Zon was a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band formed in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 tot ...

in 1977. The band consisted of

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Denton Young,

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Brian Miller,

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Jim Samson,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Kim Hunt, and

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

player Howard Helm. The band released three

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

History

In Toronto, during the mid 1970s, some of the later members of Zon formed a group called Act III. Another member of Act III was guitarist

Rik Emmett 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 beca ...

who left the group to join

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

. This led to the break up of Act III and the formation of 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. Don V. Lorusso produced Zon's first album, ''Astral Projector,'' released in 1978, and a run of copies were released on blue

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

. The album garnered the band a

Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year The Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year is presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to the best new musical group in Canada. The award has been given annually since 1974, and was previously called Most Promising Gro ...

nomination. Zon opened concerts for

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single "White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early day ...

at Toronto's

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

, and for

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

and Foreigner at

CNE Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built for Canadian National Exhi ...

. ''Back Down to Earth,'' released in 1979, was produced by Lorusso and the late Vancouver keyboard player Dale Jacobs. The band played in Toronto as headliners with up to 17,800 attendees. Zon was dropped from Epic after a thorough corporate housecleaning of the A&R Department despite Zon already having their contract signed for a third album. After a legal battle they did manage one more album for Falcon Records called ''I'm Worried About the Boys!'', produced by then former CBS/Epic A&R executive Bob Gallo. The record featured a cover version of

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

's "

Sweet Jane "Sweet Jane" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground; it appears on their fourth studio album '' Loaded'' (1970). The song was written by Lou Reed, the band's leader, who continued to incorporate the piece into live performances a ...

". As part of the 1980 album tour Zon did an opening slot for

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

at CNE Stadium. When Cooper failed to appear minutes before showtime, Denton Young was given the onerous task of telling the audience. A riot ensued and police had to be called out. The band broke up shortly after, despite the 1981 single "For You" reaching No. 2 on

CKOC CKOC (1150 AM) is a radio station in Hamilton, Ontario. Owned by Bell Media, it broadcasts a business news format. CKOC is a 50,000-watt, Class B station operating on a Regional (not clear-channel) broadcast frequency, with transmitters locate ...

(higher than any of the previous singles on Epic Records).

Post-Zon

Young has featured on Rik Emmett's solo work since the disbanding of Zon, whilst Hunt joined the bands Hanover,

Urgent Urgent may refer to: * Urgent (American band), a 1980s band from New York City * Urgent (Canadian band), a 1980s band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada * "Urgent" (song), a 1981 song by Foreigner * Urgent! Records, a former record company See also ...

, and

Moxy Moxy may refer to: * Moxy (airline), formerly proposed name for the airline Breeze Airways in the United States * Moxy (band), a Canadian hard rock band formed in the 1970s ** ''Moxy'' (album), 1975 ** '' Moxy II'', 1976 * Moxy Engineering, a No ...

. Samson also joined

and Miller worked at the Toronto guitar store 12th Fret. Helm joined Michael Fury, a Canadian band that later became Refugee. In 1988, Helm accepted a job as touring keyboardist for Mick Ronson and Ian Hunter, subsequently spending four years touring the world. He co-wrote many of the

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

theme songs with

Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World ...

. Helm is currently writing for the TBS (TV network) in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

in Orlando, Florida. He continues to play keyboards as a session musician for bands such as

Seven Mary Three Seven Mary Three (occasionally abbreviated to 7 Mary 3 or 7M3) was an American rock band. They released seven studio albums and one live album, and are best known for their hit single "Cumbersome". Career Formation Seven Mary Three formed in 1 ...

. In 2003 Helm and his former Zon bandmates were contemplating a new studio album to coincide with the re-issues of that band's back catalogue on CD, but nothing ever materialized. Guitarist Brian Miller died in Toronto on September 28, 2015 at the age of 60 after a bout with cancer.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Astral Projector'' (1978) (#44 Canada, May 13, 1978) * ''Back Down to Earth'' (1979) * ''I'm Worried About the Boys!'' (1980)

Live albums

* ''Live'' (2017)

Singles

* "Melody" (1978) * "On the Road" (1978) * "Talkin About" (1978) * "Back Down to Earth" (1979) * "

" / "Takin' the Easy Way Out" (1980) * "For You" / "Just the Other Side" (1981) AN No. 49ref> * "Better Get Up" (1981)

References

External links

rockreport
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zon (band) Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian progressive rock groups 1977 establishments in Ontario 1981 disestablishments in Ontario