Musician Gary Wright, finest identified for his hit single “Dream Weaver,” has handed away at age 80.
Musician and New Jersey native Gary Wright, finest identified for his hit singles “Dream Weaver” and “Love is Alive,” has died at age 80. His sons Dorian and Justin confirmed that he handed away on Monday morning in his residence in Los Angeles, surrounded by household and family members. His sons additionally confirmed he had had Parkinson’s illness and Lewy physique dementia for the previous six years.
Wright was a founding member of the UK-based Spooky Tooth and was a sought-after session participant starting within the late ’60s. He performed on all of George Harrison’s solo albums, Ringo Starr’s early singles and his later work with Starr’s All-Starr Band, and songs by B.B. King, Harry Nilsson, and Tim Rose.
Rising up in New Jersey, Gary Wright was a baby actor from an early age who appeared on Broadway in a model of “Fanny.” In his grownup life, he determined to pursue medication and traveled to Berlin to check to develop into a health care provider, however he continued taking part in with bands.
Whereas on a 1967 tour in Europe with a gaggle known as the New York Occasions, Wright met Chris Blackwell, founding father of the group Site visitors’s document label, Island Information, who satisfied him to come back to London. There, he fashioned the band Spooky Tooth with pianist Mike Harrison and drummer Mike Kellie, with Wright as keyboardist/organist and singer.
Though Spooky Tooth’s first two albums didn’t chart properly, their work was well-received amongst musicians, and the band’s members have been all recruited for session work. Their songs have been coated by artists together with Three Canine Night time (“I’ve Obtained Sufficient Heartache”), The Transfer (“Sunshine Assist Me”), and Judas Priest (“Higher By You, Higher Than Me”). Wright formally parted methods with the band after their third album in 1970.
After a strong solo profession that noticed him introduced into the Beatles’ orbit, Wright reformed Spooky Tooth in 1972 and launched two albums whereas persevering with his work primarily with George Harrison, with whom he traveled to India in 1974.
Spooky Tooth would once more disband, and Wright moved to New York and signed with Warner Bros. Information. There, he launched “The Dream Weaver,” his first album underneath the label — with a title monitor impressed by his journey to India — in 1975. That music turned a serious hit the next yr.
Within the ’80s, Wright started specializing in instrumental and soundtrack work and continued to take action till 2010. In 2004, he reformed Spooky Tooth once more and toured ceaselessly, generally with Ringo’s All-Starr Band.