Weekend self-care open thread: the Moody Blues
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| The Moody Blues, 1968; l-r: John Lodge, Graham Edge, Mike Pinder, Justin Heywood, Ray Thomas |
Happy weekend, peoples! Once again, it is I, everyone's favorite sidewalking, snidetalking crustacean taking over the Self-Care duties from our beloved Fearless Leader, LL! And this time, I present to you yet another influential band from the British Invasion: the Moody Blues!
The Moody Blues were formed in Birmingham, England in 1964, as part of the British Beat/rhythm & blues scene. It's original members were Graham Edge on drums, Denny Lane on guitar and vocals, Clint Warwick on bass, Mike Pinder on keyboard, and Ray Thomas as jack of all trades, playing harmonica, the saxophone, and his trademark flute.
In the beginning, the Moody Blues only did cover songs from other blues acts. Yet, a year later, the band scored their first hit with Go Now!, a cover version of a Bessie Banks song, which made it all the way up to number one on the British charts.
But despite their instant success, the band was struggling in those early years. To the point where both Lane and Warwick would leave the band in 1966 (Lane would resurface in the 70s as part of Paul McCartney's Wings). The rest of the band were desperate to remain together. So to that end, Thomas brought in his childhood pal and one time bandmate John Lodge to replace Warwick on bass, while Justin Hayward replaced Lane as guitarist and lead singer, on the advice of Eric Burdon, when Hayward went to join the Animals.
After Heywood and Lodge joined the band, the new Moody Blues went to work on their next album, Days Of Futures Past, which was released in 1967. It was a big change from the band's' R&B roots, with Heywood writing material for them, instead of doing cover songs. Keyboardist Pinder also switched to a Mellotron, which would change the band's sound for the better. And they also had help from the London Festival Orchestra - a house orchestra for Decca records, whom the band was signed to.
Initially, there was criticisms of the album when it first came out. But Days Of Futures Past would eventually become a smash hit for the Moody Blues, selling millions of copies over the years - with songs like Nights In White Satin and Tuesday Afternoon becoming signatures for the band, receiving high praise from critics, and the beginning of what would be known as progressive rock. The Moody Blues would add to that success over the years and decades, with 16 albums released over their time, over 70 million records sold, and having at least one number one single in three decades. In April of 2018, the Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Sadly, the only relevant member of the Moody Blues still with us today is Hayward. But, luckily, their music will live on forever.
Here are some of the successful songs the Moody Blues put out, over the years: