John Lodge of the Moody Blues, has released a new single, “The Sun Will Shine.” The bass player, songwriter and vocalist wrote the song during lockdown and compares the experience to when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band were in a sort of lockdown when they spent “24 hours a day creating an album that changed my life.”
Lodge is referring to the band’s 1967’s masterpiece, Days of Future Passed.
The musician says that the Moodys may be done. He told the website Ultimate Classic Rock, “I know the Moodys won’t tour again. I would tour, but I know Justin [Hayward] doesn’t want to tour with the Moodys, so it won’t happen.”
On March 8 2020, he says, his 10,000 Light Years Band played a sold out show in Lexington, Mass., “and within a week my wife and I, like so many of us around the world, went into lockdown.
“Like all of us staring at our four walls, I realized that this would be a challenging time. As I looked back I remembered the creativity that took place [in 1967], and as I watched the sun rise every morning, I realized that I just needed to see the world differently. I took the opportunity to write and record some new music hoping to explore how I was feeling.”
The process became a family affair. Last year, after he wrote and recorded “In These Crazy Times,” he asked his wife, Kirsten, son, Kristian, and daughter Emily’s boyfriend, who happens to be Jon Davison (lead singer of Yes), to join him. “It was an incredible experience and gave us the connection we needed even though we were apart.”
He then began to write ‘The Sun Will Shine.” For this song I wanted to work with my 10,000 Light Years Band, Alan (Hewitt, music director and keyboards) and Billy (Ashbaugh, drums), both from the Moody Blues touring band. Plus, Duffy (King, guitars) and Jason (Charboneau, cello). Jon joined again, and while we couldn’t all be in the same room, it was so fantastic to be able to still create music together despite the miles between us.”
Listen to “The Sun Will Shine”
“Touring is still in the future, but I can’t wait to get back on the road with my band. I miss the road, the camaraderie with all the guys, performing, and, of course, all the fans, who have been such a support to me over the last six decades.
“The Sun Will Shine,” released on May 5, 2021, will be part of the EP, On Reflection, due later this year.
Related: Our concert review of John Lodge in 2018
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1 Comment
John Lodge best song in years ! I believed his best days were over, but with this one, seems the lockdown made him go back to the beginning. Hope the remaining Moody Blues (all of them), will reunite one last time to record one more album and maybe a little tour.