The Zombies




Monday is here again, and that means it’s time for Monday’s Music Moves Me! We were given the theme of Halloween, and well, you know me - I have to be just a little bit different!



Today I’m going to tell you a little bit about a rock band that hails from England. They call themselves:



In 1958, Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson, and Hugh Grundy were just school boys jamming together. They had a few others join in from time to time, but these three were the main dudes. Their original name was the Mustangs, but they quickly realised that there were other groups with that name. The original bass player (Paul Arnold) came up with the name, and while he left the band soon after, the name stuck.  Colin Blunstone was the lead singer.

In 1964, they signed a recording contract with Decca, and released their first hit, “She’s Not There”.

Like many other British Invasion groups, the Zombies were sent to the United States to tour behind their new hit single. On 12 January 1965, the band made its first in-person appearance on US television, on the first episode of NBC's Hullabaloo. They played "She's Not There" (and their latest single "Tell Her No") to a screaming, hysterical audience full of teenage girls.

In 1967, the Zombies signed a recording contract with CBS Records for whom they recorded the album Odessey and Oracle (odyssey was accidentally misspelled by Terry Quirk, an art teacher who designed the cover). Because the band's budget could not cover session musicians, they used a Mellotron. According to Argent, this was in fact John Lennon's, and had been left in the studio as the Beatles had just finished recording Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

By the time Odessey and Oracle was released in April 1968, the band had broken up (in December 1967). The album sold poorly and was given a US release only because musician Al Kooper, then signed to Columbia Records, convinced his label of the album's merits. One of its tracks, "Time of the Season", written by Argent, was released as a single (in 1968) and eventually (1969) became a nationwide hit.


After the Zombies disbanded, Rod Argent formed the band called Argent in 1969. Atkinson worked in A&R at Columbia and Grundy joined him there after a brief spell in auto sales.

In 1991, the band briefly reunited as the Zombies with keyboardist Sebastian Santa Maria, and recorded the album New World.

Blunstone and Argent did not play together again until late 1999. Argent spotted Blunstone in the audience while performing at a charity concert for jazz musician John Dankworth and invited him onstage for an impromptu reunion. This positive experience set the stage for further collaborations to come.

The twosome performed together and reunited a few times with the other band members several times over the next several years.

In 2015, The Zombies released their sixth album, Still Got That Hunger.  They toured the US to promote this album.

In 2017 the four surviving original members (Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, Chris White, and Hugh Grundy) re-united to carry out a North American tour marking the 50th anniversary of the recording of Odessey & Oracle. The first stop on this tour was a first-time performance in Jamaica, as the featured artist on the Flower Power Cruise on the Celebrity Summit while in port in Falmouth.

The band has been nominated three times for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as of October 2017, but has not yet been inducted.




Do you enjoy The Zombies?  What are your plans for Halloween?  Tell me about it in the comments.

Today’s post is part of the Monday’s Music Moves Me blog hop, hosted by X-Mas Dolly, and co-hosted by JAmerican Spice, Stacy Uncorked and Curious as a Cathy.  Be sure to stop by the hosts and visit the other participants.





Comments

  1. Whoa, TRICK OR TREAT, those boys are way back there! And dang three times nominated and still no cigar??? That's too sad!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN my friend! I hope you have a safe and fun Halloween! hugsssssss

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Time will only tell. Hope they make it there soon!

      ~Mary

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  2. Mary,

    Oh groovy, The Zombies! Yeah I like their mewsic. BTW, the first vid doesn't work. I not only like their mewsic but I've always thought they had a cool band name. We aren't planning anything for Halloween. We discourage trick or treaters by keeping the porch light off and it's worked really well over the years. If anyone does come calling, we just don't answer the door. I think it's far safer for kids to attend an organized function like Trunk or Treat or Harvest Festival or such. Having a neighborhood full of kids running around is like waiting for a disaster to happen. All it takes is one kid wondering in the path of an oncoming car to shatter two families' lives forever. I shutter to think of such a nightmare for anyone to endure. Keep those kiddies home is what I say or at least off the street! Thanks for joining the 4M crew on the dance floor, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fixed the video issue. Thanks for letting me know.

      ~Mary

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  3. Dang! I read about them and then their video wouldn't play. I caught it on YouTube and oh, yeah. I know that song. Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. Aw, sorry, Joyce!

      Got the video issue sorted out, the playlist should play just fine now.

      ~Mary

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  4. I was a big Zombies fan and still like their music a great deal. Odyssey and Oracle in my opinion is among the best albums of the rock era.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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    Replies
    1. Lee,

      I happen to agree with you here. Tell her No and She's Not There have been long-time favorites of mine.

      ~Mary

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  5. Thanks for the history of the group. I learned something. Hopefully, they get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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    1. I hope they make it there, too, Patrick! It will be a well-deserved spot for them.

      ~Mary

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  6. I always liked the Zombies but didn't know much about their history. Thanks for the bio!

    We don't participate in Halloween anymore, but I did publish a post for the occasion. ☺ First one in awhile. Halloween with Alice Have a good one!

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    Replies
    1. Halloween is quiet around here. Good to see you posting again. Hope this wasn't just a one-off :)

      ~Mary

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  7. Awesome post Mary and perfect for Halloween! I'm so surprised that the Zombies have yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Surely they will though, don't you think?
    I love their hits "She's Not There", "Tell Her No"and "Time of the Season" has always been a favorite of mine.

    I love the introduction of the band for their performance of "Gotta Get a Hold of Myself" -- that was funny...the part of how they came to be on the show and I especially chuckled when the announcer (not sure who he is or what show it is) said "Sorry 'bout that older folk." haha

    That's also crazy that the art teacher who designed the Odessey and Oracle album cover misspelled Odyssey. I guess all was forgiven since it was truly interesting cover art!

    Very cool that some of the bandmates are still performing together. Us Babyboomers still like going to concerts and I'm sure there's a significant revenue stream because of it...

    Happy Halloween Mary! Hope you have great fun today!

    Michele at Angels Bark

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Michele!

      Those are my favorite Zombies songs as well. Here's hoping they make it into the hall soon.

      ~Mary

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  8. I had not heard of the Zombies! I asked my mother in law however, and she definitely knows them. We're going to pull out her albums this weekend for a listen!

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  9. Ooh, thank you for sharing their history. Interesting. And I like that Kim is planning to share a listen with her mother-in-law. How cute.

    Our Halloween was low key. We had six trick-or-treaters. ~sigh~ At least I put out some more decorations for my partner's enjoyment. Now I've been told I can't take them down until after Christmast since they went up so late. ~grin~ Happy Celtic New Year!

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  10. So I learn something new every day! Thanks for the history of the Zombies - I love your song choice! :)

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  11. The Zombies - this post gave me a double earworm - in one ear "She's Not There" and in the other ear "Hold Your Head Up" (speaking of 1970's songs I haven't heard in forever). I am revealing my age here, but I owned "She's Not There" as a 45 - I just loved that song. My husband remembers Argent as having done a cover of "Woodstock" - mellow and enjoyable Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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