Singer Gary Wright, finest identified for his 1976 delicate rock hits “Dream Weaver” and “Love is Alive,” has died at age 80. Wright’s son, Justin, confirmed to Rolling Stone that his father died on Monday at his Palos Verdes Estates residence after battling Parkinson’s illness and Lewy physique dementia for the previous six years.
Justin Wright mentioned he dad was identified with Parkinson’s six or seven years in the past earlier than additionally receiving a dementia analysis. “He managed it pretty effectively for some time. However just a few years in the past, he wanted skilled assist and home-care nurses and finally 24-hour care,” Justin advised RS.
Wright was born on April 26, 1943 in Cresskill, N.J. and started his profession as a toddler actor in exhibits included Captain Video and His Video Rangers earlier than becoming a member of the Broadway solid of Fanny in 1954. After briefly contemplating medical college, Wright moved to England within the late Nineteen Sixties, the place he co-founded the blues-rock band Spooky Tooth with 4 English musicians. After three albums with the band, Wright struck out on his personal and releasing two solo albums on A&M Information, Extraction (1970) and Footprint (1971) earlier than signing to Warner Bros. Information for what can be his breakthrough third solo effort.
The Dream Weaver, launched in the summertime of 1975, peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 album charts in April 1976, with the yacht rock basic title monitor peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Sizzling 100 singles chart. On the time, Wright, who performed the Hammond Organ, clavinet, Moog synthesizers, Fender Rhodes and a number of other different keyboards on the album — along with arranging and producing the gathering — boasted that it was one of many first all-keyboard albums; it additionally featured drums from session veterans Jim Keltner and Sly and the Household Stone’s Andy Newmark in addition to guitar on “Energy of Love” from Montrose’s Ronnie Montrose.
The ethereal “Dream Weaver” grew to become one in every of Wright’s most beloved songs and a frequent go-to Hollywood soundtrack reduce in movies together with Wayne’s World (for which Wright re-recorded the tune), Toy Story 3, Ice Age: Collision Course and The Individuals vs. Larry Flynt, in addition to the TV sequence Glee and Superstore. Wright additionally dipped his toe into movie soundtrack composition for the films Endangered Species (1982) and Hearth and Ice (1986).
Following the chart success of The Dream Weaver, Wright launched a string of solo albums all through the Seventies and early Nineteen Eighties to diminishing gross sales, together with 1977’s The Gentle of Smiles (No. 172 on BB 200) and Contact and Gone (No. 117), 1979’s Headin’ Residence (No. 147) and 1981’s The Proper Place (No. 79). Along with “Dream Weaver” and that album’s different silky pop hit, “Love Is Alive” (No. 2 on the Billboard Sizzling 100), Wright’s different singles chart successes included 1976’s “Made to Love You” (No. 79), “Phantom Author” (1977, No. 43), “Contact and Gone” (1978, No. 73) and 1981’s “Actually Wanna Know You” (No. 16).
Wright additionally performed keyboards on late Beatle George Harrison’s 1970 solo triple-disc album All Issues Should Go — cementing a friendship that lasted till Harrison’s dying in 2001 — and sat in on classes for album by everybody from B.B. King to Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson and Jerry Lee Lewis. He additionally carried out with a reunited Spooky Tooth within the early 2000s, in addition to with Starr’s All-Starr Band and continued to launch new music as just lately as his ultimate solo album, 2010’s Related.
Over time, Wright’s compositions additionally discovered their approach into quite a few hip-hop songs, together with samples of “Love Is Alive” on songs by Raekwon and third Bass, Spooky Tooth’s “The Mirror” on songs by Fivio International and Ambiance, “Extra Than a Heartache” (Nas) and “Heartbeat” (Jay-Z).
Take heed to “Dreamweaver” and “Love Is Alive” beneath.
