Triumph Chosen For Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame

Canadian hard rock trio Triumph will join songwriter/producer David Foster as 2007 inductees into the Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame.

Drummer/vocalist Gil Moore, bassist/keyboardist Mike Levine and guitarist/vocalist Rik Emmett will be honoured on March 10 during the Canadian Radio Music Awards at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York Hotel as part of Canadian Music Week.

The band formed in Toronto in 1975 and released their self-titled, gold-certified debut on Attic the next year. Their second album, 1977's Rock 'N' Roll Machine, was certified double-platinum and attracted the attention of RCA, which signed them to a worldwide deal. When that pact ended, MCA picked up the group and re-released all of their albums in 1984.

Triumph became one of the biggest acts on the arena rock circuit and their pyrotechnic-filled performances helped them stay there through most of the '80s. They also performed alongside contemporaries Van Halen, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, The Scorpions and Motley Crue in front of 500,000 people at the infamous US Festival in California in 2003.

The original power trio's other albums were Progressions Of Power (1980), Allied Forces (1981), Never Surrender (1983), Thunder Seven (1984), Stages (1985), The Sport Of Kings (1986), Surveillance (1987) and Classics (1989), while their best-known songs include "Magic Power," "Fight The Good Fight," "Follow Your Heart," "Somebody's Out There," "Just One Night" and a cover of Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way."

Artistic differences and disputes over songwriting credits prompted Emmett to leave the band in 1988. He was replaced by Aldo Nova guitarist Phil Xenidis, while Rick Santers was part of the live band and guitarist/producer Mladen also contributed to 1992's Edge Of Excess album. The band dissolved for good in 1993.

Moore and Levine purchased their album catalogue from MCA and have since released a number of compilations, live recordings and videos.

Emmett has embarked on a solo career that focuses on classical guitar instead of the metal shredding he did with Triumph. Moore owns the successful Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario, and Levine has a number of internet-based business interests related to the entertainment field.