‘Hold Your Head Up’ by Argent – Classic Hit or Miss

Rod Argent, Chris White (former Zombies bassist, producer, songwriter) and Russ Ballard were the group's songwriters. Some of Ballard's compositions became hits when they were covered by other artists, including Kiss, Petra, Hello , Santana and more recently the brazilian metal band Oficina G3.

When Ballard left in 1974, he was replaced by guitarist/vocalist John Verity and guitarist John Grimaldi and there followed a period of intense recording, in which they produced two albums, and a film that was never released (though a clip is available to view on John Verity's website). The band's decision to come off the road late in 1976 has never been fully explained, though the decision might have been influenced by the declining health of one of its members. Rodford, Henrit and Verity briefly continued together under the name Phoenix before going their separate ways, with first Rodford and then Henrit becoming members of The Kinks. Meanwhile, Rod Argent went on to work with Andrew Lloyd-Webber, and to produce a couple of solo albums. He also opened a keyboard shop in the West End of London.

Argent's biggest hit was Rod Argent and Chris White's "Hold Your Head Up" from the All Together Now album, which, in a heavily-edited single form, reached #5 in the U.S. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

"Hold Your Head Up" was covered in 1987 by the band 20/Twenty, which recorded on Refuge records' Christian label. Argent also recorded the original version of "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", written by Russ Ballard, which was covered by Kiss in 1991 under the name "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II", and featured prominently at the end of the film Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. The song also became a Contemporary Christian rock anthem and was twice covered by the Christian Rock band Petra, in 1977 (on the album Come and Join Us) and again in 1984 (on the album Beat the System), with new verses. The Russ Ballard song "Liar" on Argent's first album became a hit for Three Dog Night.

So it was hit back in 1975 - How about today?