The band began by playing rhythm and blues music. After some early lineup changes, the band settled on a line-up of Pinder, Thomas, Edge, guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge, which would stay together for most of the band's "classic era" through the late 1960s-early 1970s. Their second album, "Days of Future Passed", released in 1967, was a fusion of rock with classical music and established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. Days Of Future Passed has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".
The Moody Blues became known internationally by recordings of songs including "Go Now", "Nights in White Satin", "Tuesday Afternoon", "Question" and "Your Wildest Dreams". The band has been awarded 18 platinum and gold LP’s. The band sold 70 million albums worldwide. The Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Moody Blues formed in 1964 in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham in the county of Warwickshire. Ray Thomas, a young John Lodge and (occasionally) Mike Pinder had been members of El Riot & the Rebels. They disbanded when Lodge, the youngest member, went to technical college and Pinder joined the army. Pinder then rejoined Thomas to form the Krew Cats. Back from a disappointing spell in the Hamburg region a few months later, the pair recruited guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine and band manager-turned-drummer Graeme Edge. Pinder and Thomas initially approached their former El Riot bandmate John Lodge about being the bass player, but Lodge declined as he was still in college. They instead recruited bassist Clint Warwick. The five appeared as the Moody Blues for the first time in Birmingham in 1964. The name developed from a hoped-for sponsorship from the M&B Brewery which failed to materialise, the band calling themselves both "The M Bs" and "The M B Five", and was also a subtle reference to the Duke Ellington song "Mood Indigo". In an interview it was revealed that the band was named "Moody Blues" because Mike Pinder was interested in how music changes people's moods and due to the fact that the band was playing blues at the time. Around this time the band were the resident group at the Carlton Ballroom, later to become rock music venue Mothers on Erdington High Street.
The Moody Blues' "rich symphonic sound" influenced groups such as Yes, Genesis, the Electric Light Orchestra and Deep Purple. They also helped make synthesizers and philosophy "part of the rock mainstream".
The Moody Blues became members of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. In 2013, readers of Rolling Stone Magazine voted for them as one of the ten bands that should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ultimate Classic Rock called them "perennial victims of an unaccountable snubbing" and inducted them into its own Hall of Fame in 2014.
Writing for The Guardian in 2015, Rob Chapman described the band as "psychedelia's forgotten heroes". He stated: "Despite their success, rock critics rarely took the Moody Blues seriously, a pattern that continued for the next 45 years." He also wrote: "Despite the critical disapproval, the best of the Moody Blues music between 1967 and 1970 possessed grace and beauty. Like The Beatles, they understood how pop songs worked as ensemble pieces. None of them were particularly virtuosic or showy as musicians and their music is refreshingly free of the noodling longeurs that characterised the output of their more self-indulgent contemporaries."
In December 2017, the band were announced as inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On 14 April 2018, they were inducted as part of the 2018 class. During his acceptance speech in Cleveland, OH, Justin Hayward said, "If you didn't know already, well we're just a bunch of British guys, but of course to us and to all British musicians, this is the home of our heroes and we all know that..." acknowledging the inspirational role of America's rock and roll icons. During the ceremony, Ray Thomas was included as a star that was lost in the past year.
On 11th November 2021 Graeme Edge died. Upon Edge's death, Justin Hayward announced that The Moody Blues had no longer been active since Edge had retired in 2018 (Edge being the only member to remain with the band from formation to ending). Founding member Denny Laine died on 5 December 2023.
I'll Go Crazy
The Moody Blues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh yeah.
You know I feel alright, children.
Oh yeah.
You know I feel alright,
Oh yeah.
Ah, you're hanging me up, baby,
If you leave me,
I'll go crazy,
If you leave me, babe,
Shall I go crazy,
'Cause I love you,
I love you.
Oh I love you too much,
And if you hurt me
I'll go crazy.
If you ever go and hurt me, baby,
I'll go crazy.
'Cause I love you,
I love you.
Oh I love you too much,
You've got to live for yourself,
Yourself, for nobody else.
You've got to live for yourself,
Yourself, for nobody else.
Oh baby, I'll go crazy.
If you ever leave me, babe,
I'll go crazy
'Cause I love you,
I love you,
Oh I love you too much.
You've got to live for yourself,
Yourself, for nobody else.
You've got to live for yourself,
Yourself, for nobody else.
