Paul Atkinson, 58; Zombies Guitarist Became Industry Exec

Paul Atkinson, 58, guitarist with the Zombies, one of the “British invasion bands” of the 1960s, died Thursday at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center of liver and kidney disease.

Born in Cuffley, England, Atkinson met two other original members of the band, Rod Argent and Hugh Grundy, when they were students at St. Albans School. With Colin Blunstone and Paul Arnold (later replaced by Chris White), they formed the Zombies in 1963 and won a local rock band contest and subsequent audition with British Decca. In 1964, they released their international hit “She’s Not There,” which became the No. 2 song in the U.S.

Other hits were “Tell Her No” and, as part of their final album, “Odyssey & Oracle,” the single “Time of the Season,” which went to No. 3 on U.S. charts. The group broke up in 1967 shortly after completing the album.

Atkinson, who spent most of his career in Los Angeles, became an artists and repertoire (A&R;) recording industry executive, signing such artists as ABBA, and producing and marketing recordings around the world. He worked for Charisma, CBS, RCA and MCA. Earlier this year, Atkinson received the President’s Merit Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at a benefit concert at the House of Blues. The Zombies reunited for the event.