Editing Rainbow (rock band) (section)

===Commercial success (1978–1984)===
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| footer            = [[Graham Bonnet]] (left) in 2008 and [[Joe Lynn Turner]] (right) in 2010
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| image2            = JLTurner.jpg
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Blackmore asked [[Ian Gillan]], also formerly of Deep Purple, to replace Dio, but Gillan turned him down.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rockpublished |first=Classic |date=2025-02-09 |title=“Ritchie has firm ideas about how things should be, and there were things that we disagreed on”: Ritchie Blackmore once asked former Deep Purple bandmate Ian Gillan to join Rainbow |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/ritchie-blackmore-ian-gillan-join-rainbow |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=Louder |language=en}}</ref> After a series of auditions, [[Graham Bonnet]], former singer/guitarist of [[The Marbles (duo)|The Marbles]], was recruited. Powell stayed, but Daisley was fired, and Stone quit the band to be replaced by Powell's former bandmate [[Don Airey]]. At first the band auditioned bass players, rehearsing with [[Clive Chaman]] when Stone was still in the band,<ref>{{Cite web |last=BraveWords |title=WENDY DIO Says RONNIE Never Spoke To RITCHIE BLACKMORE Again After Getting Fired From RAINBOW |url=https://bravewords.com/features/wendy-dio-says-ronnie-never-spoke-to-ritchie-blackmore-again-after-getting-fired-from-rainbow |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=bravewords.com |language=en}}</ref> and later with [[Jack Green (musician)|Jack Green]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=חזיתי |first=FaceOff-עימות |date=2024-07-28 |title=Rainbow - Down to Earth |url=https://en.faceoffrockshow.com/post/rainbow-down-to-earth-1 |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=FaceOff - עימות חזית |language=en}}</ref> but, at Cozy Powell's suggestion, Blackmore hired another former Deep Purple member, [[Roger Glover]], as a producer, bassist and lyricist.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roger Glover. 1973-2006 History |url=http://www.deep-purple.net/tree/glover/roger-glover.htm |access-date=23 September 2009}}</ref> The resulting album, ''[[Down to Earth (Rainbow album)|Down to Earth]]'', featured the band's first major singles chart successes, "[[All Night Long (Rainbow song)|All Night Long]]" and the [[Russ Ballard]]-penned "[[Since You Been Gone]]". In 1980, the band headlined the inaugural [[Monsters of Rock]] festival at [[Castle Donington]] in England. However, this was Powell's last Rainbow gig: he had already given his notice to quit, disliking Blackmore's increasingly [[pop rock]] direction. Then, after numerous fallouts with Blackmore, Bonnet resigned to pursue a solo project.

For the next album, Bonnet and Powell were replaced by Americans [[Joe Lynn Turner]] and [[Bobby Rondinelli]], respectively. The title track from ''[[Difficult to Cure]]'' was a version of [[Symphony No.&nbsp;9 (Beethoven)|Beethoven's Ninth Symphony]]. The album spawned their most successful UK single, "[[I Surrender (Rainbow song)|I Surrender]]" (another Ballard song), which reached No.3. After the supporting tour, Don Airey quit over musical differences and was replaced by [[David Rosenthal (musician)|David Rosenthal]].

The band attained significant airplay on [[Album-oriented rock]] radio stations in the US with the track "[[Jealous Lover]]", reaching No.&nbsp;13 on [[Billboard Magazine]]'s [[Mainstream Rock Tracks|Rock Tracks]] chart. Originally issued as the B-side to "Can't Happen Here", "Jealous Lover" subsequently became the title track to an EP issued in the US that featured similar cover art to ''Difficult to Cure''.

Rainbow's next full-length studio album was ''[[Straight Between the Eyes]]''. The album was more cohesive than ''Difficult to Cure'', and had more success in the United States. The band, however, was alienating some of its earlier fans with its more AOR sound.<ref name="Eduardo Rivadavia">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rainbow-mn0000391933/biography |first=Eduardo |last=Rivadavia |title=Rainbow |publisher=Allmusic |access-date=10 July 2010}}</ref> The single "Stone Cold" was a ballad that had some chart success (No. 1 on ''Billboard'' Magazine's Rock Tracks chart) and its video received heavy airplay on [[MTV]]. The successful supporting tour skipped the UK completely and focused on the American market. A date in [[San Antonio, Texas]] on this tour was filmed, and the resulting ''Live Between the Eyes'' also received repeated showings on MTV, and was released on home video.

''[[Bent Out of Shape]]'' saw drummer Rondinelli fired in favour of former [[Brand X]] and [[Balance (band)|Balance]] drummer [[Chuck Burgi]]. The album featured the single "[[Street of Dreams (Rainbow song)|Street of Dreams]]", which became another AOR hit for the group. Blackmore claims on his website that the song's video was banned by MTV for its supposedly controversial hypnosis theme,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackmoresnight.com/ritchie_bio.html |title=Ritchie Blackmore Bio |publisher=Blackmores Night |date=8 May 1998 |access-date=13 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117200334/http://www.blackmoresnight.com/ritchie_bio.html |archive-date=17 November 2010 }}</ref> but Dr. [[Thomas Radecki]] of the National Coalition on Television Violence criticised MTV for airing the video, contradicting Blackmore's claim.<ref name="Inside MTV">{{Cite book |last1=Denisoff |first1=R. Serge |title=Inside MTV |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GlAecBkObiEC&q=%22street+of+dreams%22+banned+mtv&pg=PA284 |access-date=13 October 2009 |year=1988 |publisher=Transaction |isbn=978-0-88738-864-4 |page=284 |chapter=MTV: Some People Just Don't Get It |quote='Street of Dreams' by Rainbow has a psychiatrist dominating a man through hypnosis intermixed with male-female violent fantasies including a bound and gagged woman.}}</ref> The following tour saw Rainbow return to the UK, and also to Japan in March 1984 where the band performed "Difficult to Cure" with a full orchestra. The concert was also filmed and released on home video as ''Japan Tour '84''.