Winning

Hey there Zoo Freaks, the Zoo Crew is locked in on a real rock and roll survivor of a track right now, spinning “Winning” by Russ Ballard off that album of the same name. This one hits like a long ride through the desert with the wind at your back once you finally crest the hill. Ballard cut it himself back in the mid-seventies for his second solo record after leaving Argent, and he has said in interviews that the whole thing was basically the story of his own life, the lows where he felt like one of life’s losers even his friends were accusers and he lost in his head before he began, then the turn when lady luck showed up outside the door and he was suddenly winning and didn’t intend on losing again. Each verse marks another stretch of that journey from being down so far he could not get up to standing tall again. He put it out as a single and it did not catch fire at first, but four years later Santana grabbed it for their Zebop! album with Alex Ligertwood on the vocal, and it climbed to number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100 while hitting number two on the Mainstream Rock chart. Ballard has mentioned he never even met Carlos, yet the song worked out beautifully for them, a different shade of rock that still carried that same message of coming through the hard times. Other folks took a swing at it too, from Nona Hendryx to a version Keith Urban put out that Ballard has called one of the best he has heard, and Norwegian metal man Jørn Lande added his own heavy take years later. On THE ZOO it fits right in with the freeform deep cuts that keep the airwaves honest.

Russ Ballard has always written the songs first for himself, picturing his own voice on them before anyone else stepped up. In one chat he explained that “Winning” sat right at the front of that album because it captured the arc he had lived, the suffering and then the rise. Same album held “Since You’ve Been Gone,” which later became a Rainbow smash, and another track Roger Daltrey recorded for a film. Ballard has talked about how he never set out to match a tune to a specific band; he just kept writing from his own experience, and the right people found them later. That personal stake is why the chorus feels so strong when it kicks in, the declaration that he is winning and will not lose again. It is pure rock and roll grit without the flash, the kind of story a biker might tell around the fire after a long haul.

The man behind the song got his start the old-fashioned way in the English scene. Born in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire in 1945, he grew up around music because his dad led a dance band on drums and piano while his mother danced and had brothers who played trumpet. They sent him for piano lessons from age eight, but rock and roll grabbed him harder once it arrived. He pestered for a guitar until one day his dad took him to the shop and he picked out a steel-string acoustic. From there he formed early groups with school friends, including Rick Nicholl and the Rebels, then Buster Meikle and the Day Breakers alongside his older brother Roy and drummer Bob Henrit. That led into time with the Roulettes backing Adam Faith, a stint with Unit 4 + 2, and finally the call from Rod Argent to join the new band that became Argent. In Argent he wrote and sang the big one “Hold Your Head Up” and also penned “God Gave Rock and Roll to You,” which later got the Kiss treatment. He left in the mid-seventies to go solo and focus on songwriting, and the Winning album marked that shift, with several tracks ending up covered by other artists while he kept building a catalog that would fuel radio for decades.

From those early days of loading gear into vans and playing one-nighters, Ballard developed the discipline of writing every day and letting the stories come from real life. His first solo album was a more stripped-back collection, then Winning arrived with a fuller band sound using solid British session players. After that the hits kept rolling for others: Rainbow with “Since You’ve Been Gone” and “I Surrender,” Hot Chocolate’s “So You Win Again,” Ace Frehley’s “New York Groove,” America’s “You Can Do Magic,” and plenty more. He has said the process is about finding the idea that feels true, whether it is a title that sparks a tale or simply putting his own ups and downs into the lyrics. Even after years of success he still records and tours with his band, revisiting the classics in fresh ways on recent releases while writing new material from the same well. It is the long game of a rock and roll lifer who never stopped listening to what was happening around him and turning it into something people could sing along to on the highway.

For Zoo Freaks who want to dig deeper into the man and the music, the official site at russballardmusic.com has the full story in his own words, the discography, and news on what he is up to next. You can also catch the latest from the team that looks after his pages on Facebook and Instagram, where they share tour photos, stories, and updates straight from the road. Those are the spots the fans gather to keep the conversation going about the songs that have been part of the soundtrack for so long. Keep the dial right here on the freeform rock and roll station, because the Zoo Crew has more of these deep cuts lined up for the ride. Rock on, Freaks.