Editing Rod Argent (section)

==Career==
===The Zombies===
In addition to playing the piano and keyboards in the Zombies, Argent was (with White) one of the group's two main songwriters, penning the [[hit record|hits]] "[[She's Not There]]", "[[Tell Her No]]", and "[[Time of the Season]]", amongst others. Argent was initially the group's lead singer, with Blunstone on guitar. When Argent's keyboard talents became apparent, he became the group's full-time keyboard player, conceding the role of lead singer to Blunstone. The group continued to record through the 1960s, but disbanded in December 1967, reportedly over management disagreements.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.philstar.com/modern-living/2012-09-15/849009/may-zombies-never-rest-peace|title=May the Zombies never rest in peace|author=Henson, Jopaquin|newspaper=The Philippine Star|date=15 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225212526/http://www.philstar.com/modern-living/2012-09-15/849009/may-zombies-never-rest-peace|archive-date=25 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Argent===
After the band broke up, Argent went on to form the band [[Argent (band)|Argent]], which had a hit album in 1972 with ''[[All Together Now (Argent album)|All Together Now]]'', which contained the single "[[Hold Your Head Up]]". His [[Hammond organ|Hammond B3]] solo on that track was cited by [[Rick Wakeman]] as the "greatest organ solo ever".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-galloway/interview-with-the-zombie_b_2893545.html |title=Ron Galloway: Interview With the Zombie – Rod Argent On Gershwin, Bill Evans, Miles Davis & The Penny Lane Piano |work=The Huffington Post |date=18 March 2013 |access-date=2014-07-24}}</ref> The band also [[sound recording and reproduction|recorded]] the original version of the rock anthem "[[God Gave Rock and Roll to You]]", written by lead singer [[Russ Ballard]], which was later covered by other artists including [[Petra (band)|Petra]] and [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]]. Argent's first album included the song "[[Liar (Russ Ballard song)|Liar]]" (also composed by Ballard), which became a hit for [[Three Dog Night]]. In 1976, the band broke up.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/argent-mn0000593930/biography|title=Argent|author=Huey, Steve|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=5 December 2015}}</ref>

===Solo career===
In 1978, Argent released his debut solo album ''Moving Home'' with many well-known musicians, including [[Gary Moore]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] drummer [[Phil Collins]], and [[Weather Report]] bass guitarist [[Alphonso Johnson]]. In 1980, he wrote a  musical titled ''Masquerade'' which premiered in London in 1982. In 1988, he issued another solo album, ''Red House''.<ref name=bio>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rod-argent-mn0000291826|title=Rod Argent|author=Huey, Steve|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=5 December 2015}}</ref>

Argent went on to play keyboards with a number of musicians, including piano on the [[Who Are You (The Who song)|title track]] of [[The Who]]'s album ''[[Who Are You]]'', and on ''[[Variations (Andrew Lloyd Webber album)|Variations]]'' with [[Gary Moore]], [[Julian Lloyd Webber]], and [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]. In the 1980s he began writing for television. In 1986, he composed the theme music for [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]]'s coverage of the [[1986 FIFA World Cup]], ''Aztec Gold'', which he released as a [[Single (music)|single]] under the name of ''Silsoe''. Also in 1986, he composed the theme music for ITV's ''[[The Two of Us (1986 TV series)|The Two of Us]]'' and for 1987's LWT series Bust. Two years later, the Argent/Van Hooke composition "Goal Crazy" was used by ITV's ''[[The Big Match|The Match]]'' from 1988 until 1992; and the duo also composed the now-familiar theme music for ITV's ''[[It'll Be Alright On The Night]]'', first used in series 6 in 1990 and then until 2008.  Argent also composed the theme music to the ITV ([[London Weekend Television|LWT]]) sitcom ''[[The Piglet Files]]'', which aired from 1990 to 1992.<ref name=bio />

