NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 29: Inductee Colin Blunstone of The Zombies performs at the 2019 Rock & ... [+]
When classic rock group The Zombies was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2019, after God knows how many years of having been considered, each member of the band was visibly moved while playing on stage. But none was more joyful than Colin Blunstone, the group’s lead singer, who has been belting out the words to hits like “She’s Not There,” “Time Of The Season” and “Tell Her No” going on 60 years now. “It could have been quite intimidating because there’s an audience of 17,000 people there, and it’s being televised,” says Blunstone, 77. “Plus there are a lot of music people in the front few tables, so you’re playing to your peers. But I really loved it.”
In the early stages of COVID-19, we had caught up with Zombies’ keyboardist/songwriter/vocalist Rod Argent. A lot has happened since that conversation, of course, so now that the pandemic is subsiding, we thought it would be interesting to chat with Argent’s long-time partner in crime. Following are edited excerpts from an hour phone conversation with Blunstone from his home in Great Britain. This is Part 1 of a multipart series.
Jim Clash: Way back in the day, artists appearing on television often lip-sync’d their hits rather than playing live. I’m sure you guys did, too?
Colin Blunstone: I think when you first played on a show, you lip-sync’d. As they got to know you, when you became established, then you could play live. It was just something they used to do. I didn’t put enough time into learning the exact phrasing - I used to bluff it a bit [laughs]. Nowadays, though, we would never expect to lip-sync, never dream of doing something like that. But I do think there is still some lip-sync’ing going on, even at concerts. In the day, “She’s Not There” was quite an easy one, because with that simple backing track, there’s only one way to do it. I’m not as sure about our later tracks.
Clash: When did you first know that you could really sing?
Blunstone: I realize that, looking back, I always did sing, and all day long! I was talking to old neighbors of mine recently, from when I was a kid, and they said that before they even knew my name they’d call me, “the boy that sings” [laughs]. I never thought of myself as different from anybody else, though. To some extent, that was my training.
English rock group The Zombies, west London, 1965. Clockwise, from bottom: keyboard player Rod ... [+]
Clash: Rod had told me that originally you were going to play guitar in the band, not sing lead vocals.
Blunstone: During a coffee break at our first rehearsal after we had just practiced an old instrumental, Rod went over to a broken-down old piano in the corner and played something from The Stingers, a rock take on a classical piece. The song needed a fairly accomplished keyboard player. Rod was like, 15, and was already great. I didn’t really know him then - we had only just met through a friend at school - but I went over and said, “Whoever you are, you’re great, you should play those keyboards in the band.” He said, “No, no, no, it’s going to be a rock-and-roll band, we need THREE guitars.” And that was the end of the conversation. At the very end of that first rehearsal, I was putting my guitar away, and started singing a Ricky Nelson song to myself. Rod heard me, and must have been impressed. He said, “I’ll tell you what, if you’ll be the lead singer, I’ll play keyboards.” And that, essentially, was The Zombies, and how I got my big break. I felt more confident after that experience, thought that maybe I could get a job in the music business, even though we were still an amateur band.
Clash: Who were your early musical influences?
Blunstone: What I would call the greats of rock and roll - Elvis [Presley], Chuck Berry, Little Richard. Later on, Buddy Holly and Ricky Nelson. Everything changed with The Beatles, and, of course, we were influenced by them. As far as who I like now, just for enjoyment I listen to the people from my formative years, in particular singer/songwriters from the seventies like James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell. It’s a real weakness in my armor, but I don’t have many particular favorites of modern people that I listen to that I can think of off the top of my head. But I know I should [laughs].
CIRCA 1964: Rock and roll band "The Beatles" pose for a portrait wearing suits in circa 1964. (L-R) ... [+]
Clash: Of all the great harmonizers - The Everly Brothers and Simon & Garfunkel come to mind - The Zombies were unique. What made your sound so different?
Blunstone: We were a keyboard-based band that featured three-part harmonies. When we started in 1961, very few bands were singing harmony. Of course, The Beatles changed all that. But we didn’t copy them. We were fortunate because Rod was in the cathedral choir at St. Albans, so he could bring his choirboy skills to the table. He really understands harmonies. A lot of people will just sing thirds. Rod structures it so there’s a moving harmony going through the middle. One will vaguely be on the top, one will sing melody and one will be underneath. Whereas Rod was a great harmony singer himself, I was fairly unsophisticated. I had no musical background. So he would have me sing what I thought was the melody, establish that first. Because I have a high voice, I would often sing the high part in the harmony chorus, but sing melody in the verses. Chris White had to play bass, and also sing harmony. So Rod would try to give him a very simple part, as close to one note as possible. Finally, Rod had to fill in all of the holes, quite challenging for anybody. Many people have tried to copy our harmonies, but it’s very difficult. Strangely, it all came about because of the musical strengths and weaknesses that we all had.
