Rik Emmett
Rik Emmett |
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Richard Gordon (Rik) Emmett (born July 10 1953 in Toronto, Ontario) is a vocalist, guitarist, and founding member of the Canadian rock band Triumph. Emmett left Triumph in 1988 to pursue a solo career. His first solo album, Absolutely, was released in 1990 and became a massive hit across Canada thanks to the smash hits "When A Heart Breaks" and "Saved By Love". He is also a writer for Guitar Player magazine and teaches a music business course at Humber College.
For a time during the 1980s, Rik Emmett also contributed cartoons satirising the music industry to Hit Parader magazine.
Due to a production error in spelling his name correctly by Gil Moore and Mike Levine on Triumph's first album, Rick Emmett changed the spelling of his name to Rik rather than have the album recalled or cause confusion with fans.
Among his peers, Rik Emmett is widely considered to be one of the most proficient and versatile guitarists of his generation.[1] Although he is best known as a premier rock guitarist, his playing style incorporates rock, blues, jazz, classical, and flamenco techniques. Similarly, his songwriting and discography demonstrate his ability to employ and blend multiple genres. In April 2005, Emmett was lauded with the Canadian Smooth Jazz Award for Guitarist of the Year.
He is also a skilled vocalist with a wide vocal range. He was the primary singer for most Triumph songs during his time with them, though drummer Gil Moore also wrote and sang many songs. However, most of the songs garnering radio play were Emmett's as he tended to write and sing in a more "commercial" style, whilst Moore's songwriting and singing were in more of a heavy metal style.
In 2007, Rik Emmett joined former Triumph bandmates Gil Moore and Mike Levine for their induction into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame.
Discography
Singles
| Year | Song | CAN |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Big Lie" | 47 |
| 1990 | "When A Heart Breaks" | 14 |
| 1991 | "Saved By Love" | 17 |
| 1991 | "World of Wonder" | 22 |
| 1991 | "The Way That You Love Me" | 76 |
| 1992 | "Bang On" | 48 |
| 1992 | "Dig A Little Deeper" | 66 |
| 1993 | "Heaven in Your Heart" | 44 |
| 1995 | "Let Me Be the One" | 31 |
Albums
- 1990 Absolutely
- 1992 Ipso Facto
- 1995 The Spiral Notebook
- 1997 Ten Invitations from the Mistress of Mr. E.
- 1997 Swing Shift
- 1999 Raw Quartet
- 1999 The Spirit of Christmas
- 2000 Rik Emmett LIVE at Berklee
- 2002 Peace on Earth
- 2002 The Best of Rik Emmett (compilation)
- 2002 Handiwork
- 2003 Good Faith
- 2006 Strung-Out Troubadours (with Dave Dunlop)