It was an odd song, really; sort of a bluesy dirge with an unusual structure – in fact, it was a cover of a Bessie Banks single. Young white men singing r&b was nothing new by 1964 – but The Moody Blues and then-frontman Denny Laine made it their own via authentic emotion. Man, what emotion. Horribly produced, “Go Now” sounded like it was recorded on a wire reel in someone’s garage. But it fit, it all fit – and the song put The Moody Blues on the map. It’s also one of my favorite vocal performances in rock ‘n’ roll.
Denny Laine died today, aged 79, of lung disease.
“Denny sang the shit out of that song,” Peter Asher (of Peter & Gordon fame) told me in 2015 Ink19.com interview. “… the piano and the vocals, totally distorted. But it was cool. When Denny sings, ‘We already said… ‘ you’re sold.”
I deliberately did not ask about Paul McCartney in my talk with the British Invasion legend, who probably tires of such questions. But early on, I mentioned Laine as an ice-breaker. And Asher seemed delighted that I had. I’ve dropped his name in interviews more than once over the years, with similar effect. Laine was a sort of folk hero – a singer, songwriter and guitarist who should’ve been a star.
Of course, he was one of McCartney’s better songwriting partners as a co-founder of Wings (Wings fans will recall Laine singing “Go Now” with the band in concert). The guitarist had a handful of solo albums over the years, and was in more than one supergroup for a second or two. These days, you’d have to be a Wings or early Moody Blues fan to recognize the name. Inexplicably, Laine – who died on the 50th anniversary of Wings’ “Band On The Run” album – seemed to be a quasi-forgotten footnote in rock history; known only to people who dig really cool music.
Damn, what a footnote. God, I love this song.
