![]() In their early incarnation, the Moodies were an R&B band, and on their 1965 debut album, multi-instrumentalist Thomas’s flute appears on only one track. On one end of the spectrum, players like Ray Thomas of The Moody Blues were clearly modeling their approach to the flute after the classical side of things. Over the next year and a half, the flute found its way into “Walk Away Renee” by New York baroque-pop trendsetters The Left Banke, The Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday,” The Association’s “Along Comes Mary,” and several songs on The Beach Boys’ milestone Pet Sounds. In 1965, mournful flute lines colored The Beatles’ melancholy “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” blue, and where The Beatles led, legions were sure to follow. But things began to open up a decade later, when the British Invasion eventually led ambitious beat groups on both sides of the Atlantic to go for baroque with classical-influenced chamber-pop arrangements laced with harpsichords, string quartets, and the like, leaving the door open for a slim, silvery interloper in the realm of rock. In the days of rockabilly and doo-wop, woodwind activity began and ended with the saxophone. Amid all the screeching Stratocasters and wailing Hammond organs, the humble flute flew higher than anyone would have ever expected. ![]() But when rock grew up and outwards, from the late 60s through the mid-70s, one of the least imposing instruments found a remarkably deep niche in rock history. When rock’n’roll’s first-generation spread its wings in the 50s, the flute was about as common a presence as a tuxedo at a square dance. ![]()
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