RIP Ray Thomas

Very sorry to learn about this.

Ray Thomas, flautist, vocalist and founding member of the Moody Blues, died Thursday at the age of 76.

Thomas' label Esoteric Recordings/Cherry Red Records confirmed the multi-instrumentalist's death on Facebook, adding that Thomas died suddenly at his home in Surrey, England. No cause of death was announced.

"We are deeply shocked by his passing and will miss his warmth, humour and kindness," the label wrote. "It was a privilege to have known and worked with him and our thoughts are with his family and his wife Lee at this sad time."

Thomas passed away a bit over a week ago, but I didn't learn about it until now. It was only a month ago that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that the Moody Blues were (finally) being inducted.

As flautist, multi-instrumentalist and singer in the Moody Blues, Thomas appeared on all of the prog rock band's albums – including their classic LPs like Days of Future Passed, In Search of the Lost Chord, A Question of Balance and Every Good Boy Deserves Favour – until his retirement in 2002. 

Thomas also wrote and sang Moody Blues tracks like "Twilight Time," "Legend of a Mind," "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume," "Dear Diary" and "And the Tide Rushes In." In addition to his time with the Moody Blues, Thomas also released a pair of solo albums, 1975's From Mighty Oaks and 1976's Hopes, Wishes and Dreams, while the group went on hiatus in the mid-Seventies. 

Thomas retired from the Moody Blues in 2002 after suffering from a series of health issues. In 2013, Thomas revealed that he was suffering from "in-operable" prostate cancer. "The cancer is being held in remission but I'll be receiving this treatment for the rest of my life," Thomas wrote on his website. 

In December, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that the Moody Blues' classic lineup – Thomas, Hayward, Edge, Lodge and Pinder – would be inducted as part of the Class of 2018; Laine was subsequently added to the band's Rock Hall roster days later.

It's ironic that one of the Thomas's aforementioned songs - "Legend of a Mind" - was (according to this Wikipedia article) recorded exactly 50 years ago today. The song, a six-and-a-half minute long song about LSD guru Timothy Leary on which Thomas sings and plays the flute - was never released as a single but remains one of their most iconic works. They even made a video for it. (Give it a watch... You can't really get much more 1968 than that!)

Rest in peace, Mr. Thomas.