On 6 April 1974, Deep Purple opened their California Jam set with "Burn." It had replaced "Highway Star" as the band's concert opener. Fifty-two years later, in February 2026, Kim Hyuk Gun (김혁건) and THE CROSS BAND covered it.
This piece is for anyone coming to THE CROSS BAND's "Burn" cover for the first time. It covers Deep Purple, the original song and the direction the band took with it.
01.Deep Purple of London, and Mark III
Deep Purple formed in London in 1968. With Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are described as part of the "unholy trinity" of British hard rock and heavy metal. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted them in 2016 — Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale among the inductees — and calls them "harbingers of hard rock."
In 1973 David Coverdale (vocals) and Glenn Hughes (bass and vocals) replaced Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, forming the line-up known as Mark III. Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord and Paice — these five made "Burn."
02.A 1974 title track recorded in Montreux
"Burn" was recorded in November 1973 in Montreux, Switzerland, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, and came out in February 1974 as the title track of the album of the same name. It was written by Coverdale, Blackmore, Lord and Paice, and the album version runs 6 minutes 5 seconds. The album reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 9 in the US.
The song has two singers. Coverdale sings the verses and chorus, Hughes the chorus and bridge, and Blackmore and Lord each take a solo. Eddie Van Halen, in a Billboard interview, named it one of his all-time favourite guitar riffs.
"Burn" replaced "Highway Star" as Deep Purple's concert opener, and it opened the band's California Jam set on 6 April 1974. That performance is on Deep Purple's official channel.
03."Burn" without the synthesizer
THE CROSS BAND released its "Burn" cover on the official YouTube channel, THE CROSS OFFICIAL, on 8 February 2026. The band dropped the original's synthesizer and focused on keeping the song's energy and aggressive groove. The cover runs the full song at 5 minutes 34 seconds.
In a song where Blackmore's guitar and Lord's keyboards each take a solo, leaving out the synthesizer shifts the weight onto the energy and groove of the band as a whole.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Original | Deep Purple, "Burn" |
| Released | February 1974 · title track of the album Burn |
| Recorded | November 1973 · Montreux, Switzerland · Rolling Stones Mobile Studio |
| Writers | Coverdale · Blackmore · Lord · Paice |
| Original line-up | Deep Purple Mark III: Blackmore · Coverdale · Hughes · Lord · Paice |
| Charts | Album: UK No. 3 · US No. 9 |
| Cover | THE CROSS BAND |
| Cover video | 8 February 2026 · 5:34 · THE CROSS OFFICIAL |
04.Five old-school rock covers
"Burn" is one of five old-school rock covers by THE CROSS BAND. For Black Sabbath's 1980 song, see "Heaven and Hell": the original and the cover. For a song from Ozzy Osbourne's first solo album after leaving Black Sabbath, see "Mr. Crowley": the original and the cover.
The series also includes covers of Jimi Hendrix's 1967 song "Little Wing" and Prince's 1984 song "Purple Rain". The full list is in THE CROSS BAND's Rock Covers.
05.Listen again
The "Burn" cover and THE CROSS BAND's other cover videos are on the official YouTube channel, THE CROSS OFFICIAL. The band is introduced on the THE CROSS BAND page, and live bookings go through the Booking page.
The song that opened California Jam in 1974 rang out again in the winter of 2026, played by THE CROSS BAND without the synthesizer.