Gary Wright

Person · Male

Gary Wright

US singer/keyboardist

From
Cresskill, United States
Active
1943–2023
Rating
★ 3 (1 votes)
Releases
23
  • pop rock
  • rock

About

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 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.

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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 final solo albums, including Waiting to Catch the Light (2008) and Connected (2010), all were issued on his Larkio record label. In 2014, Jeremy P. Tarcher published Wright's autobiography, Dream Weaver: Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison.

From Gary Wright on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Member of

Discography

Albums 11
EPs 1
Singles 3
Compilations 8

Links

Married

Also known as

Gary Malcolm Wright

Identifiers

ISNI
0000000114923437
IPI
00063526189
IPI
00069393830

Data from MusicBrainz, saved 10 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.