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Rod Argent

Song Of The Day – “Whenever You’re Ready” b/w “I Love You” by The Zombies

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zombieswhenever yourereadyzombiesILoveYouTheir fingerprints can be felt all over the music of The Byrds, The Doors, Crowded House and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Elvis was a fan. They were hugely influenced by The Beatles, but were also an influence on The Beatles. John Lennon wanted to produce them, and the sound of today’s Song Of The Day, “When You’re Ready,” had an influence on the sound of The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul.” Not only that, it comprised one half of what I would call a perfect single, with the ultra Lennonesque, “I Love You” on the flip.

They were a British Invasion band every bit as good as The Beatles, Stones, Kinks and The Who. In their ranks, they had one of the greatest vocalists of the entire British Invasion in Colin Blunstone, who could be at once breathy and plaintive, and then gritty and soulful, sometimes in the same song.

Add to that, not one, but two inspired songwriters in Chris White and Rod Argent, whose compositional abilities made perfectly crafted ‘60s pop records, high on melody and infused with great harmonies. It was all held together by Argent’s jazz-infused piano and organ playing, the tasty and tuneful guitar work of Paul Atkinson, and the air tight rhythm section of White on bass and Hugh Grundy on drums, providing a danceable and infectious back beat.

Yet their impact was far greater in the U.S. than at home where their very first single “She’s Not There” peaked at #12 on the British charts, but made it all the way to #2 on these shores. Its follow up, “Tell Her No,” climbed to #6 in the U.S., but didn’t even make it into the UK top 40. So after a string of superb single releases here and abroad including “What More Can I Do,” “I Love You,” “I Can’t Make Up Your Mind,” “Summertime,” “Goin’ Out Of My Head” and “Is This The Dream” that didn’t seem to ignite the imagination of the public, they released their final magnum opus, “Odessey and Oracle” in 1968 and then called it quits.

But timing is everything…so it is somewhat ironic that The Zombies’ biggest worldwide hit, “Time Of The Season,” happened after they disbanded. “Odessey and Oracle” wouldn’t have even gotten a release on these shores had it not been for Al Kooper, who worked for the group’s U.S. label and convinced them to release the album. Even though the group was no longer together, the album’s release was accompanied by the release of the single which went on to become their biggest hit all over the world.

After the breakup, Rod Argent went on to form the group Argent with Chris White (who wrote songs for them, but did not perform.) They scored a hit with “Hold Your Head Up” in 1972, and had the distinction of having both KISS and Christian rock group Petra cover their song, “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll To You.” Colin Blunstone recorded many solo records, some with the help of his former band mates; he released three albums on Elton John’s Rocket Record Company label during the 1970s, and recorded vocals for The Alan Parsons Project albums “Eye In The Sky” and “Ammonia Avenue.”

Throughout the years, Argent and Blunstone have toured many times together as a duo, or under the Zombies name performing hits from all phases of their intertwined careers. The definitive Zombies collection available today is Zombie Heaven, a four CD box set released by Ace Records in the U.K.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #48– Argent: “Hold Your Head Up” b/w “God Gave Rock And Roll To You” – Epic Memory Lane Series 45 15-2332 (Q5/R5)

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argentholdyourheadup45argentgodgaverockandrolltoyou45

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #48– Argent: “Hold Your Head Up” b/w “God Gave Rock And Roll To You” – Epic Memory Lane Series 45 15-2332 (Q5/R5)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

When the British Invasion band The Zombies disintegrated in 1969 before the posthumous release of their biggest hit single “Time Of The Season,” keyboardist Rod Argent formed the band Argent with Jim Rodford on bass, Bob Henrit on drums and Russ Ballard on guitar. (The latter two musicians were members of the group Unit 4+2, the subject of The Jukebox Series #33.)

While The Zombies’ music consisted of finely tuned ear worms that were designed to climb up the charts and go directly into the hearts of music fans around the world, Argent’s music was a far more difficult mix of jazz, prog rock and classical influences. While the group’s first two albums didn’t make any significant waves on the single or album charts, the song “Liar” from their debut became a top ten hit by Three Dog Night.

Today’s jukebox classic is the song Argent is best known for. “Hold Your Head Up” was written by Rod Argent and Chris White (who also wrote songs for The Zombies) and was released on their third album All Together Now which was released in 1972. The heavily edited single version of the song (from 6:15 on the album down to 3:15 for the single) sold over a million copies and climbed to the #5 spot of the U.S. and UK pop charts. (For our purposes, I’ve included an audio clip of the far superior unedited version of the song.)

With its propulsive beat, layered vocal harmonies and long sinuous organ solo, the song grabbed hold of the AM charts in 1972, and fit in perfectly alongside tracks by Yes, Genesis and Jethro Tull on the FM radio playlists of the early 1970s. Over the years, the song has been covered by the likes of Steppenwolf, Uriah Heap and the 1980s hard rock band Mr. Big.

