# Moody Blue's Ray Thomas dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072 "2018-01-07T21:22:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/1 "2018-01-07T21:22:09Z")
[Story here.](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/07/moody-blues-singer-ray-thomas-dies-at-76) Thomas was one of the founding members and was the group’s flutist and one of the composers and lead singers. Here’s one of his songs: [For My Lady](https://youtu.be/zF9NbSoJY8g) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/2 "2018-01-07T21:27:19Z")
RIP, Ray. Loved your stuff. My second-favorite Moody, after Justin Hayward. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/3 "2018-01-07T21:32:46Z")
Oh man. I was thinking the other day about concerts I’d been to that were maybe not technically fantastic, but just plain _fun_, and the one time I saw the Moody Blues was near the top of the list. I always thought of them as “pop music for people who like prog”. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/4 "2018-01-07T21:52:38Z")
I love the Moody Blues, I saw them live a few times. RIP ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/5 "2018-01-07T22:16:38Z")
Here’s another Ray Thomas song, from _Days of Future Passed_: RIP Ray ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/6 "2018-01-07T22:19:22Z")
I really liked them when they first appeared on the scene. I think the last album I bought was “To Our Children’s Children’s Children”. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/7 "2018-01-07T22:40:00Z")
Shit. I was, and still am, a huge Moodies fan. I got into them as a young teenager in the mid-70s. Their resurgence in the 80s was astounding. I had people in my car ask me “who’s that?” when I put on some of their tapes. They seem to be a band only known for one song, but their catalogue is deep and filled with gems. Thanks Ray. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/8 "2018-01-08T00:01:11Z")
IIRC he was the guy who did the spoken word sections too. I’ve lately been getting back into them (childhood fave) in a big way. If you want to hear the flutework, give [Voices in the Sky](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiH9Ij9hcfYAhXHVyYKHVB4DL4QyCkILDAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DIPEMZteFjWc&usg=AOvVaw1MwAFtlKZUkGfzSzLsElSQ) a listen. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/9 "2018-01-08T00:46:53Z")
Breathe deep the gathering gloom. Watch lights fade from every room. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/10 "2018-01-08T02:22:01Z")
Ray’s traveling eternity road. What will he find there? (Yes, that’s one of his.) ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/11 "2018-01-08T13:40:15Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > IIRC he was the guy who did the spoken word sections too. Those were mostly Mike Pinder and Graeme Edge. Ray did some spoken on his song _Veteran Cosmic Rocker_, at least. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/12 "2018-01-08T15:37:09Z")
My brother is a big Moodies fan and discovered them at a young age. I’ve probably seen them about 8 times, all between the ages of 13 and 30. He even subscribed to their big glossy magazine, “Higher & Higher” and we had a VHS tape of their documentary [Legend of a Band](https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Band-Story-Moody-Blues/dp/B00005RIIL/) that got watched a lot. So, oddly enough, Ray was a big part of my childhood here in Ohio, in the 90s. Weird stuff. I’m glad he lived long enough to know of the RHOF induction but really bummed that he will miss the ceremony. I guess Justin, John and Graeme are on a Moodies Cruise right now. Graeme couldn’t finish the set last night, he was too upset. What a thing! RIP Ray. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/13 "2018-01-08T16:06:14Z")
In college in the '70’s. Their music was inescapable. As music, it was very good but as time elapsed the pseudo-profundity wore a little thin. Just my opinion there but I did have some good times to their “sound track”. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/14 "2018-01-08T16:26:40Z")
RIP Ray–thanks for the great music that’s been a part of my life for decades. My first concert was The Moodies back in '71 and I saw them a couple of more times including the show that was recorded/filmed for _Lovely To See You: Live_. The seven albums from _Days of Future Passed_ to _Seventh Sojourn_ was as good run as any band could hope for. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/15 "2018-01-08T16:42:56Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > …“To Our Children’s Children’s Children”. I.e., the present day. j/k 😛 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/16 "2018-01-08T17:10:13Z")
This would be sad anyway, but I was really hoping to see Ray and Mike reunite with the band for Hall of Fame induction. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/17 "2018-01-08T18:05:05Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > their catalogue is deep and filled with gems. Would you go so far as to say their catalogue is a concrete cave with iron doors? Sad to hear the news, MBs really helped shape my personal moral code while I was growing up. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/18 "2018-01-08T18:12:31Z")
What can you say about a guy who was a dark horse but wrote the best song that his band ever did: Legend of a Mind [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/r_TbovyVOzs/hqdefault.jpg "The Moody Blues - Legend of a mind") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_TbovyVOzs) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/19 "2018-01-08T21:47:01Z")
[quote=“drad\_dog, post:18, topic:806072”] What can you say about a guy who was a dark horse but wrote the best song that his band ever did: Legend of a Mind [/QUOTE] Years ago, I read an interview in which Thomas explained laughingly that he’d never used acid, didn’t know much about Timothy Leary in 1968, and didn’t know anything about the words and phrases he was using in the lyrics. He claimed that he vaguely thought the “Astral Plane” was sort of a psychedelic, multicolored propellor plane that flew people around San Francisco Bay. And when Thomas finally met Dr. Leary (whom he adored, as it turned out), he says Leary immediately smiled and said, “You don’t know anything at all about LSD, do you?” ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072/20 "2018-01-09T21:57:18Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Years ago, I read an interview in which Thomas explained laughingly that he’d never used acid, didn’t know much about Timothy Leary in 1968, and didn’t know anything about the words and phrases he was using in the lyrics. > > He claimed that he vaguely thought the “Astral Plane” was sort of a psychedelic, multicolored propellor plane that flew people around San Francisco Bay. And when Thomas finally met Dr. Leary (whom he adored, as it turned out), he says Leary immediately smiled and said, “You don’t know anything at all about LSD, do you?” The moodies as a group could be into substances as I recall. Mike Pinder, who wrote my other fave, The Best Way to Travel, I think had a bad trip and kind of withdrew. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moody-blues-ray-thomas-dies/806072.md?page=2)