Gary Malcolm Wright (April 26, 1943 – September 4, 2023) was an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs "Dream Weaver" and "Love Is Alive". Wright's breakthrough album, The Dream Weaver (1975), came after he had spent seven years in London as, alternately, a member of the British blues rock band Spooky Tooth and a solo artist on A&M Records. While in England, he played keyboards on former Beatle George Harrison's triple album All Things Must Pass (1970), which began a friendship that inspired the Indian religious themes and spirituality inherent in Wright's subsequent songwriting. His work from the late 1980s onwards embraced world music and the new age genre, although none of his post-1976 releases matched the same level of popularity as The Dream Weaver.
Wright was a child actor and performed on Broadway in the hit musical Fanny, before studying medicine and then psychology in New York and Berlin before establishing himself as a professional musician. After meeting Chris Blackwell of Island Records in Europe, Wright moved to London, where he helped establish Spooky Tooth as a popular live act. He also served as the band's principal songwriter on their recordings – among them, the well-regarded albums Spooky Two (1969) and You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw (1973). His solo album Footprint (1971), recorded with contributions from Harrison, coincided with the formation of Wright's short-lived band Wonderwheel, which included guitarist Mick Jones, later known for his work with Foreigner. Also, during the early 1970s, Wright played on notable recordings by B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, and Ronnie Spector, while his musical association with Harrison endured until shortly before the latter's death in 2001.
Wright turned to film soundtrack work in the early 1980s, including re-recording his most popular song, "Dream Weaver", for the 1992 comedy Wayne's World. Following Spooky Tooth's reunion tour in 2004, Wright performed live frequently, either as a member of Starr's All-Starr Band, with his own live band, or on subsequent Spooky Tooth reunions. Wright's most recent solo albums, including Waiting to Catch the Light (2008) and Connected (2010), have all been issued on his Larklio record label. In 2014, Jeremy P. Tarcher published Wright's autobiography, Dream Weaver: Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison.
Early life
Gary Wright was born and raised in Cresskill, New Jersey. A child actor, he made his TV debut at the age of seven, on the show Captain Video and His Video Rangers, filmed in New York City. He appeared in TV and radio commercials before being offered a part in the 1954 Broadway production of the musical Fanny. He spent two years with the production, during which he performed with Henderson on The Ed Sullivan Show. Credited to Gary & Billy, the single "Working After School" was released on 20th Century Fox Records in 1960. all the while continuing to perform with local bands. Having specialized in psychology in New York, to complete his studies at the Free University of Berlin. While in Europe in 1967, Wright abandoned his plans to become a doctor
Blackwell invited Wright to London, where he joined English singer and pianist Mike Harrison and drummer Mike Kellie in their band Art (formerly the VIPs). The group soon changed its name to Spooky Tooth, While noting the band's lack of significant commercial success over its career, The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll describes Spooky Tooth as "a bastion of Britain's hard-rock scene". the band's guitarist. Spooky Two, often considered the band's best work, followed in March 1969, with Miller again producing. Wright composed or co-composed seven of the album's eight songs, including "That Was Only Yesterday" and "Better By You, Better Than Me". Spooky Two sold well in America but, like It's All About, it failed to place on the UK's top 40 albums chart. released in December 1969. after the latter had passed the band's recordings on to Henry for what The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia terms "processed musique concrète overdubs".
Although Wright had traditionally provided an experimental influence within Spooky Tooth, With bass player Greg Ridley having already left the band in 1969 to join Humble Pie, Wright departed in January 1970 to pursue a solo career. with musicians including Kellie, guitarist Hugh McCracken, bassist Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White. Wright co-produced the album with Andy Johns, and Ceremony. co-written by Wright and McCracken.
George Harrison's All Things Must Pass
Through Voormann, Wright was invited to play piano on former Beatle George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. Among what author Nicholas Schaffner later described as "a rock orchestra of almost symphonic proportions, whose credits read like a Who's Who of the music scene", Wright was one of the album's principal keyboard players, together with former Delaney & Bonnie organist Bobby Whitlock. During the sessions, Wright and Harrison established a long-lasting friendship, based on music and their shared interest in Indian religion. In a 2009 interview with vintagerock.com, Wright described Harrison as "my spiritual mentor";
Wright played on all of Harrison's subsequent solo albums during the 1970s, as well as on other releases that the ex-Beatle produced for Apple Records. These included two hit singles by Harrison's former bandmate Ringo Starr over 1971–72, "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo", and a 1971 comeback single by ex-Ronette Ronnie Spector, "Try Some, Buy Some".