2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees The Moody Blues Performing Onstage at the Induction Ceremony
Jul 22 2020

Inductee Insights

The
Moody
Blues

Inductee Insights explores the artists that have changed the course of rock’s history with their evolution of sound.

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With the formation of the classic lineup in 1966, featuring Ray Thomas, Mike Pinder, Graeme Edge, John Lodge and Justin Hayward, the band worked with producer Tony Clarke to record the landmark concept album Days Of Future Passed. The record – heavily influenced by the sounds of British psychedelia including late-Beatles and early-Pink Floyd – fused the band’s sound with symphonic orchestrations and spawned the hit singles “Nights In White Satin” and “Tuesday Afternoon”.

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Inductee Insights: The Moody Blues

Inductee Insights explores the artists that have changed the course of rock’s history with their evolution of sound.

Inductee Insights: The Moody Blues

Inductee Insights explores the artists that have changed the course of rock’s history with their evolution of sound.

Progressive rock pioneers turned synthesizer-driven rockers, the Moody Blues have created over 50 years of exhilarating and significant music that has influenced countless musicians and rocked fans around the world.

Formed in 1964, the Moody Blues quickly rose to fame as a R&B based rock band. Within the year, they scored their first hit single, “Go Now”, featuring powerful vocals from original lead singer and guitarist Denny Laine. What happened next is one of the all-time great transformations in rock and roll history.

With the formation of the classic lineup in 1966, featuring Ray Thomas, Mike Pinder, Graeme Edge, John Lodge and Justin Hayward, the band worked with producer Tony Clarke to record the landmark concept album Days Of Future Passed. The record – heavily influenced by the sounds of British psychedelia including late-Beatles and early-Pink Floyd – fused the band’s sound with symphonic orchestrations and spawned the hit singles “Nights In White Satin” and “Tuesday Afternoon”. Days of Future Passed remained on the Billboard album charts for the next five years and is considered one of the very first progressive rock albums. This new sound influenced an entire generation of musicians, including Yes, Genesis, and ELO.

Throughout the adventurous explorations between the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the Moody Blues produced numerous hits that became staples of FM radio. “Ride My See-Saw” is a high-energy rock and roll classic and remains the band’s go-to encore song to this day. The album Question of Balance included the smash hit “Question,” a song that combines discreet but interlocking parts and sections – a common Moody Blues technique.

The Moody Blues produced numerous hits that became staples of FM radio.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The early 1970s saw the band evolve yet again, this time determined to create albums more reproducible in a live concert setting. The resulting album –Seventh Sojourn – became their first #1 album in the United States and included John Lodge’s anthemic “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)”.

 

In the second half of the ‘80s, the Moody Blues teamed with veteran producer Tony Visconti to record The Other Side Of Life, and their innovative use of synthesizer timbres and textures opened up a new sonic palette to explore. The album yielded the top 10 hit “Your Wildest Dreams,” and the band suddenly had a new teenage fan base watching on MTV. The song “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere” became the band’s final top 40 hit in the US in ‘88.

More than half a century later, the Moody Blues continue to tour around the world with no signs of slowing down, connecting to multiple generations of one of rock and roll’s most loyal fanbases.

This Is The Moody Blues

2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees The Moody Blues Performing Onstage at the Induction Ceremony