The fourth time was the charm for The Zombies who, after four nominations and having been eligible for nomination since 1989, were finally elected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The ceremony is this Friday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The band's founding member and keyboardist Rod Argent says it was the fans that pushed them over the top as they came in fourth in the Fan Vote:
"I know that the Fan Vote is only, in the end, one of about 800 to a thousand votes, but people take notice of it. They really do. And I think the public perception of really good and relentless amount of fan voting is hugely important. It doesn't guarantee things. It took us four nominations to get in and then we had that phone calling saying that we were in. So thank you to all you guys. It's very important."
In addition to Argent, the other members being inducted are the late Paul Atkinson, singer Colin Blunstone, drummer Hugh Grundy and bassist Chris White.
Part of the British Invasion, The Zombies made their mark with such songs as "She's Not There," "Tell Her No" and "Time of the Season." They only released two albums before going their separate ways in 1969. But that second album,Odessey and Oracle, came in at number-100 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time.
Argent and Blunstone came back together in 2000 and in 2004 started touring again as The Zombies. Since then, they have recorded three albums as well as doing numerous tours. Grundy and White are no longer active members, but did participate in the Odessey and Oracle 50th anniversary tour in 2017.
Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles will induct The Zombies on Friday night alongside Def Leppard, Roxy Music,The Cure, Radiohead, Janet Jackson and Stevie Nicks.