Argent (band)

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Argent
Origin England
Years active 1968 - 1976
Associated acts The Zombies, The Roulettes, Unit 4 + 2, The Kinks
Website rodargent.com
Members
Rod Argent
Mac MacLeod
Robert Henrit
Russ Ballard
Jim Rodford
John Verity
John Grimaldi
Chris White

Argent were an English rock band founded in 1969 by keyboardist Rod Argent, formerly of The Zombies.

The first three demos from Argent, recorded in the autumn of 1968 featured Mac MacLeod on bass guitar.

The other original members were bassist Jim Rodford (Rod Argent's cousin and formerly with the Mike Cotton Sound), drummer Robert Henrit and guitarist/keyboardist Russ Ballard (both formerly with The Roulettes and Unit 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 guitarist John 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 of The 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 the U.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 Contemporary Christian 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 for Three 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," an instrumental from their Nexus album. When Ballard left the band after Encore, they took an even more progressive/fusion turn and signed to a new record label (RCA) for the two final albums. By 2005, all albums, including compilations, have been re-released on CD, except Counterpoints.

[edit] Discography

  • Argent (1970)
  • Ring of Hands (1971)
  • All Together Now (1972)
  • In Deep (1973)
  • Nexus (1974)
  • Encore: Live In Concert (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)