Procession (The Moody Blues song)
"Procession" is a 1971 song by the Moody Blues and is the opening track of their album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. It is the only song to have been co-written by all five members of the band.
| "Procession" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Moody Blues | |
| from the album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour | |
| Released | 23 July 1971 |
| Recorded | January–March 1971 |
| Length | 4:40 |
| Label | Threshold |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Tony Clarke |
| Official audio | |
| "Procession" on YouTube | |
"Procession" is one of the first commercial songs to make use of electronic drums. The instrument in question was a custom drum synth developed by Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge and Sussex University professor Brian Groves.[1]
For the most part, "Procession" is an instrumental song, with the exception of its three spoken words: "desolation", "creation", and "communication". These words, as well as other words ending in "-ation", also appear on the album track "One More Time to Live."
A section of "Procession" was sampled by hip-hop musicians J Dilla and Madlib on the 2003 Jaylib album Champion Sound; the sample appears on the opening track "L.A. to Detroit."[2]
Personnel
- Justin Hayward ― electric and acoustic guitars, sitar, vocals
- John Lodge ― bass, vocals
- Mike Pinder ― Moog synthesizer, piano, harpsichord, Hammond organ, Mellotron, vocals
- Ray Thomas ― flute, vocals
- Graeme Edge ― electronic and acoustic drums, percussion, vocals
References
- Render, Michael. The Case for Vintage Electronic Drums."The Electronic Drum Experts - Vintage Electronic Drums - Michael Render". Archived from the original on 2011-02-08. Retrieved 2011-06-21., accessed October 5, 2020
- "Jaylib's 'L.A. To Detroit' - Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled.