If you’re in a band that shot to the top of the charts in two countries with a debut single six decades ago, it could be tempting to take it easy now. That’s just not the way Rod Argent and his bandmates like to do things.
The Zombies, who landed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 on the strength of such international hits as “She’s Not There” and “Time of the Season,” keep writing and performing new music. The British band’s current tour is sharing music from its 2023 album, “Different Game.” And Argent is hard at work on something completely different: a Christmas carol he’s scoring for a choir to sing in November.
“I’ve always loved classical music and jazz, as well as rock ‘n’ roll,” Argent told The Daily Progress in advance of Friday’s show at Charlottesville’s Jefferson Theater.
The musician, who originally learned to play piano by ear and learned to read music while singing in a cathedral choir, is writing an organ score for his carol.
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After the original Zombies lineup split, Argent started his second band, the self-titled Argent, which ceased in 1975. Argent said he used his new free time to immerse himself in learning all kinds of music.
“I decided to take any music, no matter how difficult or easy, and just play it. It was like learning a new language, really,” Argent said. One of the fruits of that time was a classical album filled with music by Frederic Chopin, J.S. Bach and Edvard Grieg.
“Music, for me, was always the place where I was the most at home,” said Argent. “Music was always a sanctuary for me. I got completely turned around hearing Elvis [Presley] sing ‘Hound Dog’ when I was 11. Then, I discovered Big Mama Thornton, who did ‘Hound Dog’ before Elvis, and I was bowled over.”
Singing in the cathedral choir in his hometown of St. Albans brought him a deeper appreciation for the power of music to stir the soul. When his organist and choirmaster taught the singers Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” Argent was hooked.
“I remember the first chords in that. I just melted,” Argent said. “I thought, ‘Wow. this is what music should be.’”
Both the original and revived Zombies pair keyboardist Argent with lead singer Colin Blunstone.
“Colin often says he learned to sing singing my songs,” Argent said. “I learned to write songs for Colin’s voice. Colin and I always knew each other our whole lives.”
One of their favorite moments in a busy 2023 was curating their first music festival in St. Albans, where the band formed in 1961.
And 2024, the 60th anniversary of “She’s Not There,” is packed. After this final leg of the Different Game Tour ends, there will be an On the Blue Cruise with members of the Moody Blues and the Alan Parsons Project, plus a British anniversary tour in May and June, called “Celebrating Sixty Years on Tape.” An American leg of that tour is planned for autumn, and Argent expects to see the same throngs of fans from multiple generations in the audiences.
“Young people say they love us,” he said. “If you can relate to a young generation now, that’s something.”