MOODY BLUES' JOHN LODGE PASSES -- (Via Ultimate Classic Rock) Stalwart Moody Blues member John lodge has died, his family confirms in an official statement. No immediate cause of death was reported. He was 82.

"Our darling husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law and brother has been suddenly and unexpectedly taken from us," according to the news release. "John peacefully slipped away surrounded by his loved-ones and the sounds of the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly. We will forever miss his love, smile, kindness and his absolute and never-ending support."

Lodge was bassist, co-lead singer and songwriter with the Moody Blues, who originally formed in 1964. Lodge joined in 1966. They went on to sell more than 70 million records worldwide and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

"As anyone who knew this massive hearted man knows, it was his enduring love of his wife, Kirsten, and his family, that was the most important thing to him, followed by his passion for music, and his faith," the release added. " We are heartbroken, but will walk forwards into peace surrounded by the love he had for each of us. As John would always say at the end of the show, thank you for keeping the faith."

Lodge helped the previously R&B-leaning Moody Blues more toward progressive rock on 1967's platinum-selling Days of Future Passed, which was also the first to feature Justin Hayward. The stage was set for a period of furious creativity. "It was just a great time," Lodge later told UCR's Matt Wardlaw. "We were all sort of progressing our music in a way that was different to AM music. We were going somewhere different."

Technology played a key role, as the Moody Blues suddenly reeled off 12 straight U.S. Top 40 albums, capped by the chart-toppers Seventh Sojourn in 1972 and Long Distance Voyager in 1981. They also soared into the U.S. Top 10 with 1970's A Question of Balance, 1971's Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and 1986's The Other Side of Life.

"We just thought, how far can we push this? I think at the time, the technology was coming along as well, which was really good for us," Lodge added. "When we did Days of Future Passed, we recorded that album on four tracks. Okay, we had a couple of four-track machines but it was done on four tracks."

By the time the Moody Blues recorded 1968's In Search of the Lost Chord, however, "the last vocal sessions were 'Ride My See-Saw,' we did that on an eight-track machine - which turned up on the very last day of recording," Lodge said. "So, we did multiple vocal tracks on that - then we had 16 tracks. So, as we were trying to expand, things were happening for us technology-wise that allowed us to expand even more."

Lodge's best-known Moody Blues compositions were 1968's "Ride My See-Saw" and 1973's "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)," the latter of which became a Top 20 hit in the U.S. He won ASCAP songwriting awards for "I'm Just a Singer" and 1972's "Isn't Life Strange." Lodge also co-wrote the Moody Blues' 1981 No. 12 smash hit "Gemini Dream."

They last toured together in 2018, following a 50th anniversary celebration of Days of Future Passed. Lodge and Hayward then began appearing separately, with Lodge memorably mounting solo tour in 2024 focused on the same seminal LP. More recently, Lodge played dates with his son-in-law Jon Davison, vocalist with Yes. His current tour was named after "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)." The next shows were scheduled for December.

"The Moody Blues meant so much to me, and so much to so many people," Lodge said in a separate UCR interview. "I'm very proud of it, and that's why I want to keep playing those songs and keep it fresh and alive. I don't want the Moody Blues to ever become just, like, a singalong band, you know? I want to keep it going."

In keeping, Lodge's 2019 retrospective B Yond featured new versions of several lesser-known Moody Blues tracks like "(Evening) Time to Get Away" from Days of Future Passed and "Legend of a Mind" from In Search of the Lost Chord, the latter in tribute to his late bandmate and neighbor Ray Thomas.

Lodge also included a muscular live solo update of "Ride My See-Saw" on 2021's The Royal Affair and After. This had been the Moody Blues' closing song in concert for many years, and Lodge carried that tradition into his own shows.

"He was never happier than being on stage: He was 'Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band' and he adored performing with his band and son-in-law Jon and being able to continue sharing this music with his fans," Lodge's family said. "Please understand that we are not making any further comments."

Lodge's last solo project was the EP Love Conquers All, released in February. Thomas died in 2018. Graeme Edge, the Moody Blues' final remaining co-founder, passed away in 2018.

PR-pasha David Salidor, who worked for the Moody's London Records in the 80s remembers Lodge: "The whole group was just terrific and generous. They always laughingly called themselves The Muddy Boots, but the relationship with them and the label was terrific, and certainly with their own Threshold Records. Lodge and drummer Graeme Edge were always just perfect gentlemen. Tremendous loss for sure."

SHORT TAKES -- Tuesday, the air traffic control tower at LA's Burbank Airport was empty. Callers were directed to an 1-800 line. If this is the future of air flying, I think we're all in trouble ...

Micky Dolenz co-penned a children's book with his daughter Ami. Its slated to be out in next month. Stay tuned for more on this. Here's celebrity-biographer Mark Bego with Dolenz, Wednesday night in Phoenix at the Musical Instrument Museum ... These current Andrew Cuomo commercials about his knowing his job, but not knowing what he doesn't know ... are they confusing or what? To be honest with you, he should be poised in front of the Mario Cuomo Bridge talking about that? Will he win? I wouldn't bet money on it ... The Today Show's Al Roker was in Tulsa Friday morning. Where was a feature on The Church; Leon Russel's former studio and the subject of the book The Sanctuary Of Sound by Teresa Knox? Missed op for sure ...I'm four episodes in on FX's Lowdown with Ethan Hawke and still haven't figured out what it's about. He plays a writer who turns into some sort of private detective.

I love Hawke, but I think he deserves something better like Richard Linklater's Blue Moon with Andrew Scott and Margaret Qualley. Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo7gRHip0lI ... We'll see ... Gary Oldman delivered a monologue in this week's episode of Slow Horses that was the caliber of Sam Rockwell's spiel in White Lotus earlier this year. A master class in acting. Awesome ... As we go to press: Diane Keaton is gone. Passing suddenly. What a terrific actress and presence. Annie Hall; The Godfather; Father of the Bride; Baby Boom; Book Club; Something's Gotta Give; Reds.Sad. More on her storied career next time. RIP Saul Zabar and Shelley Fireman.

NAMES IN THE NEWS -- Brit Brashear; Tom & Lisa Cuddy; Coco Dolenz; Chris Ortiz; Myra Scher; Steve Rubell; Nancy Ruth; Brit Brashear; Dan Zelinski; Donnie Kehr; Cori Gardner; Lisa Lisa; Barnara Kaufman; Marjorie Schwartz; Kent Kotel; Scott Shannon; The Cowsills; Craig Newman; Michele Grant; Art Rutter; Angela Tarantino; Michael Fuchs; Jimmy Buffet; Rudy Schur; Anthony Pomes; and BELLA!

Images on this page have been licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

T2C Talks With Austin Pendleton - Times Square Chronicles