Talk about me ever loving you.
If you hurt me, baby,
You know thart I'll go crazy
'Cause I love you,
I love you.
Oh I love you much more than I can stand,
I'm talking about you.
The Moody Blues’s song “I’ll Go Crazy” explores the depth of love, portraying the emotions of a devoted lover. The singer feels good and satisfied in their relationship, but also feels like their partner is hanging them up in some way. The love is so strong that if their partner were to leave them, the singer knows they would go crazy. This reveals vulnerability in the singer, conveying that this love is their identity and they cannot imagine life without it. The chorus repeats the sentiment that their love for their partner is boundless, but also fragile. If their partner were to hurt them, it would be almost too much to bear.
The verses of “I’ll Go Crazy” seem to be a direct message to the singer’s lover telling them to live for themselves and not for anyone else. The singer portrays themselves as someone who will always love their partner no matter what, but also warns them against ever hurting them. This could be seen as a plea to their partner to stay and to never take the singer’s love for granted.
Overall, The Moody Blues’s “I’ll Go Crazy” is a love song that explores the depth of emotion one can feel for another person. It portrays love as all-consuming and the loss of that love as a potential mental breakdown.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh you know I feel alright,
The singer is currently in a good mood and feels content
Oh yeah.
Emphasis on the singer's positive emotions
You know I feel alright, children.
Reinforcement of the singer's overall positive feelings
Ah, you're hanging me up, baby,
The artist is feeling held back or burdened by their partner
Yeah babe.
Agreement of the previous statement
If you leave me,
The singer is stating a hypothetical situation
I'll go crazy,
The singer's mental state would be negatively affected if the hypothetical situation were to occur
If you leave me, babe,
Repetition of the hypothetical situation and emphasis on the partner's role in it
Shall I go crazy,
An expression of the artist's uncertainty and vulnerability
'Cause I love you,
The reason behind the hypothetical situation's negative impact on the artist
I love you.
Declaration of the singer's love for their partner
Oh I love you too much,
The intensity of the artist's love
And if you hurt me
Another hypothetical situation with negative consequences
I'll go crazy.
The impact of the hypothetical situation on the singer's mental state
If you ever go and hurt me, baby,
Repetition of the hypothetical situation and emphasis on the impact of the partner's actions
'Cause I love you,
The reason behind the negative impact of the hypothetical situation
You've got to live for yourself,
Advice given to the partner
Yourself, for nobody else.
Emphasis on the importance of self-preservation
Oh baby, I'll go crazy.
The singer's vulnerability and dependency on their partner
If you ever leave me, babe,
Repetition of the first hypothetical situation and its negative impact
You've got to live for yourself,
Repetition of the previous advice
Talk about me ever loving you.
Reinforcement of the artist's love for their partner
If you hurt me, baby,
Repetition of the second hypothetical situation
You know that I'll go crazy
Emphasis on the negative impact of the hypothetical situation
'Cause I love you,
Repetition of the reason behind the negative impact
I love you.
Repetition of the declaration of love
Oh I love you much more than I can stand,
Repetition of the intensity of the singer's love
I'm talking about you.
Confirmation that the entire song is directed towards the partner.
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAMES BROWN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mike France
Hey folks I was 10 years old when this album çame out in 1965 ,and I went nuts over it.I remember all the songs. Even until today.Now I'm 65 and I still enjoy it in 2021 !!
Kelli Redding
Wow. I grew up with the Days of Future Passed album and this is much different... I'll definitely buy a copy of their first album if I ever see it anywhere!
lightlyone
Great to hear this old music, precursor to the contemporary MB's sound. Love the variety of songs. It took guts to do some of these songs. Great post!
Eric Springer
wow this is different!! I am used to the later side of the Moody Blues.....still it is great to hear this song from their first album!!!
Pattie Kelly
I LOVE THE MOODY BLUES AND HAVE SINCE THE LATE '60'S FORWARD!!!
Mehefinheulog1
.... and Denny Lane was probably the one who gave direction to this band, that we can still look back to with no small degree of affection and nostalgia
lujan barraga
muy buena ,que gran banda.
Mike Mangan
Blues and Gospel come together with rock & roll for the moody blues!
Renata Justkowski
Leon Russell also a master at mixing genres.
Lesley Storey
+Mehefinheulog1 no I don't think it was god squadie