The Moody Blues and the Four Tops, two legends of music, once worked together in an international collaboration in the early 1970s. At the time, Motown and the British Invasion artists reigned on the radio, and the two groups were at the forefront of the airwaves. The Moody Blues were reborn into a new sound with the addition of guitarist Justin Hayward, transforming their post-“Go Now” sound into the explorations of symphonically-infused rock and the new sonic possibilities of stereo. The Four Tops were one of the bands to establish the Motown Sound. The legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland writing team continued to develop the group’s dynamic vocal range through the changing times, tastes, and sound technology.

It was a common practice of the era for bands to record and perform covers. Aretha Franklin famously recorded a version of “Let It Be,” which turns 50 this year, after hearing a demo Paul McCartney sent. The Beatles didn’t play on it (Duane Allman did, though). The Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder wrote “Simple Game,” and he and the band’s guitarist Hayward recorded the backing. “Simple Game” was released as a B-side for The Moody Blues but went on to become a British hit for The Four Tops. Hayward, who released his latest EP One Summer Day/My Juliette on March 27, spoke about the sessions with Den of Geek.

“[Tamla-Motown head] Berry Gordy liked ‘Simple Game,’ that was the plain truth of it,” Hayward tells us. “He came over to meet with Tony Clarke, our producer, and then Tony was assigned The Four Tops, which was like a dream for all of us.”

Clarke was dubbed the sixth Moody Blue in the May 30, 1970 Disc And Music Echo article reporting the collaboration as a jam session. He brought the musicians together with the songs. According to Hayward “the rest was done by an arranger called Arthur Greenslade, an English arranger.” Greenslade was best known for his work with “Son of a Preacher Man” singer Dusty Springfield. He translated the rock songs to suit the Four Tops, but British musicians did the playing.