Jem Targal (February 28, 1947 – October 8, 2021) was an American bass guitarist and singer, known best as a member and co-founder of the rock group

Third Power Third Power was an American psychedelic hard rock band from Detroit, Michigan, who released one album in 1970. The group was formed in 1969, and became a prominent local club band before signing to Vanguard Records.psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band formed in 1969 in Detroit, Michigan. The band featured Drew Abbott on vocals and guitar, Jim Craig on drums, and Targal on vocals and bass guitar. Targal also served as the group's main songwriter. The group became a prominent local club band before signing to

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

.Third Power
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Guitarist Drew Abbott and bassist Jem Targal shared singing duties. They released an album, ''Believe'', on the label in 1970. The album made modest sales but the group disbanded in 1971.

Early years

Jem Targal was born in 1947 in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

at the University of Michigan Hospital. His family lived in

Whitmore Lake, Michigan Whitmore Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community spans the boundary between Green Oak Township in Livingston County and Northfield Township in Washtenaw County. The popula ...

until Targal was two years old while his father attended and taught at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. In 1949, his family moved to Teke near

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey when his father began teaching at the American College in Istanbul. In 1951, Targal's family returned to Michigan where they lived on Marlboro Street in Detroit. It was in Detroit where Targal learned to play the violin and the guitar. In 1965, Targal graduated from

Cooley High School Thomas M. Cooley High School is located at the intersection of Hubbell Avenue and Chalfonte Street, on the northwest side of Detroit, Michigan. The three-story, Mediterranean Revival-style facility opened its doors on September 4, 1928. The scho ...

in Detroit. After high school, Targal attended

Oakland Community College Oakland Community College (OCC) is a public community college with five campuses in Oakland County, Michigan. Established in 1964, OCC is the largest community college in Michigan, with the state's third-largest undergraduate enrollment. Enroll ...

Auburn Hills, Michigan Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 census. Before incorporating as a city in 1983, the area was part of the now-defunct Pontiac Township. It is home to Oakland University ...

, where he met his future Third Power band member,

Drew Abbott Drew Abbott (born January 13, 1947)Feenotes:Abbott, Drew'. URL last accessed 2012-10-29. is an American guitarist, who is best known for playing in Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band, and appears on Bob Seger's ''Seven'' (1974), '' Beautiful Loser'' (1 ...

Later years

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

lived next door to Targal on Airport Road in

Waterford Village, Michigan Waterford Village is an historic community in Waterford Township, Michigan. First settled in 1819, the village is located in the northernmost part of the township along Dixie Highway, on the southeast shore of Van Norman Lake. History In 1818, ...

. It was there where Seger met his future bandmate, Drew Abbott. Abbott went on to work with Seger in 1973 with the Silver Bullet Band, and recorded the mega-hit albums "Live Bullet", "Night Moves" and "Against the Wind." After Third Power disbanded, Targal led his own solo career. In 1978, Targal released his "Luckey Guy" album. He lived near

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

with his wife, Patricia Ann (Steen) Targal.

Discography

*''Believe'' (

, 1970) U.S. #194Charts

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as '' The Third Power''. *''Luckey Guy'' (Sheavy, 1978)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Targal, Jem 1947 births 2021 deaths Musicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan American rock singers American rock musicians American rock bass guitarists Musicians from Mobile, Alabama American male singers Singers from Detroit Guitarists from Detroit American male bass guitarists 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Cooley High School alumni