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Former RAINBOW And ELF Bassist Craig Gruber Dies Aged 63
May 5th, 2015

American musician Craig Gruber, former bassist for Rainbow and Elf, died on May 5th, 2015 at the age of 63 following a battle with prostate cancer.

Gruber’s son Graham issued the following statement: “As some may know, my father, Craig Mills Gruber, passed away May 5th from advanced prostate cancer. Myself, my aunt and a close family friend were there in his final moments. He went peacefully with no drugs, and no pain. I am grateful that I was able to be with him, to tell him that I loved him, and that he was the best father, and friend that I could ever have hope to have.

“His positivity and energy touched so many, and left a lasting impression on even more. While many will remember him for his contributions to the heavy rock and metal scene for which he helped establish, the fame and musical prowess, the stories both good and bad, he will always be something much more than a rock legend. He was Dad.”

Craig Mills Gruber was born on June 15th, 1951 in Cortland, New York.

From 1973 until 1975, Gruber occupied bass in Elf, having taken over from Ronnie James Dio. Vocalist and bassist up until that point, Dio wished to concentrate on frontman duties. Gruber lent parts to Elf albums two and three, namely Carolina County Ball (1974) and Trying To Burn The Sun (1975).

Elf enjoyed a longtime association with Deep Purple, having been signed to Purple Records, as well as having Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover sit in the production chair for all three studio outings (sharing said duties with Purple drummer Ian Paice for Elf’s 1972 self-titled debut). In addition, Elf supported Deep Purple on tours in support of the albums Burn and Stormbringer (both released in 1974).

Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, unhappy with the Purple line-up, would begin conversing with Dio, and recruit Elf’s line-up (with the exception of axeman David Feinstein) to record inaugural Rainbow effort Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow (1975). Dio aside, Blackmore ultimately scrapped the Rainbow line-up for follow-up effort Rising (1976).

Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as vocalist for Black Sabbath in 1979, bassist Geezer Butler temporarily exiting in light of fears of Sabbath’s future without Osbourne. Gruber filled in for Butler and took part in sessions for what became Heaven And Hell (1980), Butler ultimately returning to the fold.

Bible Black paired Gruber with erstwhile Elf and Rainbow drummer Gary Driscoll. Bible Black went on to release two albums – Bible Black (1981) and Ground Zero (1983) – before disbanding in 1985. Driscoll was murdered in June 1987 under mysterious circumstances.

Gruber additionally toured with Gary Moore in support of Moore’s 1983 opus Victims Of The Future, and appeared on 1984 live outing We Want Moore. He also had a brief stint with New York heavy metal band The Rods, featuring on the 1986 full-length studio album Heavier Than Thou.

A celebration of Craig Gruber’s life took place in St. Augustine, Florida on Wednesday, July 29th, 2015 at the historic Casa Monica Hotel.