The flip of today’s single is “God Gave Rock And Roll To You” which is probably best known by the covers it spawned by KISS and the Christian rock band Petra. The song was actually recorded during sessions for Argent’s All Together Now album but was not released as a single until it appeared on their 1973 album In Deep.

The KISS cover of the song (titled “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll To You II”) was featured in the 1991 film Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey and its soundtrack album, and later appeared on KISS’ Revenge album.  Petra converted the song into a well-known Christian rock anthem and recorded it twice, once on their 1977 album Come And Join Us, and again on 1984’s Beat The System.

After running its course with little follow up success, Argent broke up in 1976 and Jim Rodford joined The Kinks while Rod Argent began producing albums. The original lineup reformed in 2010 for the High Voltage Festival in London, and these days Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone (of The Zombies) tour under their own names and as The Zombies performing Argent and Zombies hits.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #38 – The Zombies: “She’s Not There” b/w “Tell Her No” – Collectables 45 RPM Single COL 3556 (Q4/R4)

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zombiesshesnothere zombiestellherno45

 

 

 

 

 

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #38 – The Zombies: “She’s Not There” b/w “Tell Her No” – Collectables 45 RPM Single COL 3556 (Q4/R4)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

The Zombies’ fingerprints can be felt all over the music of The Byrds, The Doors, Crowded House and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  Elvis was a big fan and they were hugely influenced by The Beatles, as well as being an influence on The Beatles. John Lennon wanted to produce them, and the sound of today’s double A-sided jukebox single with their debut hit “She’s Not There” on the A-side and the ultra-Lennonesque “Tell Her No” on the flip is, in my estimation, a perfect single.

They were a British Invasion band every bit as good as The Beatles, Stones, Kinks and The Who. In their ranks, they had one of the greatest vocalists of the entire British Invasion in Colin Blunstone, who could be at once breathy and plaintive, and then gritty and soulful, sometimes in the same song.

Add to that, not one, but two inspired songwriters in Chris White and Rod Argent, whose compositional abilities made perfectly crafted ‘60s pop records, high on melody and infused with great harmonies.  It was all held together by Argent’s jazz-infused piano and organ playing, the tasty and tuneful guitar work of Paul Atkinson, and the air-tight rhythm section of White on bass and Hugh Grundy on drums, providing a danceable and infectious back beat.

Yet their impact was far greater in the U.S. than at home where their very first single “She’s Not There” peaked at #12 on the British charts, but made it all the way to #2 on these shores. Its follow up, “Tell Her No,” climbed to #6 in the U.S., but didn’t even make it into the UK top 40.

“She’s Not There” was the group’s debut single which was recorded in one take after the band won studio time in a talent contest. The song makes its impact right from the onset with its folk infused introduction which was rare for early 1960s rock recordings. In the early 1970s, the song was re-recorded by Zombies vocalist Colin Bluestone under the name Neil McArthur. This version climbed to the #34 position of the UK charts, and it also charted again in 1977 by Santana from their Moonflower album. “Tell Her No,” on the flip, was later recorded by Juice Newton in 1983 who brought the song into the pop top thirty.

After a string of great single releases here and abroad including “What More Can I Do,” “I Love You,” “I Can’t Make Up Your Mind,” “Summertime,” “Goin’ Out Of My Head” and “Is This The Dream” that didn’t seem to ignite the imagination of the public, The Zombies released their final magnum opus album, Odessey and Oracle in 1968 and then called it quits.

But timing is everything…so it is somewhat ironic that the group’s biggest worldwide hit, “Time Of The Season,” happened after they disbanded.  Odessey and Oracle wouldn’t have even received a release on these shores had it not been for Al Kooper who worked for the group’s U.S. label and convinced them that the album was worth a proper release. Even though the group was no longer together, the album’s release was accompanied by the “Time Of The Season” single which went on to become their biggest hit all over the world.

After the breakup, Rod Argent went on to form the group Argent with Chris White (who wrote songs for the group, but did not perform.)  They scored a hit with “Hold Your Head Up” in 1972, and had the distinction of having both KISS and Christian rock group Petra cover their song, “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll To You.”

Colin Blunstone recorded many solo records, some with the help of his former band mates; he released three albums on Elton John’s Rocket Record Company label during the 1970s, and recorded vocals for The Alan Parsons Project albums Eye In The Sky and Ammonia Avenue. Throughout the years, Argent and Blunstone have toured many times together as a duo, or under the Zombies name performing hits from all phases of their intertwined careers. The definitive Zombies collection available today is Zombie Heaven, a four CD box set released by Ace Records in the U.K.