Singer and keyboardist Gary Wright, finest identified for his mid-’70s hits “Dream Weaver” and “Love is Alive,” reportedly died this morning at the age of 80.
Wright’s son Justin broke the information to TMZ, explaining that his father had been battling Parkinson’s illness and Lewy physique dementia in recent times.
Born on (*80*) 26, 1943 in Creeskill, New Jersey, Wright first rose to fame as a member of the British laborious rock band Spooky Tooth. In 1970 he was invited to hitch a recording session for George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass album. In his 2014 ebook Dream Weaver, Wright describes how a case of nerves almost derailed the method.
How Gary Wright and George Harrison Became Lifelong Friends
“Producer Phil Spector’s voice rang out from the control room into the studio where all the musicians were: ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute; who’s that on the Wurlitzer piano making all those mistakes?’ Devastated and utterly embarrassed, I meekly raised my hand and said, ‘Sorry it’s me, Gary. I’m still learning the structure of the song.’ George immediately walked over to me and said consolingly, “Take all the time you need, we’re in no rush.” He was so kind at that moment; I immediately felt a rapport with him.”
Hear Gary Wright Perform ‘Love is Alive’
Wright wound up not solely taking part in on your entire album however turning into lifelong pals with the previous Beatle. After disbanding Spooky Tooth for a second time, Wright grew to become a solo celebrity with 1975’s double platinum The Dream Weaver. The album was notable for its near-total reliance on keyboards and synthesizers.
“I didn’t know it would take off as it did when I made it. The theme of having only keyboards, drums, voices – and no guitars — came accidentally,” Wright informed Musoscribe in 2010. “I had just left Spooky Tooth, and I had a Minimoog, a Clavinet, a Fender Rhodes, a Hammond organ, and a little Rhythm Ace drum machine. And an Echoplex. So I used all that technology that was available back then in the writing of all the songs, with the exception of ‘Dream Weaver’ which I had written earlier on acoustic guitar.”
Although Wright by no means topped the success of The Dream Weaver, he remained lively each as a solo star and with a reformed Spooky Tooth. He joined forces with one other Beatles star as a member of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr touring bands in 2008, 2010 and 2011.
Read More: How Ringo Starr Re-Emerged With the All-Starr Band
Hear Gary Wright Perform ‘Dream Weaver’
In Memoriam: 2023 Deaths
A glance at these we have misplaced.
Discussion about this post