Starting in June 1967, Montreux Casino began to host the Montreux Jazz Festival. The annual event and featured legends such as Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, and Ella Fitzgerald. On December 4, 1971, the original Casino building burned down—during a Frank Zappa concert, after a fan set the venue on fire with a flare gun. Observing the smoke spreading over Lake Geneva, members of Deep Purple were inspired to write the hit song “Smoke on the Water.” When the Montreux Casino was rebuilt in 1975, music producer Alex Grob…
