Everyday Creation
Everyday Creation is about purpose, awe and good vibrations. The show's title refers to three types of creation: The ways we express ourselves (for example, with art, music and so many other pursuits fueled by purpose and passion); the parts of life that fill us with awe (birth, death, love, the big picture); and our personal power to create our best possible lives while also making the world a better place. Here, you’ll encounter interviews, essays and some episodes created simply for information and fun. I'm your host Kate Jones, welcoming you to Everyday Creation.
Everyday Creation
Moody Blues Co-Founder Mike Pinder wasn't Describing Himself When He Wrote "Melancholy Man"
Singer, songwriter and musician Mike Pinder co-founded the Moody Blues in 1964. The British band initially played R&B and covers before shifting direction toward original songs.
Pinder wrote 27 songs for the band, including "Melancholy Man," which appeared on the 1970 album "A Question of Balance." The song reached number one in France but was never released as a single in the U.S.
The photo in this episode's thumbnail was extracted from a photo of the entire band taken when they arrived at the Amsterdam Airport in The Netherlands in 1970. You can see the full picture in one of the chapters including my closing remarks. Both versions of the photo are available on Wikipedia.
You can watch the Moody Blues perform "Melancholy Man" in this video. The comments are worth checking out too. Here's one of them: "I heard this song on the Question album back in 1972 ... when I was 15 and it is one of my favorite Moody Blues songs. The Moody Blues was one of my favorite bands in college in the 1980's and today when I'm 65 the Moody Blues is still my favorite band. Anyone that values knowledge over the mundane are Melancholy men."
In Sheldon Zoldan's tribute, learn how the Mellotron®, a new instrument at the time, came to be featured on the Moody Blues' 1967 album "Days of Future Passed." (Fun side note from Wikipedia: Pinder introduced the Mellotron to his friend John Lennon, and the Beatles subsequently used one on "Strawberry Fields Forever.")
This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
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Kate:
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Here's Song of the Day creator
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Sheldon Zoldan
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with his tribute to Mike Pinder,
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co-founder of the Moody Blues.
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Mike Pinder spent one year and 42
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days in the British Army.
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Then he spent the rest of his life
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involved with music.
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The co-founder and last surviving original member of
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the British group the Moody Blues died April
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24 in Sacramento, California.
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He was 82.
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The Song of the Day is paying tribute
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to singers, songwriters and musicians
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who died in 2024.
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Pinder was in the British Army when he
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heard the Beatles' "Love Me Do"
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and immediately knew he wanted to form a
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band.
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He co-founded the Moody Blues in 1964
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and stayed with them for 14 years.
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The original band played R&B and
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covered other bands.
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The group had a number one hit in
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the UK,
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"Go Now," in 1964.
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He recruited
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Justin Hayward
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and John Lodge to join the group after
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two members left,
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and the Moody Blues changed direction.
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They began recording their own songs.
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Pinder, who played mostly keyboards,
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had a job as an engineer at Streetly
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Electronics
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before founding the Moody Blues.
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The company was making a new instrument,
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the Mellotron®, which looked like a keyboard.
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When pressing the keys, it would play different
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orchestral
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sounds. "Playing the company's Mellotron for the first
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time was my 'first man on the moon'
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event," he told the British music website Broom
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Beat.
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The Mellotron was a prominent contributor
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to the 1967 "Days of Future
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Passed" album.
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Pinder wrote 27 songs for the group. He
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wrote "Melancholy Man" alone.
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The song ended up on the Moody Blues' 1970
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"A Question of Balance" album.
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Pinder said the song wasn't about himself.
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It was a melancholy
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for the whole world.
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The song reached number one in France
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but never was released as a single in
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the United States.
Kate:
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This is Kate Jones. We have a lot
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of other tributes on Everyday Creation.
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Please check them out, and thank you for
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joining us.
