Denny Laine, guitarist and songwriter for iconic rock bands The Moody Blues and Wings, has died, according to a post from his wife. He was 79.
Laine joined with Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder to form The Moody Blues in 1964. He sang lead on the group’s first big single, “Go Now,” which hit No. 1 in their native U.K. and broke the Top 10 in the U.S. He left the band in 1966, before the rest of its most popular songs were written. Still, Laine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 as a member of the Moodys.
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In the years after he left, Laine recorded as a solo artist and formed the Electric String Band with Trevor Burton (of the Move), Viv Prince (formerly of Pretty Things) and Binky McKenzie. Laine and Burton later joined the band Balls and played in Ginger Baker’s Air Force, which included the legendary Cream drummer as well as Steve Winwood on organ and vocals.
Laine achieved his greatest success by joining up with another British rock legend, Paul McCartney, and the former Beatle’s wife Linda to form Wings, which marked McCartney’s greatest success post-Fab Four.
Laine wrote songs, played lead and rhythm guitars, sang some lead and backing vocals, played keyboards, bass guitar and woodwind. Wings’ best-known album, Band on the Run, which included the No. 1 title track and “Jet,” was not an instant success. Released in December 1973, the disc initially peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in early 1974, but once the singles caught on, the album topped the chart three separate times throughout the remainder of the year. Band on the Run eventually was certified triple platinum and sold 6 million copies worldwide.
Paul McCartney celebrated the album’s 50th anniversary this week, with a social media post promising a special edition of Band on the Run featuring nine unheard underdubbed mixes in February.
The band has released seven studio albums and the chart-topping live album Wings Over America, which culled from their worldwide tours in ’72 and ’75-’76.
Other hits include “Live and Let Die,” the title track to the 1974 James Bond film, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than 1 million copies. “Listen to What the Man Said” from Venus and Mars in 1975 hit No. 1 in the U.S. The 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound spawned the hit singles “Silly Love Songs,” which spent five weeks at No. 1 in America, and “Let ‘Em In.” “With a Little Luck” also topped the U.S. singles chart, in 1978.
The band had a dozen Top 10 singles in the UK, but only 1977’s double-sided “Mull of Kintyre”/”Girls’ School” hit No. 1 there. The LPs Band on the Run and Venus and Mars were chart-toppers in the UK.
Wings had multiple lineup changes, but Laine and the McCartneys were the only constants throughout the band’s initial 10-year run. He later went on to release solo albums and work with the former Beatle on his solo work.
Laine’s wife Elizabeth Hines wrote on his official Instagram page today: “My darling husband passed away peacefully early this morning. I was at his bedside, holding his hand as I played his favorite Christmas songs for him.” The musician had been in ICU on a ventilator over the past week. She said he suffered from Interstitial Lung Disease.
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