Christopher Cross and Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover have offered different recollections of a little known 1970 San Antonio concert where Cross claims he filled in for guitarist Ritchie Blackmore.
by Paul Cashmere
A piece of rock and roll folklore has resurfaced through recent Noise11 interviews with Christopher Cross and Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, revealing two very different memories of an alleged 1970 performance in San Antonio, Texas. Cross has long maintained that he stepped in for an unwell Ritchie Blackmore at a Deep Purple show, while Glover says he has no recollection of the event.
The story presents an unusual collision between two artists whose careers would eventually occupy very different corners of popular music. Long before Cross became one of the defining singer songwriters of the late 1970s and before Deep Purple established themselves as one of hard rock’s foundational acts, their paths may have briefly intersected during a formative period for both musicians.
Speaking to Noise11 in 2025, Cross recalled that Deep Purple had arrived in San Antonio during their first significant American touring run when Blackmore became ill just before the concert.
According to Cross, local promoters approached him because he was already known as a guitarist in the area and had built a reputation for his ability to play Blackmore’s material. He accepted the offer and performed with the band to prevent the concert from being cancelled.
Cross said he later met Blackmore at the airport the following day and claims the guitarist never forgot the encounter. Over the years, Blackmore allegedly reminded him that he remains the only musician ever to officially substitute for him in Deep Purple.
The account has become one of the more curious stories in rock history because there is little surviving documentation of the event and the memories of those involved differ significantly.
When Noise11 spoke with Roger Glover this week, the bassist admitted he had no recollection of Cross ever appearing with Deep Purple although he says Christopher is probably correct.
Glover remembered the band’s first American trip differently. He said the primary purpose of the visit was to perform a concerto presentation at the Hollywood Bowl and that management had added several smaller club dates in Texas to supplement the itinerary.
“I don’t remember it,” Glover told Noise11, adding that the passage of more than five decades has left many details of that period indistinct. He also acknowledged that Cross’s recollection could be accurate, even if the event has completely faded from his own memory.
We did point out to Roger that Christopher was no famous then. “We weren’t very famous then either,” Roger told Noise11.
The contrasting testimonies underline the often fragmented nature of rock history. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, touring schedules were frequently chaotic. Last minute personnel changes, travel disruptions and health issues were not uncommon, particularly for British bands attempting to establish themselves in the United States.
The timing is also significant. In 1970, Deep Purple was emerging as a major force following the release of Deep Purple In Rock. The group’s classic Mark II line-up of Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice was still cementing its international identity.
Cross, meanwhile, was a talented regional musician who had yet to record an album.
Nearly a decade would pass before his self-titled debut album turned him into an international star, earning five Grammy Awards and producing enduring hits including Sailing and Ride Like The Wind.
Cross has approached the story with humour, noting that his experience cannot match tales such as Jimi Hendrix reportedly sitting in with Engelbert Humperdinck’s backing group. Even so, he has described the opportunity to perform alongside Paice, Lord and Glover as one of the defining memories of his early musical life.
Whether the San Antonio concert was a career changing moment for a young guitarist or simply another unremarkable date in Deep Purple’s demanding touring schedule may never be conclusively established. Yet the story endures because it illustrates how rock history is often assembled through incomplete memories and personal recollections that do not always align.
More than half a century later, both artists continue to tour and record, and the mystery of that Texas performance remains one of those fascinating intersections where two very different musical worlds may have briefly shared the same stage.
Deep Purple released their new album SPLAT! Today (3 July 2026).
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