The Moody Blues

Originally emerging with the Merseybeat-flavored 1964 hit “Go Now,” The Moody Blues reinvented themselves by replacing their blues-based rhythms with a pseudo-classical style that took pop into a new choral / symphonic era of concept albums. The original band featured Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas, Graeme Edge, Clint Warwick, and singer Denny Laine but after “Go Now,” subsequent singles flopped, and Laine and Warwick left the band. Their career was revived by vocalist / guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist / vocalist John Lodge who joined Thomas, Edge, and Pinder in developing a big new sound largely built around Pinder's arrangements on the new electronic instrument, the Mellotron. A planned modern interpretation of Dvorak's New World Symphony evolved into their own ambitious lush concept album Days of Future Past (1967), which included the classic hit single “Nights in White Satin.” Its success inspired them to make ever more complex albums including In Search of the Lost Chord (1968), To Our Children's Children (1969), and A Question of Balance (1970). The group took an extended break in 1974, leading Hayward and Lodge to form a successful splinter duo, but The Moody Blues reunited in 1977, with Patrick Moraz replacing Mike Pinder. Moraz left in 1991 but the group remained a popular live act. Ray Thomas retired in 2002, leaving Hayward, Lodge, and Edge to continue as a trio. In 2003, they released December, an album of holiday originals and covers including “White Christmas” and “When a Child Is Born.” They embarked on tours of the US, UK, and Canada through the latter 2000s and, in 2015, they made their debut appearance at Glastonbury Festival. In January 2018, original singer and flautist Ray Thomas passed away, missing the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His death was preceded by that of original bassist Clint Warwick in 2004. Founding drummer Graeme Edge died on November 11, 2021. Original vocalist / guitarist Denny Laine (later of Paul McCartney & Wings) passed away on December 5, 2023. Mike Pinder, the last surviving member of the original line-up, died on April 24, 2024.