NEW YORK.- He musician Denny Laine – British singer, songwriter and guitarist, founder of Moody Blues and later partner of Paul McCartney in Wings, the banda soloist of the former Beatle- died at the age of 79.
Laine, who was inducted five years ago into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues, died Dec. 5 in Naples, Florida. The cause was interstitial lung disease, according to an announcement by his wife, Elizabeth Hines, on Laine’s Instagram. They reported today.
His death comes almost exactly 50 years after the release of the acclaimed album Band On the Run by McCartney, in which Laine played guitar and did backing vocals. Yesterday, McCartney posted a tribute to Laine on Instagram, calling him a great talent with a fine sense of humor.
We had grown apart, but in recent years we managed to reestablish our friendship and share memories of our times together, McCartney wrote.
About the musician’s career
Laine’s given name was Brian Frederick Arthur Hines and he changed it to artistic when he was a teenager, in part to pay tribute to singer Frankie Laine.
In 1964, when he turned 20, he joined Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder to form the Moody Blues and sang the group’s lead hit, Go Now. The Moody Blues struggled to match their initial success, and in 1967 Laine left the group, being replaced by Justin Hayward. Moody Blues later turned to ambitious and classically influenced sounds as in Nights in White Satin and other songs.
Laine worked as a solo artist and with groups such as the Electric String Band and Ginger Bakers Air Force before McCartney, whom he had met during his time with the Moody Blues, brought him into Wings.
Wings y Paul McCartney
Founded in 1971, a year after the Beatles broke up, Wings went through several member changes over the next decade, with Laine, McCartney, and McCartney’s wife, Linda, being the only ones to remain. The band’s number one singles, most of them written by McCartney, include My Love, Listen to What the Man Said and the main song of Band On the Run. Laine helped write Mull of Kintyre, that sold millions of copies.
McCartney disbanded Wings shortly after Laine left the group in the early 1980s, but Laine contributed to the albums Tug of War y Pipes of Peace, McCartney, and added backing vocals to All Those Years AgoGeorge Harrison’s tribute to the late John Lennon.
Laine continued to tour and record in recent years, including her album The Blue Musician.
FUENTE: AP
