Deep Purple’s trademark “Smoke on the Water” riff only needs to sound off three notes before hard rock fans crank up the volume. “Dun, dun, dun—“ goes the guitar, and Ritchie Blackmore doesn’t have to tell us twice. Remember when Jack Black had those kids play the song in School of Rock way back when? I remember just nodding and grinning, thinking about how cool it was that these private school kids were playing Deep Purple.

“Smoke on the Water” is bluesy but hard, has an electric guitar and bass yet also an organ; it’s one of those bending genre songs that you love and could listen to throughout any day. It’s actually also based on a true story, when the band was recording a record in Switzerland and a fire broke out at a local music festival—hence, the smoke on the water.

It’s possibly one of the most covered songs by bands, as well as a popular song for beginning guitarists who want to learn something good or impress a new lover. We play it on SingStar; you can also play it on Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

You can listen to “Smoke on the Water” here, though you might want to wait until midday so it will get you through that inevitable slump.