I would say that, without stretching the point too much, had the Moody Blues not stumbled across an obscure sound effects gadget used by the BBC for their radio shows and realized it had tons of musical possibilities, the world may never had the opportunity to hear a Mellotron to the extent the Moody Blues used it.

Initially part of the British Invasion of the early 60's, the Moodies (as they were known, for short) slowly morphed out of the Beat Group niche and into a cross between Art-Rock and Symphonic-Rock. Their biggest album, and one that just about every one "of a certain age" knows the words to from start to finish, was Days Of Future Past, released in 1967. It touted the first-ever collaboration between Symphony Orchestra and Rock Band, with the extra added bonus of The Mellotron, for good, ethereal measure.

Tonight's tracks come by way of two BBC Sessions - the first from early 1967 (just before Days was released) and the other from November of 1967, (after Days was released).

Here's the rundown:

BBC Early 1967
1.Leave The Man Alone

BBC "Top Gear" November 13, 1967
2. Peak Hour
3. Nights In White Satin

Now you get to hear why every band on the planet had to have a Mellotron, or at least record with one.

And some still do.