I heard this so much when I was growing up that I remember it well. Listening to it as an adult, I thought it was interesting enough to listen to all the way through. But the song lyrics include "hold your head up" about 103 times, after which I was beginning to think that letting my head slump down might be an attractive option. The organ riff on the chorus sounds a bit like somebody screaming.
Argent was the band that Zombies keyboard player Rod Argent put together when the Zombies split up. Their first single release was "Liar", which did not chart for them but later became a hit for Three Dog Night. "Hold Your Head Up" was their third single; it reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the UK singles chart. This song was shortened for release as a single - the album track is over six minutes long and features an extended organ solo.
Their followup single, "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", reached #18 on the UK chart but didn't do anything in North America. (It sounds a bit like what Bowie was doing around that time.) Guitarist Russ Ballard, who had sung the lead vocal on "Hold Your Head Up", left the band in 1974. The remaining members of the group continued on until 1975. The original lineup reunited for five shows in 2010, five shows in 2012, and one final concert in 2013 in which they were the support band for the 21st century incarnation of the Zombies.
Created October 3, 2026.