In 1987, Argent formed a production company with ex-[[Van Morrison]] drummer [[Peter Van Hooke]] which produced a number of artists. In 1995, Argent produced [[Soraya (musician)|Soraya]]'s debut album ''[[On Nights Like This]]'' and her second album ''[[Wall Of Smiles]]''. Other albums the business partners produced included [[Tanita Tikaram]]'s ''[[Ancient Heart]]'' (1988), [[Nanci Griffith]]'s ''[[Late Night Grande Hotel]]'' (1991), [[Joshua Kadison]]'s ''[[Painted Desert Serenade]]'' (1993), and [[Jules Shear]]'s ''Healing Bones'' (1994).<ref name=bio />

In 1999, Argent recorded a solo piano album, ''Rod Argent Classically Speaking'', in which he played [[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]] [[étude]]s and music by [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]], [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]], and [[Edvard Grieg|Grieg]], as well as three of his own compositions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/classically-speaking-mw0001381647|title=Rod Argent Classically Speaking|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=5 December 2015}}</ref> In 2006, Argent joined [[Hamish Stuart]], [[Richard Marx]], [[Billy Squier]], [[Edgar Winter]] and [[Sheila E.]] to tour with [[Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ringostarr.com/ringo-starr-and-his-all-starr-bands-a-tour-history|title=Ringo Starr News|access-date=5 December 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009132217/http://www.ringostarr.com/ringo-starr-and-his-all-starr-bands-a-tour-history/|archive-date=9 October 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===The Zombies reunion===
[[File:Rod Argent.jpg|thumb|Argent in 2005]]
In 2004, Argent and Colin Blunstone recorded a new album, ''[[As Far as I Can See...]]'', in the style of The Zombies. A subsequent album and DVD ''Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent of the Zombies Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre'' received favourable reviews,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-at-Bloomsbury-Theatre-London/dp/B0007IJY9S |title=The Zombies / Zombies Live! |website=Amazon UK |access-date=2014-07-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-cddvd-review-colin-blunstone-rod/ |title=Music CD/DVD Review: Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent of The Zombies – Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London |publisher=Blogcritics |access-date=2014-07-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918003838/http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-cddvd-review-colin-blunstone-rod/ |archive-date=18 September 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> as did their 2007 US tour. One critic noted, "The Zombies, still led by original keyboard wizard Rod Argent and featuring the smoked-silk vocals of Colin Blunstone, is the best 60s band still touring which doesn't have [[Mick Jagger]] as a front man".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WT&p_theme=wt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_text_search-0=colin%20AND%20blunstone&s_dispstring=colin%20blunstone%20AND%20date(2007)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=2007&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no|title=Hits keep on coming...|newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]|date=1 August 2007|access-date=2014-07-17}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

Argent continued to tour with Colin Blunstone as The Zombies, and in March 2008 the original surviving members of the band played three reunion concerts at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, performing the album ''[[Odessey and Oracle]]''. The band were introduced by [[Al Kooper]], who had discovered the album in a record shop in Carnaby Street in London after the band had broken up. He promoted it on radio stations in the US, leading to "Time of the Season" becoming a Top 3 hit in the singles charts. The sold out concerts (attended by several DJs and musical celebrities) led to a band reunion. In a 2015 interview with ''[[PopMatters]]'' journalist J.C. Maçek III about the Zombies' latest album ''[[Still Got That Hunger]]'', Argent said "''Still Got That Hunger'' is the first album that has really recaptured some of the resonance of feeling of a group. We're so tight as a group together now. And the whole process has become so organic that we're 100% happy with the Zombies name and rediscovering and playing all the old stuff and at the same time carving a new path forward which is also very, very important to us."<ref name=PM>{{cite web|work=[[PopMatters]]|author=Maçek III, J.C.|title="There Are No Half-Measures" An Interview with the Zombies' Rod Argent|date=4 November 2015|url=http://www.popmatters.com/feature/there-are-no-half-measures-an-interview-with-the-zombies-rod-argent/}}</ref>

In 2012, Argent participated in the unveiling of a [[Blue Plaque]] at The Blacksmith's Arms, a pub in St Albans where the Zombies met for their first rehearsal.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.whtimes.co.uk/what-s-on/music/blue_plaque_breathes_new_life_into_the_zombies_1_1361461|title=Blue plaque breathes new life into The Zombies|date=26 April 2012|newspaper=Welwyn Hatfield Times|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>