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Rik Emmett | |
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 Rik Emmett plays at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. (Photo: Burns! 2002) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Gordon Emmett |
| Born | July 10, 1953 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals, synthesizer, piano, bass guitar |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | rikemmett |
Richard Gordon Emmett (born July 10, 1953) is a vocalist, guitarist, and member of the Canadian hard rock band Triumph.
In Toronto, during the mid 1970s, several local musicians formed a progressive rock group called Act III. One member of the group was Emmett, who left to join Triumph. This led to the break up of Act III. Other members formed Zon. Emmett says that one of the songs he performed with Act III was "The Blinding Light Show", a tune which he later recorded with Triumph.
Emmett left Triumph in 1988 to pursue a solo career. His first solo album, Absolutely , was released in 1990 and became a moderate hit across the United States and Canada thanks to the hits "When a Heart Breaks," "Big Lie" and "Saved by Love". He is also a writer for Guitar Player magazine and teaches song-writing and music business at Humber College in Toronto. For a time during the 1980s, Emmett contributed cartoons to Hit Parader magazine satirizing the music industry.
Due to a production error by Gil Moore and Mike Levine on Triumph's first album, Emmett changed the spelling of his first name to "Rik" rather than have the album recalled or cause confusion with fans.
Although he is best known as a rock guitarist, his playing style incorporates rock, blues, jazz, classical, bluegrass, and flamenco techniques. Similarly, his songwriting and discography demonstrate his ability to employ and blend multiple genres. In April 2005, he won the Canadian Smooth Jazz Award for Guitarist of the Year. [1]
Emmett is also a proficient singer, splitting lead vocal duties of Triumph with Gil Moore. Emmett's voice also has a noticeable resemblance to that of Geddy Lee of Canadian progressive rock band Rush, [2] leading to the band's sound sometimes being compared to that of Rush.
In 2007, Emmett joined former Triumph bandmates Gil Moore and Mike Levine for their induction into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. On Sunday April 6, 2008, at The 2008 JUNO Awards, Triumph was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS).
As a result of positive audience response to their dual guitar work in live shows, Emmett and guitarist Dave Dunlop formed the duo Strung-Out Troubadours. In 2007, they won 'Album of the Year' and 'Group/Duo of the Year' at the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards, where they were the most heavily nominated act. Both were also nominated for 'Best Guitarist'.
Emmett's 2018 tour with Dunlop may prove to be his last, citing an interest in retirement, or at least an extended break. [3]
As of January 2019, Emmett is on hiatus from touring. [4]
Emmett revealed that he is being treated for prostate cancer in 2024. [5] He also has developed arthritis in his hands. [6]
| Title | Release | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | |||
| "Big Lie" | 1990 | 47 | Absolutely |
| "When a Heart Breaks" | 14 | ||
| "Saved by Love" | 1991 | 17 | |
| "World of Wonder" | 22 | ||
| "The Way That You Love Me" | 76 | ||
| "Bang On" | 1992 | 48 | Ipso Facto |
| "Dig a Little Deeper" | 66 | ||
| "Heaven in Your Heart" | 1993 | 44 | |
| "Let Me be the One" | 1995 | 31 | The Spiral Notebook |
Triumph were a Canadian hard rock band formed in 1975 that was popular during the late 1970s and the 1980s, building on its reputation and success as a live band. Between its 16 albums and DVDs, the band has received 18 gold and nine platinum awards in Canada and the United States. They were nominated for multiple Juno Awards, including the "Group of the Year Award" in 1979, 1985, 1986, and 1987. They were inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in 2007, into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2008, and into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2019.
Rock & Roll Machine is the second studio album by Canadian hard rock band Triumph. It was first released in 1977 by Attic Records. The album contained in the band's first hit, a version of Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way".
Just a Game is the third studio album by Canadian hard rock band Triumph, released in 1979. The album contains one of Triumph's most popular songs on FM album-oriented radio, "Lay it on the Line", and the Top 40 hit "Hold On", which peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 33 in Canada.
Thunder Seven is the seventh studio album by Canadian hard rock band Triumph, released in November 1984. Three songs on the second half of the album follow a concept based on time-related themes.
Triumph is the debut studio album by Canadian hard rock band Triumph, released in 1976. The album was remastered and re-released with a new cover and name in 1995 called In the Beginning.
Progressions of Power is the fourth studio album by Canadian hard rock band Triumph, released in 1980. The album reached number 32 on the Billboard 200 and the single "I Can Survive" hit number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980. The single "I Live for the Weekend", though not a success in the band's home country, gave them their only charting single in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 59. The album was re-released in 1985 on MCA Records, then on TRC Records in 1995, and remastered in 2005 and re-issued on the band's own label TML Entertainment.
