Rainbow/Elf bassist Craig Gruber, RIP

Veteran hard rock/heavy metal bassist Craig Gruber died yesterday (5/5), after battling prostate cancer, Blabbermouth reports. He was 63.

Gruber was a member of Elf, one of the early bands of Ronnie James Dio (who we lost in 2010), playing on their second album, 1974’s Carolina County Ball, and their third and final album, 1975’s Trying to Burn the Sun. That same year, he and Dio hooked up with Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore to record the first Rainbow album (then known as Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow). Gruber (and everyone else except Dio) was fired by Blackmore from Rainbow after that album, but Gruber and Dio played together again in Black Sabbath during Geezer Butler’s brief departure from that band. Following that, he played in other projects including Bible Black, Ozz and more.

Rest in peace, Craig. You’ll be missed.

Listen to some Elf and Rainbow songs Craig was on, below…

—