Rod Argent

Were you listening to John Peel at this stage? 80s, yeah, in the early 80s.

I mean, I was listening to John Peel, I remember, years ago when Rod Argent, Hold Your Head Up, opened one of his shows.

It might have been something called Top Gear.

I can't remember, but yeah, I think he had John Peel's Top Gear, I think.

After which you had people like Booker T. Jones using it to great effect on both the MGs and other Stax records.

Session Man turned solo artist Billy Preston, British R&B influenced mods like Graham Bond and Stevie Winwood, Georgie Fame, Rod Argent from the Zombies, Small Faces Ian McClagan, Brian Auger from the Trinity, yet more progressive and complex players like Keith Emerson from the Knights.

Matthew Fisher from Procol Harem, Rick Wakeman from Yes, and then you had American rockers like Al Cooper and Greg Allman who infused gospel-style fervor into secular pop music.

Now, wait a second, Brett, you left somebody off.

Yes.

Oh, that's a great pick.

Another great Hammond, if I were to dip back in the 60s for my list, would be Rod Argent's solo on Time of the Season.

Ooh.

It was the first time I'd ever heard anything quite like that.

Another player I really liked at the time was Rod Argent with The Zombies.

There was a song of theirs called Whenever You're Ready.

And I used to just sort of pick on my 45.

But the zombies stood apart from their British contemporaries.

The jazz-influenced keyboard work of Rod Argent, combined with Colin Blundstone's breathy and distinctive vocals, gave the group a unique sound.

It's summertime And living is easy The pills are jumping

And Colin Blundstone carried the distinctive artistry and vocal style of the Zombies into his solo career, beginning with his acclaimed 1971 debut, One Ear.

Do you enjoy touring through the U.S.?

I do, actually.

Rod Argent and myself got back together again in 1999.

We put a band together, but we didn't

And then the Atomic Rooster, Vincent Crane did that thing.

And I love Rod Argent.

Oh, my God.

Rod Argent, to me, is one of the greatest.

You know, he's one of the top five, whatever.

So...

And the things that I never would have thought of, I'm like, damn, how do you, it was simple.

It wasn't a big deal.

Muff Winwood from the Spencer Davis group in 1943.

And one of our favorites, Rod Argent was born today in 1945.

Sweet.

Yeah.

Who's

he from? Uh, Rod Argent.

He was in the zombies.

Oh, okay.

And the drummer from the zombies was a chauffeur.

And, you know, meanwhile, Rod Argent and the bassist who wrote the songs together, they were making all the royalties and, And Rod Argent was sitting in his country estate for the interviews and living a very nice life.

He became a very successful producer after the zombies and he still is successful.

So he wrote the song, God Gave Rock and Roll to You.