The Moody Blues

The Moody Blues are an English rock band. They were created in Birmingham in 1964. At first, the band had keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge, and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came became famous for their rhythm and blues music. They made some changes in musicians but settled on a line-up of Pinder, Thomas, Edge, guitarist Justin Hayward, and bassist John Lodge, who stayed together for most of the band's "classic era" into the early 1970s.

The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in 1970; from left to right: Mike Pinder, Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward, Ray Thomas, John Lodge.
Background information
Origin	Birmingham, England
Genres	Progressive rock[1] art rock[2][3] psychedelic rock[1] pop rock[4] symphonic rock[5] proto-prog[6] R&B (early) blues rock hard rock
Years active	1964 (1964)–present (hiatus: 1974–1977)
Labels	Decca London Deram Threshold A.K.A. Polydor Universal
Members	Justin Hayward John Lodge
Past member(s)	Graeme Edge Denny Laine Mike Pinder Ray Thomas Clint Warwick Rodney Clark Patrick Moraz
Website	moodybluestoday.com

Their second album, Days of Future Passed, which was released in 1967, was a combination of rock with classical music. This made the band early creators in the development of art rock and progressive rock.^[2][7] It has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".^[2] The group toured a lot in the early 1970s. Then, they took a long break from 1974 until 1977. Founder Mike Pinder left the group a year after they re-formed. He was replaced by Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz in 1978. In the following decade they took on a more synth-pop sound. They created The Other Side of Life in 1986. This made them the first band to earn each of its first three top 10 singles in the United States in a different decade.^[8] Health problems led to a smaller role for founder Ray Thomas throughout the 1980s. However, he made more music after Moraz left in 1991. Thomas left the band in 2002. The band's most recent album was December (2003), a collection of Christmas music. They continued to tour throughout the first decade of the 2000s. They still regroup for some events, one-off concerts, short tours, and cruises.

The Moody Blues' most successful songs include "Go Now", "Nights in White Satin", "Tuesday Afternoon", "Question", and "Your Wildest Dreams". The band has sold 70 million albums worldwide.^[9] This includes 18 platinum and gold LPs. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Clint Warwick died in 2004, followed by Ray Thomas in 2018, Graeme Edge in 2021, Denny Laine in 2023, and Mike Pinder in 2024. Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Rod Clark and Patrick Moraz all remain active in music.

Members

• Graeme Edge (b. 30.03.1941 – d. 11.11.2021) – drums, percussion, vocals (1964–2018; died 2021)
• Ray Thomas (b. 29.12.1941 – d. 04.01.2018) – flute, harmonica, saxophone, percussion, vocals (1964–2002; died 2018)
• Mike Pinder (b. 27.12.1941 – d. 24.04.2024) – keyboards, vocals (1964–1978; died 2024)
• Denny Laine (b. 29.10.1944 – d. 5.12.2023) – guitar, vocals (1964–1966; died 2023)
• Clint Warwick (b. 25.06.1940/1945 – d. 15.05.2004) – bass, vocals (1964–1966; died 2004)
• Justin Hayward (born 14.10.1946) – guitar, vocals (1966–2018)
• John Lodge (born 20.07.1943/1945) – bass, guitar, vocals (1966–2018)
• Patrick Moraz (born 24.06.1948) – keyboards (1978–1991)

References

1. James E. Perone (2009). Mods, Rockers, and the Music of the British Invasion. ABC-CLIO. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-275-99860-8. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018.
2. Michael Ray, ed. (2012). Disco, punk, new wave, heavy metal, and more: Music in the 1970s and 1980s. Rosen Education Service. p. 107. ISBN 978-1615309085.
3. Pete Prown; HP Newquist (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 78. ISBN 978-0793540426. ...British art rock groups such as the Nice, Yes, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, the Moody Blues, and Procol Harum...
4. Nicholas E. Tawa (2005). Supremely American: Popular Song in the 20th Century: Styles and Singers and what They Said about America. Scarecrow Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-8108-5295-2. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018.
5. Doyle Greene (10 March 2014). The Rock Cover Song: Culture, History, Politics. McFarland. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-4766-1507-3. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018.
6. Macan, Edward (2005). Endless Enigma: A Musical Biography of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Open Court. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-8126-9596-0. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017.
7. Greene, Andy (24 April 2013). "Readers' Poll: 10 Bands Who Should Enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
8. Grein, Paul (26 July 1986). "Chart Beat". Billboard. p. 6.
9. Parker, Matt (25 July 2013). "Justin Hayward on The Moody Blues and writing in corners". MusicRadar. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.

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