Rod Argent

English keyboard player Rod Argent is a musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer, born June 14, 1945, in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England. The keyboardist formed [a=The Zombies] in 1961 with vocalist [a=Colin Blunstone] (born June 24, 1945), guitarist [a=Paul Atkinson] (1946-2004), drummer/percussionist [a=Hugh Grundy] (b. March 6, 1945) and Rod Argent's older cousin, bass player [a=Jim Rodford] (1941-2018, bassist in [a=The Kinks] 1978-97), and had their first hit with [i]She's Not There[/i] in 1964 (from 1976 a small hit and popular song on [a=Santana]'s shows. In 1968, they released their classic, misspelt [i]Odessey and Oracle[/i], but the band broke up just before Xmas in 1967. In 1968, Rod Argent, Jim Rodford, singer [a=Russ Ballard] and drummer [a=Bob Henrit] started playing and recording new songs, forming the new band [a=Argent], a progressive rock band which had great success until 1976, mainly in the US where they had moved already in the 60s.

Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone didn't play together again until after 43 years, when they reunited for two shows in 2000. In 2004, The Zombies was officially reunited, and they started touring Europe and the US again, except for a break during Covid-19. However, on July 11, 2024, it was announced by their management that Rod Argent - who celebrated his 79th birthday at home in St. Albans only four weeks earlier (and his and his wife Cathy's 52nd wedding anniversary) - had suffered a stroke, and according to a press release, he won't tour again.