US musician
“Dream Weaver” singer Gary Wright dies at 80
Gary Wright is dead. Photo
© Jason Moore/ZUMA Press/dpa
He had become famous as a solo artist in the 1970s with his mix of soft rock and soul. His sons inform about his illnesses.
Wright suffered from Parkinson’s and was suffering from dementia. His son Dorian Wright wrote on his Instagram channel that he spent the last few hours at his father’s side.
Gary Wright had become famous as a solo artist in the 1970s with his mixture of soft rock and soul. His breakthrough came in 1976 with the album The Dream Weaver, which included his two biggest hits, Dream Weaver and Love Is Alive. Both made it to number two on the US hit parade. “Love Is Alive” was later covered by countless artists including Olivia Newton-John, Chaka Khan, Joe Cocker and Anastacia. The song was also popular as a sample with hip-hop and R&B artists.
Wright, who was born in Cresskill/New Jersey, had previously gone to Great Britain in the late 1960s to launch his career as a musician. For a number of years he was the lead singer, keyboard player and songwriter for the British blues band Spooky Tooth. In England, Wright also befriended George Harrison. He played piano, organ and keyboards on several of the ex-Beatles’ albums, including Harrison’s solo debuts All Things Must Pass (1970) and Cloud Nine (1987). He also recorded music with ex-Beatle Ringo Starr and music greats such as BB King and Jerry Lee Lewis.
In later years, Wright increasingly focused on world music and meditative New Age music. In the 2000s he reformed Spooky Tooth and toured with the band in Germany. Gary Wright was not able to repeat the great commercial success of “The Dream Weaver” during his career.