- Argent (band)
Infobox musical artist
Name = Argent
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Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin =England
Genre =Progressive rock ,Hard rock , Pop
Years_active = 1968 - 1976
Label =
Associated_acts =The Zombies ,The Roulettes ,Unit 4 + 2 ,The Kinks
URL = [http://www.rodargent.com/ rodargent.com]
Past_members =Rod Argent Mac MacLeod Robert HenritRuss Ballard Jim Rodford John Verity John Grimaldi Chris White
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Notable_instruments =Argent were an English rock band founded in 1969 by
keyboardist Rod Argent , formerly ofThe Zombies .The first three demos from Argent, recorded in the autumn of 1968 featured
Mac MacLeod onbass guitar .The other original members were
bassist Jim Rodford (Rod Argent's cousin and formerly with the Mike Cotton Sound),drummer Robert Henrit andguitarist /keyboardist Russ Ballard (both formerly withThe Roulettes andUnit 4 + 2 ). Lead vocal duties were shared between Ballard and Rodford with Argent providing backing.Rod Argent, Chris White (former Zombies bassist) and Russ Ballard were the group's songwriters. Some of Ballard's compositions became hits when they were covered by other artists, including Rainbow, Hello and Santana.
When Ballard left in 1973, he was replaced by guitarist/vocalist
John Verity and guitaristJohn Grimaldi and there followed a period of intense recording and touring until the band decided to come off the road late in 1976. Rodford, Henrit and Verity briefly continued together under the name Phoenix before going their separate ways, with first Rodford and then Henrit becoming members ofThe Kinks .Argent's biggest hit was Chris White's "
Hold Your Head Up " from the "All Together Now" album, which, in a heavily-edited single form, reached #5 in theU.S. They also recorded the original version of "God Gave Rock and Roll to You ", written by Russ Ballard, which was covered by Kiss in 1992 under the name "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II ", and featured prominently at the end of the film "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey ". The song also became a ContemporaryChristian rock anthem and was twice covered by the Gospel band Petra, in 1977 (on the album "Come and Join Us ") and again in 1984 (on the album "Beat the System "), albeit with new verses. The Russ Ballard song "Liar " on Argent's first album became a hit forThree Dog Night .The sound of the band was a mix of rock and pop, but also covered more
progressive rock territory in songs like "The Coming of Kohoutek," aninstrumental from their "Nexus" album. When Ballard left the band after "", they took an even more progressive/fusion turn and signed to a newrecord label (RCA) for the two finalalbum s. By 2005, all albums, including compilations, have been re-released on CD, except "Counterpoints".Discography
*"Argent" (1970)
*"Ring of Hands " (1971)
*"All Together Now" (1972)
*"In Deep" (1973)
*"Nexus" (1974)
*"" (1974)
*"Circus" (1975)
*"Counterpoints " (1975)
*"The Best of Argent - An Anthology " [Compilation] (1976)
*"Hold Your Head Up " [Compilation] (1978)
*"Music from the Spheres " [Compilation] (1991)
*"BBC Radio 1 In Concert " [Live] (1995)
*"The Complete BBC Sessions " [Live] (1997)
*"" [Compilation] (2008)ingles
*"
Sweet Mary " (1971) #102
*"Hold Your Head Up " (1972) #5
*"Tragedy" (1972) #106
*"God Gave Rock And Roll To You " (1973) #114
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