Never Surrender is the sixth studio album by Canadian hard rock band Triumph, released in 1982. The album reached #26 on the Billboard Albums chart assisted by the singles "All the Way", "A World of Fantasy" and "Never Surrender" which hit #2, #3 and #23, respectively, on the Billboard's Mainstream Top Rock Tracks chart in 1983. "All the Way" was Triumph's highest charting song on the Top Rock Tracks chart, but did not sustain that level of popularity with Triumph fans as the song is not included on their 1985 live album Stages, the later Classics or 2005's Livin' for the Weekend: The Anthology album.
Stages is a live album by Canadian hard rock band Triumph, released on October 14, 1985, by MCA Records. The tracks were recorded from various performances over the prior three years 1981–1984 although two new studio tracks were added: "Mind Games" and "Empty Inside".
King Biscuit Flower Hour (In Concert) is a live album by Canadian rock band Triumph released in 1996. Taken from the Allied Forces tour stop in Cleveland on October 12, 1981, this album features songs from the album of the same name in addition to some of the earlier hits.
Gil Moore is a Canadian musician. Born in Toronto, Moore was the drummer and co-vocalist of the power trio Triumph. Before Moore was in Triumph he was in a band called Sherman & Peabody which also featured Buzz Shearman of Moxy and Greg Godovitz of Goddo.
Michael Stephen Levine is the bassist and keyboardist for the Canadian hard rock band Triumph.
Surveillance is the ninth studio album by Canadian hard rock band Triumph, released in November 1987. The album was recorded at Metalworks Studios, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. This is the last Triumph album to feature Rik Emmett until his return to the band in 2008.
Classics is a compilation album by Canadian rock band Triumph, released in 1989.
The Sport of Kings is the eighth studio album by the Canadian hard rock band Triumph, released in 1986. It was recorded at the band's home studio of Metalworks Studios from May to August 1986. A song from the album, "Somebody's Out There", was the band's biggest hit, reaching number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 over a 15-week stay in the charts and hitting number 84 in the Canadian pop charts.
Edge of Excess is the tenth and final studio album by Canadian hard rock band Triumph, and the only one not to feature original guitarist and lead singer Rik Emmett who left the band in 1988, leaving Gil Moore as the sole lead vocalist. After a few years of inactivity, Moore and bassist Mike Levine recruited session guitarist Phil X to replace Emmett and released Edge of Excess in 1992. The song "Troublemaker" was featured in the 1992 movie Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth.
Live at the Us Festival is a live album and DVD by Canadian rock band Triumph, released in 2003. The massive Us Festival took place over three days, outdoors in San Bernardino, California, on May 28–30, 1983. Triumph appeared on May 29, which was billed as "Heavy Metal Sunday" and included Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, and Van Halen. The number of attendees varied during the three days; the crowd was estimated to be about 500,000 strong on "Heavy Metal Sunday". The documentary-style part of the DVD gives a behind-the-scenes look at how their shows are put together; lighting, pyrotechnics, smoke, and lightning techniques are explained. Rik Emmett explains their songwriting process in his home. They interview celebrities like Ronnie James Dio that are at the show. Two videos are included, "Spellbound", and "Follow Your Heart", which showcases a live performance, all in DTS Surround Sound. Gil Moore and Mike Levine reminisce about the performance in a fifteen-minute interview from 2003.
A Night of Triumph is a concert video first released to VHS and LaserDisc, later released as a live album and DVD by the Canadian hard rock band Triumph. The concert was recorded on January 16, 1987, at the Halifax Metro Centre in Nova Scotia during Triumph's Sport of Kings tour. The DVD bonus features included backstage footage from a Triumph concert at Spectrum in Philadelphia. Also included is the video for "Just One Night" and a live performance of "When the Lights Go Down" from the band's appearance at the 1983 US Festival, which itself was previously released as a standalone DVD in 2003 called Live at the US Festival.
"Hold On" is a song by the band Triumph. It appeared on their album Just a Game (1979) and was also released as a single. The single was released in June 1979 and rose to number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Rik Emmett.
John David Dunlop is a Canadian guitarist, composer, producer, recording engineer, and vocalist. Dunlop was a member, writer, guitarist, and backup singer in the Canadian rock band The Full Nine. Since 1996, he has had a successful musical relationship with Rik Emmett, sharing guitar-playing duties in The Rik Emmett Band, Strung-Out Troubadours, and Triumph.
Strung-Out Troubadours is the musical duo of Rik Emmett and Dave Dunlop. The pair regularly perform live shows together. Most of the songs are performed on acoustic guitars without vocals, with Emmett singing lead vocal on some selections.
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