James Walter Rodford (7 July 1941 – 20 January 2018) was an English musician, who played

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

for several British rock bands. He was a founding member of

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

, which was led by his cousin

Rod Argent Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the rock band the Zombies, and went on to form the ba ...

, and performed with them from their formation in 1969 until they disbanded in 1976. He was the bassist for

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

from 1978 until they disbanded in 1997. In 2004, he joined the reunited Zombies, whom he had been closely associated with since the early 1960s, and remained a member until his death in 2018. He was also a member of the Swinging Blue Jeans and the Kast Off Kinks.

Early years

Rodford was born on 7 July 1941, in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he was a member of the Bluetones, the biggest band in St Albans at the time. Although he did not become a band member at this stage, Rodford was instrumental in helping his younger cousin

form the Zombies in 1964. Rodford later joined the Mike Cotton Sound as a bassist.⠀

Music career

Ray Davies - Jim Rodford with The Kinks 1979

Along with Rod Argent, Rodford was one of the founding members of Argent. When Rod Argent quit the band, the remaining three members (Rodford, Bob Henrit, and

John Verity John Verity (born 3 July 1949) is an English guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of Argent, a band formed by Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent. He joined the band alongside John Grimaldi, replacing Russ Ballard. Early life, fa ...

) formed the short-lived band Phoenix. Eventually, Rodford joined the Kinks as a bass guitarist in 1978 and played with them until their final disintegration in 1997. From 1999–2001 Rodford appeared in a band that ex-

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

guitarist Hilton Valentine formed, the Animals II, which also featured former Animals drummer John Steel, and keyboardist Dave Rowberry. Rodford continued with this band (which changed its working name to "The Animals and Friends" after Valentine left) until joining Argent and

Colin Blunstone Colin Edward Michael Blunstone (born 24 June 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Blunstone came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band the Zombies, which rel ...

in the revival of the Zombies. Rodford never played with the Zombies during their original incarnation, despite having been closely involved with them. However, he began to play with them in the band's reincarnation in 1968 and again in the early years of the 21st century, with his son Steve on drums. In 2008, Rodford joined the Kast Off Kinks, on the retirement of

John Dalton John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He introduced the atomic theory into chemistry. He also researched Color blindness, colour blindness; as a result, the umbrella term ...

, whom he had followed into the Kinks after Andy Pyle. In 2009, Jim Rodford regularly played in "The Rodford Files" along with his sons Steve Rodford (Blunstone/Argent band) on drums and Russ Rodford on guitar, plus Derik Timms (mOOn Dogs) on guitar, lap steel, slide and vocals. In 2010, the original line-up of Argent reformed and resumed playing in concert. They mounted a short tour including gigs in Frome, Southampton, Wolverhampton, Leamington Spa and London. On 20 January 2018, Rodford died after he fell down stairs at his home in

Personal life

Rodford met his wife, Jean, at the Pioneer Club, St Albans, in the early days of his music career. They have two sons, Steve, a drummer, Russell a guitarist and a daughter, Paula. Rodford died after a fall on 20 January 2018, at the age of 76, a few days after returning from America where he had played a few gigs with The Zombies. His son Steve is currently the drummer for the Zombies.

Timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodford, Jim 1941 births 2018 deaths English rock bass guitarists English male bass guitarists The Kinks members The Zombies members musicians from St Albans British rhythm and blues boom musicians Deaths from falls