Russ Ballard
| Russ Ballard | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Russell Glyn Ballard |
| Born |
31 October 1945 Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | Hard rock, Pop, Psychedelic pop, Pop rock, Beat |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, piano, keyboards, harmonica |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Labels | EMI |
| Associated acts | Argent |
| Website | umumusic |
Russell Glyn "Russ" Ballard (31 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician.
Originally coming to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist for the band Argent, Ballard became known by the late 1970s as a songwriter and producer. His compositions "New York Groove", "You Can Do Magic", "Since You Been Gone", "Winning", "I Know There's Something Going On", "So You Win Again" and "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" were hits for other artists during the 1970s and 80s. He also scored several minor hits under his own name in the early/mid-1980s.
Ballard was initially a guitarist, joining Buster Meikle & The Day Breakers in 1961 together with his older brother Roy and their friend the drummer Bob Henrit. After a stint with The Roulettes, backing Adam Faith, he then went on to join Unit 4 + 2 in the early 1960s, before becoming the lead singer and guitarist of Argent (along with Henrit, who joined as drummer), writing their hit "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", which would later be covered by both Petra and KISS. Ballard is most well known as the vocalist on Argent's smash "Hold Your Head Up". In 1972, Ballard performed on Colin Blunstone's album Ennismore, which was produced by Chris White. Ballard also wrote the hit single, "I Don't Believe in Miracles", which featured on that album.
...
Wikipedia