I was sorry to learn this afternoon of the passing of English musician Denny Laine, co-founder of the Moody Blues and long-time Paul McCartney collaborator during the Wings era and beyond. Laine died earlier today of lung disease in Naples, Florida, at the age of 79, mere months after announcing his marriage to Elizabeth Mele. His wife had established a GoFundMe campaign earlier this year after Denny had suffered a collapsed lung and been through three surgeries and a blood infection following a bout of COVID. A benefit concert for Laine was held last month at the legendary Troubadour in West Hollywood, featuring a pair of his former Wings bandmates, plus Susanna Hoffs, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Asher, among others. I extend sympathies to Denny’s family and loved ones, and wish them all peace in the difficult days ahead.

Denny Laine was born on the Channel Islands and raised in Greater Birmingham, England, and was named Brian Frederick Hines by his parents. (While his long association with Paul McCartney might lead casual observers to presume that “Denny Laine” must be some form of tribute to or was inspired by Sir Paul’s song, “Penny Lane,” the Artist Formerly Known as Brian Hines actually adopted his stage name well before that popular Beatles song was written, recorded and released). Inspired by Django Reinhardt, Laine took up guitar in his youth and formed his first band (Denny and the Diplomats, featuring Bev Bevan, later of The Move, The Electric Light Orchestra and [briefly] Black Sabbath) in his mid-teens. In 1964, Laine joined a newly-formed Beat/R&B band known as the Moody Blues, and he sang their first huge radio hit, the Bessie Banks cover “Go Now!” Laine also co-wrote all of the original songs on the group’s debut album (mostly composed of covers), sang lead vocals on all but three of its cuts, and composed or co-composed a variety of singles and B-sides for the Moodies.

After those singles failed to match the success of “Go Now!”, Laine left the Moodies in late 1966, embarking on a variety of short-lived musical ventures, including The Electric String Band, Balls, Ginger Baker’s Air Force and a pair of solo singles. His fortunes took a turn for the better in 1971 when Paul and Linda McCartney recruited Laine for their nascent family band, Wings, along with drummer Denny Seiwell. (The Beatles and the Moody Blues had toured together in their earlier days, so Paul was aware of Denny’s work via that connection). The group issued their casual and lo-fi debut, Wild Life, later that year, and embarked on a variety of small-scale tours and shows that allowed the McCartneys to bring their family with them on the road, an effort to restore the creative intimacy that Paul had once enjoyed in the Beatles’ small venue days.

Various guitarists and drummers came and went during Wings’ decade-long run, but the core of Paul, Linda and Denny were constant, and at two points in the group’s career, they were the band in its entirety, most notably during the recording of Wings’ arguable masterwork, Band on the Run, recorded in Lagos, Nigeria in 1973. The core Wings trio also featured on Laine’s second solo album, 1977’s Holly Days, in which the threesome tackled an assortment of good-natured Buddy Holly covers. Before guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Joe English departed that same year, the group embarked on the massive “Wings Over the World” tour, highlights of which were released on the chart-topping Wings Over America triple album, which featured Paul McCartney’s first released recordings of songs from the Beatles catalog since that group’s demise.

Wings were arguably the most commercially successful band in the world at that point in time, with Laine serving in a crucial “utility infielder” role, singing and playing bass, guitar or keyboards as needed, depending on what Paul was playing on a particular song. He also sang lead vocals on many Wings songs and wrote or co-wrote a passel of their tunes, most notably “Mull of Kintyre,” which was the highest-selling single in English history for several years following its release. The Wings’ story ground to its sad conclusion in the early 1980s, following Paul McCartney’s arrest for marijuana possession in Japan, and compounded by Paul’s justifiable worries about touring following the murder of John Lennon. While Wings were no more, Laine remained a loyal contributor to Paul McCartney’s creative endeavors for several additional years, appearing on his earlier solo albums, helping to bridge a collaborative gap until McCartney’s now-long-standing solo band cohered.

Denny Laine issued nine solo albums after the end of his association with Paul McCartney (my favorite is 1996’s Reborn) and toured as a solo performer, with his own band, and with the legacy act Classic Rock All-Stars. I’ve always keep abreast of his activities and doings, in large part because how much Wings meant to me in their time, how often I still listen to them, and how many of Laine’s spotlight tracks or compositions are among my favorites by the group. I did a long article about my affection for and history with Wings as part of my Favorite Songs by Favorite Bands series a few years ago; you can read it in its entirety here. I noted in that article: “I’m also a big fan of Denny Laine, who served fairly selflessly as a tremendously supportive studio and on-stage foil on guitar, bass and vocals for Paul and Linda from the inception to the demise of Wings. He deserves more accolades than he actually receives for that role.” And I do believe that, deeply, especially given the retrospective snark and disdain that are often heaped upon Wings (most especially upon the late Linda McCartney) by music writers who should really know better. I was also pleased that Denny Laine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 as a member of the Moody Blues. He deserved that accolade.

I’ll be adding a bunch of Denny’s tunes to our family playlist this afternoon, using them to reflect on a musical life well lived. Probably top of that heap will be “Weep for Love,” a Denny solo cut featuring the core Wings trio. If you’ve never heard it, I commend it to your attention as one of his loveliest works. Here you go:

And now only Paul remains . . .