WaPo posted this obit for Graeme Edge
https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...61f578-44b7-11ec-a88e-2aa4632af69b_story.html
Graeme Edge, a drummer and co-founder of the British rock band the Moody Blues, died Nov. 11 at his home in Bradenton, Fla. He was 80.
The band’s frontman, Justin Hayward, confirmed the death on the group’s
website. The cause was cancer.
Hayward called Mr. Edge the backbone of the band, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. The group had its greatest success in the 1960s and early 1970s and was perhaps best known for its 1967 song “Nights in White Satin” from the album “Days of Future Passed.” The band’s final album was released in 2003.
Mr. Edge co-founded the Moody Blues in Birmingham, England, in 1964. His drumming can be heard on all 16 of the group’s albums. He also wrote poetry and lyrics that appeared on the group’s recordings.
The band’s first album, “The Magnificent Moodies,” had a rhythm and blues and Merseybeat feel and didn’t immediately make waves. The second effort, “Days of Future Passed,” was a concept album with elements of classical music that established the Moody Blues as forerunners of progressive rock.
“In the late 1960s we became the group that Graeme always wanted it to be, and he was called upon to be a poet as well as a drummer,” said Hayward, who joined the Moody Blues in 1966 with bassist John Lodge. Other key early members of the group included keyboardist Mike Pinder and multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas.
The Moody Blues incorporated a symphonic, psychedelic sound into their sprawling compositions, which included other hits such as “Tuesday Afternoon” (1968) and “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)” (1973).
Actor Jeremy Irons performed Mr. Edge’s poems for the 2018 live album “Days of Future Passed Live.”
Graeme Charles Edge was born March 30, 1941, near Birmingham, where he grew up. Both of his parents were musicians.
Mr. Edge was married twice. Survivors include two children and five grandchildren.
Graeme Edge, center, with Moody Blues bandmates Justin Hayward, left, and John Lodge, right, in 2013. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
