Rik Emmett

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

In Toronto, during the mid 1970s, several local musicians formed a progressive rock group called Act III.

One member of the group was Emmett, who left to join Triumph.

This led to the break up of Act III.

Other members formed 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 that of Geddy Lee of Canadian progressive rock band Rush, leading to the band's sound sometimes being compared to that of Rush.

In 2007, Emmett joined former Triumph bandmates Gil Moore and Mike Levine for their induction into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame.

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'.

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.

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.