The Zombies

For the undead creature of Vodun lore, see zombie.

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The Zombies were a 1960s psychedelic and R&B band, known for complex harmonies and jazz-influenced music. The group consisted of Chris White[?], Rod Argent[?], Colin Blunstone[?], Paul Atkinson[?], and Hugh Grundy[?]. Argent's flashy, jazzy piano leads and Blunstone's voice were the hallmarks of the band.

Forming in the early 1960s near London, England, the Zombies recorded "She's Not There" for their demo for Decca. After being signed, the song became a hit in Britain and even bigger in the United States. The mid 1960s saw a large number of singles coming from the Zombies, many of which received excellent reviews. Songs like "Remember When I Loved Her", "Remember You", "Just Out of Reach", "I Must Move", "How We Were Before", "Gotta Get Ahold of Myself", "I Want You Back Again", "She's Coming Home", "Whenever You're Ready" and "Indication" looked promising, but ended up only charting briefly if at all.

With their career almost over, the Zombies signed to CBS Records[?] for one final LP, only the second of the career and the only would that would be designed as an LP from the beginning, instead of being a motley collection of random songs. The resulting concept album, Odessey and Oracle[?], was one of the very first to utilize a Mellotron, as the band's budget did not allow for the hiring of session musicians.

By the time Odessey and Oracle was released in 1968, the band had broken up. The album sold little, and was only released in the US at all because Al Kooper[?] vouched for it. Finally, "Time of the Season" was released as a single well after the album was released. In 1969, the song became a huge hit. Since the group refused to reform, various concocted groups called "the Zombies" were created to tour for a time.

Rod Argent formed a band called Argent, while Blunstone eventually launched a solo career.

Quotation

• "Over the course of the ensuing decades, (The Zombies) final album...Odessey and Oracle - a beautifully arranged, harmony drenched pristine pop paean to memory, the changing seasons, the passage of time and lost love - slowly began to be recognised as one of the greatest albums of the 1960s." New York Times (1998)