Return to Rock-and-Roll Page.The Zombies were a 60's British Invasion group with a unique sound, and managed to put three songs in the top ten on the U.S. charts.
The group was formed in 1963 in Hertfordshire, England and consisted of Rod Argent on keyboards, Colin Blunstone on vocals, Hugh Grundy on drums, Paul Atkinson on lead guitar, and Paul Arnold on bass. Arnold was replaced in that year by Chris White. They entered and won a local talent contest and soon caught the attention of Decca Records. The band did a number of R&B covers along with some compositions of their own that had been written by Argent and White. Among these were She's Not There and You Make Me Feel Good.
The group was signed and released She's Not There on the Parrot label. Blunstone did very well on the vocals on this record. It went to #12 in the UK and #2 in the US in 1964, and established Argent and White as songwriters who could come up with a hit.
The Zombies developed a cult following in the US, where their next hit was Tell Her No in 1965. Other releases were minor hits, such as I Want You Back Again and She's Coming Home.
The group released an album that included some original songs and some R&B covers in 1965 titled Begin Here. It did not do well, although they wanted to do more albums. They signed with CBS but by the time their album Odessey and Oracle (sic) was released in 1968, the group members had become disillusioned and the band had split up. One song from this album which had been recorded in 1967, Time Of The Season would become their third and final top ten hit in the US, but not until two years later.
Rod Argent continued to write songs with Chris White and went on to form a progressive rock band named for himself, Argent. Its biggest hit was Hold Your Head Up, in 1972. Grundy and Atkinson remained in the business, working in record production for CBS.
The Zombies had some enduring hits and made their mark on the music world in the 60's.
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