55 years ago today, November 21st, 1969, The Moody Blues released their fifth album, To Our Children's Children's Children, which was inspired by the Apollo 11 moon mission four months earlier.
The album opens with the sound of a rocket blasting off, which leads into the song "Higher and Higher." To achieve the sound of blast-off, NASA sent the band the sound of a rocket taking off.
But as bassist John Lodge and drummer Graeme Edge explain, it wasn't exactly what they had in mind.
"Higher and Higher" was the Moodies' first full-length song written by Edge, who was responsible for writing the short spoken-word interludes that appeared at the beginning and end of previous albums. The words were then recited by keyboardist Mike Pinder because Edge felt his voice at that time was to squeaky. He would later sing it in concert after developing a more gravelly voice from years of smoking.
To Our Children's Children's Children was the band's first release on their own record label, Threshold, and it was one of the albums listened to, on cassette, by the crew of Apollo 15 in 1971.
Graeme Edge died in November 2021 from cancer at the age of 80, and Pinder succumbed to complications from dementia this past April at 82
ALSO.....John Lodge of The Moody Blues just released a Christmas song titled "Love Will Conquer All"....check it out below.