How Two Beatles Inspired Gary Wright’s ‘Dream Weaver’

Not everybody may depend George Harrison of their pal group, however singer, keyboardist and songwriter Gary Wright was among the many elite.

How Klaus Voormann Introduced Gary Wright and George Harrison

In the spring of 1970, Wright had simply left Spooky Tooth and was at first levels of launching a solo profession. That’s when he received a name from pal Klaus Voormann, who had performed bass on Wright’s debut solo album, Extraction. Voormann, a longtime Beatles collaborator, requested if Wright would be capable of come to Abbey Road Studios the place he, Harrison and Phil Spector had been engaged on Harrison’s new album.

Thirty minutes later Wright was being launched to Harrison, one among his all-time heroes. Still, there was a way of tranquility within the room, as he later recalled. “I had really never met anyone quite like George before. He didn’t seem to be on some huge ego trip like other artists I had met over the years,” Wright wrote in his 2014 e book Dream Weaver: A Memoir; Music, Meditation and My Friendship With George Harrison. “His aura was calm, and his being exuded a subtle spiritual magnetism. Yet, at the same time, he was someone who was very focused in the here and now.”

READ MORE: Underrated George Harrison: The Most Overlooked Song From Each LP

Wright wound up contributing piano and organ to Harrison’s landmark album All Things Must Pass, however it wasn’t the top of their working relationship. He went on to play on six extra Harrison albums: Living within the Material World (1973), Dark Horse (1974), Extra Texture (Read All About It) (1975), Thirty Three & 1/3 (1976), George Harrison (1979) and Cloud Nine (1987).

Somewhere alongside the way in which, Harrison gifted Wright a replica of Autobiography of a Yogi, the 1946 e book written by Indian guru Paramahansa Yogananda. It referenced Yogananda’s poem “God! God! God!,” which included the road: “When my mind weaves dreams.” Harrison advised Wright that he’d additionally given a replica to President Gerald Ford throughout a go to to the White House.

“I marveled at both his courage and his role as an ambassador of peace and was so happy to have a real friend who spread the message of truth everywhere he went,” Wright recalled.

Watch Gary Wright Perform ‘Dream Weaver’ Live in 1975

John Lennon’s ‘Dream Weaver’ Contribution

As if this wasn’t sufficient inspiration, Wright additionally remembered a line John Lennon had utilized in his 1970 track “God,” from the traditional John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band: “I was the Dreamweaver.”

These helped type the idea of Wright’s best-known track “Dream Weaver,” which was launched as a single from his 1975 album, The Dream Weaver. Wright introduced in David Foster to play electrical piano and drummer Jim Keltner, one other frequent Harrison collaborator.

READ MORE: Underrated John Lennon: The Most Overlooked Song From Each LP

Wright was on tour with Peter Frampton when he discovered “Dream Weaver” had reached the highest of the charts. It successfully modified his life. “When did I feel like I first made it?” he advised Rock Cellar in 2017. “I guess when ‘Dream Weaver’ went to No. 1.”