Long Distance Voyagers
The Story of The Moody Blues
Volume 1 (1965 - 1979)
by Marc Cushman
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Cited for the 2019 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards
for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research!
The Moody Blues have sold over 80 million records, and scored Top 20 hits in four different decades. They hit the top in 1965, with a No. 1 single, “Go Now!”, and toured with the Beatles (both bands managed by Brian Epstein). But their true breakthrough came in November 1967 with the release of the classic Days of Future Passed, the first LP to combine the rock album format with orchestral music, and spawning another No. 1 single: “Nights in White Satin.” Overnight, the new genre of “symphonic rock” was born. Advancing this further, Moody Blues founding member Mike Pinder helped develop the Mellotron, a keyboard instrument which could simulate the sound of a string orchestra. This innovation not only gave the Moodies their unique sound, but enabled them to reproduce their epic albums in concert. The Moodies were also the first rock group to champion the “concept album,” following Days of Future Passed with other thematic classics, such as In Search of the Lost Chord; On the Threshold of a Dream; To Our Children’s Children’s Children; A Question of Balance; and Long Distance Voyagers.
This in-depth biography covers the magnificent 50-plus-year career of the Moody Blues (in two volumes). Exhaustively researched and featuring thousands of vintage interviews, reviews, and record chart statistics, as well as hundreds of photos. Long Distance Voyagers: The Story of the Moody Blue will whisk you back in time and put you on the very threshold of a dream.
This in-depth biography covers the magnificent 50-plus-year career of the Moody Blues (in two volumes). Exhaustively researched and featuring thousands of vintage interviews, reviews, and record chart statistics, as well as hundreds of photos. Long Distance Voyagers: The Story of the Moody Blue will whisk you back in time and put you on the very threshold of a dream.
Remarkably, until now there has been no proper book on the Moodies. The present volume, which on its release shot to #1 in Amazon’s “Music History & Criticism” Category, has remedied the omission.
This meticulously researched book is over 800 pages with hundreds of photos and interviews.
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Available on AMAZON* - Paperback and Kindle
* Amazon purchase is NOT autographed and
DOES NOT include a matching bookmark. |
Mike Pinder, co-founding member of the Moody Blues, and pioneer of the Mellotron
(the keyboard instrument known as an orchestra in a box which pre-dated the moog synthesizer)
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Jacobs Brown Press is pleased to announce that Long Distance Voyagers: The Story of the Moody Blues, Vol. 1 (1965-1979), by Marc Cushman, has been awarded a Certificate of Merit in the category of "Best Historical Research in Recorded Rock or Popular Music" in the 2019 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence.
Besides featuring the Mellotron in Moody Blues' songs such as "Nights in White Satin," "Question," "Legend of a Mind," and "The Story in Your Eyes," Mike introduced the Beatles to the instrument, which was featured in their songs "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "I Am the Walrus," among others. The Moodies and Beatles were close, having toured together in the 1960s when the Moodies were No. 1 with "Go Now!" The Beatles were the first to hear the Moodies' Days of Future Passed, and the Moodies' were the first to hear the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as each band sought feedback from the other. Both albums were released in 1967. From there, the Moodies pioneered the symphonic rock genre, as well as the rock concept album. By 1972, after the Beatles disbanded, the Moody Blues were crowned the No. 1 rock group in the world (in 1972 and 1973, in record sales and concert attendance).
Stay tuned for updates on soon-to-be published books by Marc Cushman, by Jacobs/Brown Press.
Besides featuring the Mellotron in Moody Blues' songs such as "Nights in White Satin," "Question," "Legend of a Mind," and "The Story in Your Eyes," Mike introduced the Beatles to the instrument, which was featured in their songs "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "I Am the Walrus," among others. The Moodies and Beatles were close, having toured together in the 1960s when the Moodies were No. 1 with "Go Now!" The Beatles were the first to hear the Moodies' Days of Future Passed, and the Moodies' were the first to hear the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as each band sought feedback from the other. Both albums were released in 1967. From there, the Moodies pioneered the symphonic rock genre, as well as the rock concept album. By 1972, after the Beatles disbanded, the Moody Blues were crowned the No. 1 rock group in the world (in 1972 and 1973, in record sales and concert attendance).
Stay tuned for updates on soon-to-be published books by Marc Cushman, by Jacobs/Brown Press.
Author Marc Cushman, 2016
(photo by Steven Kates, Jacobs/Brown Press)
-- Now Available --
-- Now Available --
Long Distance Voyagers
The Story of The Moody Blues
Volume 2 (1980 - 2018)
