Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXII--Argent: Hold Your Head Up

Back in the 70's, every Friday night after the The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson there was a musical show called The Midnight Special, which featured the biggest music acts of the day performing their hits live.  From Marvin Gaye to David Bowie to Steely Dan to Ray Charles, the show featured a diverse array of music that was wonderful to a young man like me looking to learn more about the fabulous world of rock and roll.  The show was also my introduction to this week's tune, which I didn't realize until I did my half ass research that its appearance was actually on the show's debut episode.

Argent was formed in 1969 by surprisingly enough, keyboardist Rod Argent in London.  The band had a modicum of success, including a #13 album in their native UK, through 1976 before disbanding.  For their career the band released 7 studio albums, 4 live albums, and 5 compilations.  Argent has reunited three times (2010, 2012, 2013) for short tours and benefit shows.

"Hold Your Head Up" was released as a single in 1972 from their album All Together Now.  The single would be their biggest of their career, reaching #5 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the U.K. charts.  The album was also their best selling, hitting #23 here in the States and #13 in the U.K.  The single has two versions, a short radio edit version, and the studio version which lasts a little over six minutes.

"Hold Your Head Up," for some odd reason, is the second straight song featured here on Friday Night Jukebox whose message is one of resilience in the face of times of trouble, which is especially necessary now in light of the coronavirus pandemic we're living through now.  The song opens (and I remember, even these many years later, how much I loved it the first time I heard it) with the bass guitar and drums synchronized like a rhythmic heartbeat, before the electric guitar kicks in to drive the beginning of the vocals.  The remainder of the song features some nice keyboard work by Argent and keeps hammering home the song's message of keep on keepin' on.  "Hold Your Head Up" is another in a long line of excellent rock singles to come out of the 1970's, and remains as relevant today as it was when it was originally released.

Liner Notes:  "And if it's bad/Don't let it get you down/You can take it..."

Enjoy:

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emaycee