Jim Rodford is a bassist that any fan of the British Invasion might envy, having played with the
Swinging Blue Jeans and the
Mike Cotton Sound, as well as playing a key role in the formation of
the Zombies, and latterly joining
the Kinks, where he was a member for 18 years.
Rodford's first longtime band affiliation with the
Bluetones, which was the top local band in his hometown of St. Albans, in Hertfordshire. He had a younger cousin,
Rod Argent, who played keyboards and was interested in starting up a group in the early '60s -- he helped the group get organized, and lead singer
Colin Blunstone came from
Rodford's school, but he declined to join, instead ending up as a member of the
Swinging Blue Jeans, where he succeeded
Mike Gregory, who had replaced co-founder
Les Braid. From the
Swinging Blue Jeans, he moved on to the
Mike Cotton Sound, a former trad-jazz outfit that had lately retooled its sound distinctly more toward R&B and soul, succeeding
Stu Morrison in the bassist's spot.
Rodford remained with the
Mike Cotton Sound for almost four years, until late 1968, when he was approached by his cousin,
Rod Argent. Having left
the Zombies behind,
Argent wanted to form his own group, and he and
Rodford became the core of
Argent, with guitarist
Russ Ballard and drummer
Bob Henrit -- both formerly of
the Roulettes and
Unit 4+2 -- filling the other two slots in the quartet.
Rodford was in for the long haul with the group, outlasting
Ballard (who quit in 1974) and even
Argent himself, who exited his own band in 1976.
Rodford,
Henrit, and guitarist
John Verity continued working together as a trio called Phoenix, which then morphed into
the John Verity Band, who played in a much heavier metal/arena rock style and got one album out on Dunhill before they disappeared. He briefly passed through a band called
Limey and then, in 1978, there came a call from
the Kinks, who needed a bassist for an upcoming tour. He was actually well known to the band, both from his early work with
the Mike Cotton Sound, who had toured with
the Kinks in 1964, and his work with
Argent, which had shared the bill with them in the early '70s. His work on that 1978 tour led to his becoming a permanent member of the band, lasting right up to their official breakup in 1996. In more recent years, he has performed with
Rod Argent and
Colin Blunstone, and also with
Mike Berry & the Outlaws, and worked in four years with skiffle legend
Lonnie Donegan in the '80s. During the '90s, he also joined
Hilton Valentine and
John Steel, along with former
Mike Cotton Sound bandmate
Dave Rowberry -- who had been a member of
the Animals -- in
the Animals II.
Rodford is constantly on call in the 21st century because of his fluency in different music styles, most of them related to the British invasion era and its offshoots.
–
Bruce Eder, Rovi