Richard Gordon Emmett (born July 10, 1953) is a vocalist, guitarist, and member of the Canadian rock band Triumph.

Career

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

thanks to the hits "When a Heart Breaks," "Big Lie" and "Saved by Love". He is also a writer for ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...

'' magazine and teaches song-writing and music business at

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

in Toronto. For a time during the 1980s, Emmett contributed cartoons to ''

Hit Parader ''Hit Parader'' was an American music magazine that operated between 1942 and 2008. A monthly publication, it focused on rock and pop music in general until the 1970s, when its focus began turning to hard rock and heavy metal. By the early 1980s ...

'' 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. Emmett is also a proficient singer, splitting lead vocal duties of Triumph with

Gil Moore Gil Moore is a Canadian musician. Born in Toronto, Moore was the drummer and co-vocalist (sharing vocal duties with guitarist/vocalist Rik Emmett) of the Canadian power trio Triumph. Before Moore was in Triumph he was in a band called Sherman ...

. However, most of the songs garnering radio play were those of Emmett as he tended to write and sing in a more commercial style, while Moore's song-writing and singing were in more of a heavy metal style. Emmett's voice also has a noticeable resemblance to

Geddy Lee Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...

(of Rush), leading to the band's sound itself often being compared to 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. As of January 2019, Emmett is on hiatus from touring.

Discography

Solo albums

* '' Absolutely'' (1990) * '' Ipso Facto'' (1992) * ''

The Spiral Notebook ''The Spiral Notebook'' is the third solo album by Canadian rock guitarist Rik Emmett, released in 1995. Track listing All Songs written by Rik Emmett # "Anything You Say" – 4:07 # "Raise High" – 5:43 # "The Longing" – 5:21 # " ...

'' (1995) * '' Ten Invitations from the Mistress of Mr. E.'' (1997) * '' Swing Shift'' (1997) * ''Raw Quartet'' (1999) * '' Handiwork'' (2002) * ''

Good Faith In human interactions, good faith ( la, bona fides) is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case ...

'' (2003) * ''Then Again: Acoustic Selections from the Triumph Catalogue'' (2012) * ''Marco's Secret Songbook'' (2012)

Live albums

* ''Rik Emmett LIVE at Berklee'' (2000) * ‘’Live at Hugh’s Room’’ (2007)

DVDs

* ''One Night in Cinci'' (2005) * ''Live at 10 Gigs'' (2005)

with Triumph

* '' Triumph'' (1976) * ''

Rock & Roll Machine ''Rock & Roll Machine'' (also ''Rock 'N' 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 " Roc ...

'' (1977) * '' Just a Game'' (1979) * ''

Progressions of Power ''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 singl ...

'' (1980) * '' Allied Forces'' (1981) * '' Never Surrender'' (1982) * ''

Thunder Seven ''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. The album was certified gold in the US by t ...

'' (1984) * '' The Sport of Kings'' (1986) * ''

Surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

'' (1987)

with Sam Reid

* '' The Spirit of Christmas'' (1999)

with Strung-Out Troubadours

* '' Strung-Out Troubadours'' (2006) * ''Push & Pull'' (2009) * ''reCOVERy room 9'' (2011)

with Airtime

* '' Liberty Manifesto'' (2007)

with Pavlo and Oscar Lopez

* '' Trifecta'' (2009)

with RESolution9

* ''RES9'' (2016)

Solo singles

Soundtrack appearances

* "Saved by Love" (from '' Problem Child 2'') (1991)

References

External links

Official Rik Emmett Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmett, Rik 1953 births Living people Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian songwriters Canadian rock singers Canadian male singers Canadian heavy metal guitarists Canadian rock keyboardists Lead guitarists Musicians from Toronto Triumph (band) Writers from Toronto