - "Highway Star" Released March 30, 1972 on the album "Machine Head" Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel is joined by the former host of MTV's Headbanger's Ball Riki Rachtman to discuss the first really heavy song either of them ever heard as kids: Deep Purple's "Highway Star". They discuss the importance of that song, the greatness of the album and the band, plus some other musical firsts, including first album and first rock poster on their walls. Brian also discusses the production on this song with producer Jay Ruston As always, we get facts, figures and education from author Martin Popoff. Follow Riki Rachtman @RikiRachtman on Tik Tok, Instagram, X and Facebook Jay Ruston is on Tik Tok, Instagram, X and Facebook @JayRuston Martin Popoff is on X @Popoff Martin Follow 100 Songs That Define Heavy Metal on X, Instagram and TikTok @100Metal Songs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Brian Slagel
Guest: Riki Rachtman
Topics covered
- Deep Purple
- Heavy Metal
- Music History
- Production
- First Songs
Keywords
- Deep Purple
- Highway Star
- Heavy Metal
- Music Production
- 1972
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Metal Blade Records
Books & works: Highway Star, Machine Head
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