Mike Pinder Dies: Moody Blues’ Co-Founding Keyboard Player Was 83
deadline.comMike Pinder, who co-founded the Moody Blues and played keyboards and mellotron and sang on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group’s first nine albums, died Wednesday at his home in Northern California.
He was 82 and was the last surviving founding member of the legendary British band. His longtime bandmate John Lodge announced the news on social media via Pinder’s family. “He passed peacefully [and] his final days were filled with music, encircled by the love of his family,” his Facebook post said. “Michael lived his life with a childlike wonder, walking a deeply introspective path which fused the mind and the heart.” Pinder’s death follows that of fellow Moodys co-founding guitarist Denny Laine in December and drummer Graeme Edge in 2021.
Ray Thomas died in 2002 and Clint Warwick in 2004. Lodge and lead singer Justin Heyward joined in 1966. RELATED: Paul McCartney Pays Tribute To Wings Longtime Bandmate Denny Laine: “Great Talent With A Fine Sense Of Humour” Pinder co-formed the group in Birmingham just as the British Invasion was hitting America.
The Moody Blues crashed onto the international rock scene with their first hit, 1965’s “Go Now,” which went No. 1 in the UK and went top 10 in the States.
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