(FOX NEWS) – John Lodge, the legendary bassist and vocalist
of The Moody Blues, has passed.

In a statement shared with Fox News Digital on Friday, Lodge’s
family said that he died "suddenly and unexpectedly."

The family added that Lodge "peacefully slipped away surrounded
by his loved ones and the sounds of The Everly Brothers and
Buddy Holly."

Birmingham-born Lodge joined The Moody Blues in 1966, two
years after its formation, along with fellow singer Justin
Hayward, following the departure of Denny Laine and Clint
Warwick. He remained with the band until they stopped
performing live in 2018.

    
   
US Naval Academy Class of 1892.

The United States Naval Academy opened in Annapolis, Maryland,
with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors. Known as
the Naval School until 1850, the curriculum included mathematics
and navigation, gunnery and steam, chemistry, English, natural philosophy, and French.

The Naval School officially became the U.S. Naval Academy in
1850, and a new curriculum went into effect, requiring midshipmen
to study at the academy for four years and to train aboard ships
each summer—the basic format that remains at the academy to
this day.

John Lennon was an English musician and activist. He gained
global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist
of the Beatles. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney
remains the most successful in history.

                
ROSS SIMPSON