Mike Pinder dead: Moody Blues co-founder and keyboardist was 82

Theo Wargo/Getty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The last original member of The Moody Blues has died.

Keyboardist Mike Pinder died at 82 on Wednesday in Northern California, according to his family, the band and guitarist John Lodge, who lives in Naples, Florida.

Pinder follows original singer and guitarist Denny Laine, who died in Naples last year.

"Very sad news, the last of the original lineup of the Moody Blues has passed away," wrote Laine's widow Elizabeth on Instagram Wednesday. "He is now reunited with Denny, Ray, Graeme and Clint; what a joyous reunion that must be."

Lodge and The Moody Blues confirmed the news Thursday on Facebook.

"All the love possible goes out from the Lodge family to Mike's family today," Lodge and The Moody Blues wrote in separate posts. "RIP."

Pinder died surrounded by his family, according to the Facebook post. No cause of death was revealed.

"Michael's family would like to share with his trusted friends and caring fans that he passed peacefully," Pinder's family said in a statement posted by Lodge and The Moody Blues. "His final days were filled with music, encircled by the love of his family. Michael lived his life with a childlike wonder, walking a deeply introspective path which fused the mind and the heart."

The statement continued: "He created his music and the message he shared with the world from this spiritually grounded place; as he always said, "Keep your head above the clouds, but keep your feet on the ground." His authentic essence lifted up everyone who came into contact with him. His lyrics, philosophy, and vision of humanity and our place in the cosmos will touch generations to come."

Mike Pinder’s death follows Denny Laine

Pinder sang and played keyboards, as well as organ, piano and harpsichord in The Moody Blues. He founded the British band in 1964 with Laine, Ray Thomas, Clint Warwick and Graeme Edge.

A native of Birmingham, England, Pinder first achieved success with The Moody Blues in 1964 with their second single, “Go Now!,” a rendition of the song initially recorded earlier that year by R&B singer Bessie Banks. It marked the band’s first No. 1 in the U.K. and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following the departures of Laine and Warwick, Pinder was instrumental in selecting Justin Hayward as Laine’s replacement on vocals and guitar, while Lodge, a friend of Pinder’s from their pre-Moodies band, El Riot, joined on bass and vocals.

With that classic lineup, The Moody Blues fused rock with orchestral swells to craft some of the most enduring — and early — progressive rock songs that remain staples on classic rock stations: “Nights in White Satin,” “Tuesday Afternoon,” “The Story in Your Eyes” and “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)” among their heady output between 1967 and 1973.

Pinder, also regarded as one of the first musicians to implement the Mellotron into live performances, left the band in 1977, a year after releasing a solo album, “The Promise.”

His former bandmate Laine was 79 when he died Dec. 5. After getting COVID in 2022, the singer-guitarist had been in and out of the hospital for various health issues, Hines said last year, including a collapsed lung, bacterial infections and Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), the lung disease that eventually killed him.

He's buried at North Naples' Palm Royale Funeral Home & Cemetery.

Both Laine and Pinder were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 with The Moody Blues.

Read more at usatoday.com.