Richard Gordon Emmett (born July 10, 1953) is a vocalist, guitarist, and member of the Canadian rock band Triumph.
![]() | This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. (September 2022) |
![]() | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009) |
Rik Emmett | |
---|---|
![]() Rik Emmett plays at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. Photo: Burns! 2002 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Richard Gordon Emmett |
Born | (1953-07-10) July 10, 1953 (age 69) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Genres |
|
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals, synthesizer, piano, bass guitar |
Years active | 1975–present |
Labels |
|
Website | rikemmett |
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 and Canada thanks to the hits "When a Heart Breaks," "Big Lie" and "Saved by Love". He is also a writer for Guitar Player magazine and teaches song-writing and music business at Humber College in Toronto. For a time during the 1980s, Emmett contributed cartoons to Hit Parader 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.[1]
Emmett is also a proficient singer, splitting lead vocal duties of Triumph with Gil Moore. 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.[citation needed] Emmett's voice also has a noticeable resemblance to Geddy Lee (of Rush),{[2]} 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.[3]
As of January 2019, Emmett is on hiatus from touring.[4]
Title | Release | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
CAN | |||
"Big Lie" | 1990 | 47 | Absolutely |
"When a Heart Breaks" | 14 | ||
"Saved by Love" | 1991 | 17 | |
"World of Wonder" | 22 | ||
"The Way That You Love Me" | 76 | ||
"Bang On" | 1992 | 48 | Ipso Facto |
"Dig a Little Deeper" | 66 | ||
"Heaven in Your Heart" | 1993 | 44 | |
"Let Me be the One" | 1995 | 31 | The Spiral Notebook |
| |
---|---|
| |
Studio albums |
|
Compilations |
|
Live albums |
|
Videos and DVDs |
|
Songs |
|
Related articles |
|
| |
---|---|
Studio albums |
|
Related articles |
|
General | |
---|---|
National libraries | |
Other |
|