Back in the late ’70s, Wright challenged audiences with groundbreaking instruments and cutting-edge keyboard technology. He was a long-time collaborator and creative influence on other artists, from his contemporaries George Harrison, Steve Winwood, Mick Jones (Foreigner) and Joe Cocker To the ‘rap’ artists of the 90’s Third Base, Ton Loc and Busta Rhymes such as Eminem, Salter-N-Pepa, Joan Osbourne, Anastasia and Mia.
In 1967, after earning a degree in psychology and touring Germany as a singer/songwriter, Wright met Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and moved to London, where he Formed the rock band Spooky Tooth. That same year, Island released the band’s first record, It’s All About, to instant critical acclaim and the launch of the band’s successful career, which included recordings with rock legend Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones. The U.S. tour, which culminated in the band’s classic second album. , “Ghost II”.
In the early 1970s, Wright took a break from Spooky Tooth to make records for the production company of Traffic and Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller. He soon became one of London’s elite musicians, playing keyboards on George Harrison’s classic All Things Must Pass, which also featured Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins et al. Thus began a lasting musical relationship with Harrison, which included playing keyboards and co-writing several songs on George’s subsequent albums.
In 1974, Wright visited India with Harrison at the invitation of Ravi Shankar. This visit further developed a longstanding relationship with Shankar, as well as some of India’s other leading classical artists, which culminated in his award-winning 1988 album Who I Am on Cypress Records, which capitalized on independent The advantages. The line-up of star musicians includes South Indian percussion groups and performances by Indian classical masters Lakshmi Shankar and L. Subramanian.
After releasing two critically acclaimed albums, Extraction and Footprint, and three more on A&M Records, including Mick Jones (later foreigner), Gary signed a solo deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1974. contract. Its seminal 1975 album, The Dream Weaver, pushed the boundaries of popular music, introducing the first-ever keyboard/synth-only band and breaking new ground in stripped-down versions of synths and drum machines. Revolutionary technology that revolutionized the musical instrument industry and revolutionized sound forever changing pop, rock and R&B.
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In 1976, the song “Dream Weaver” reached No. 1 on the charts, and the follow-up “Love is Alive” climbed to No. 2. In total, “The Dream Weaver” has sold more than 2 million albums and 2 million singles. In an industry where even the greatest successes often depend on which wind blows, Wright’s songwriting genius has enduring appeal among the masses. In 1991, Warner Bros. Records asked Gary to remake “Dreamweaver” for the soundtrack to the film “Wayne’s World,” which went on to become the number one Billboard soundtrack album, selling over 2 million copies. The Dreamweavers was also included in the Golden Globe-winning film The People vs Larry Flynt.
Two new versions of “Love is Alive” were released in 2001, one featuring Anastacia, which sold more than 3.5 million copies internationally, and the other featuring Joan Osborne , her version was the lead single from the Michael Douglas/Matt Dylan film One Night at McCools. “Dream Weaver” and “Love is Alive” appeared in the films “Daddy Day Care” and “Coyote Ugly” respectively. Eminem recorded a song by Gary and renamed it Spend Some on his Encore album Time, DJ Armand Van Helden samples “Comin’ Apary” from The Right Place album and retitles it “mymymy.” The book became a hit in Europe and Asia, selling over 4 million copies.
Gary Wright’s creative work also extended to film music, with Alan Rudolph’s thriller Endangered Species, Sylvester Stallone’s He directed Stayin’ Alive, the Oscar-winning German film Fire and Ice and the soundtrack to Ski To The Limit, which was released in Imax in 2000. – Both films directed by Willie Bogner. Includes Gary’s 1995 world music album First Signs of Life, featuring music and percussion from Brazil and Nigeria, George Harrison Harrison and Terry Bozzio also guest star. Gary continues his latest solo work, Human Love, studio album featuring guest artists Jeff Lynn, L. Shankar and Steve Faris also joined in.
2007 marked the 40th anniversary of Spooky Tooth and also heralded the release of Nomad Poets Live DVD starring Gary and original members Mike Harrison and Mike Kellie. The band followed with a sold-out European tour in 2008 and 2009. During this time, Spooky Tooth was invited by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell to perform at a concert in London in May 2009 with artists such as U2, Grace Jones, Amy Winehouse, Keane, Sly and Robbie and Yusuf Islam performance to celebrate Island’s 50th anniversary. Cat Stevens).
