Sunday July 24, 2022 “Nights in White Satin” Moody Blues
When this song was first released it would be months before I realized this wasn’t about King Arthur’s Court (“Knights in White Satin”). OK I’m an idiot.
These are the Moody Blues that emerged following their international top ten R&B tune “Go Now” and would move them towards what would be classified as progressive rock. Their new sound was introduced on their album Days of Future Past which followed the Beatles release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which likely paved the way for their progressive sounds.
Today’s song was written by Justin Hayward who had replaced Denny Laine when he left the Moody Blues to go on to a solo career that would eventually lead him to Paul McCartney’s band Wings. Hayward has said about “Nights in White Satin” that, "I wrote our most famous song, 'Nights in White Satin' when I was 19. It was a series of random thoughts and was quite autobiographical.
"Nights in White Satin" was originally released in 1967, charting at #19 in the UK, but getting no higher than #103 in America, where six-minute songs were a tough sell at the time. In 1972, after songs like "Hey Jude " and "Layla" paved the way for long, dramatic tunes (and The Moody Blues became more popular), the song was re-released in the US and became a hit, going to #2.
The Moody Blues have sold in excess of 70 million albums worldwide and have been awarded an astonishing 14 platinum and gold discs and have seventeen studio albums.
Stay safe and well…and this song raises so many questions that I leave to you to interpret.