Moody Blues Singer Dies

John Lodge, the singer and bassist of British rock band the Moody Blues for more than 50 years, has died. He was 82. In a statement Friday, his family said "with the deepest sadness" that Lodge died "suddenly and unexpectedly." They said Lodge "peacefully slipped away surrounded by his loved ones and the sounds of The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly."

• Birmingham-born Lodge joined the band in 1966, two years after its formation, along with fellow singer Justin Hayward, following the departure of Denny Laine and Clint Warwick. He remained with the group until they stopped performing live in 2018, the same year they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the AP reports.

• Lodge featured on some of the band's best-known work, including 1967's psychedelic album Days Of Future Passed, which is widely regarded as one of rock's first concept albums, and its follow-up a year later, In Search of the Lost Chord. Lodge also featured on the 1977 album Octave, which saw the Moody Blues embrace a more pop-oriented sound.
• He continued to make records with the group until their final studio album in 2003, December, a collection of Christmas songs.
• Lodge is survived by his wife Kirsten, whom he married in 1968. The couple had two children, Emily and Kristian, with the former being referred to on "Emily's Song" from the 1971 album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Lodge was an evangelical Christian, saying it helped him to avoid the excesses of rock and roll.
• "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," his family said, per the Guardian.
• "As John would always say at the end of the show, thank you for keeping the faith," the family's statement said. They asked fans to listen to a solo song he released earlier this year, "Whispering Angels," in remembrance.
• Moody Blues founding member Ray Thomas, who played the iconic flute solo on "Nights in White Satin," died in 2018, months before the Hall of Fame induction.