Singer-songwriter Gary Wright, best known for his hit singles “Dream Weaver” and “Love Is Alive,” has died. Wright passed away at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California on Monday morning, Sept. 4, approximately six years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, his son, Justin Wright, told TMZ. Justin added that his father was also diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. Wright was 80.
According to the musician’s son, Wright’s symptoms had worsened in the past year, and he was unable to speak or move. Justin said nurses caring for his father at Wright’s home recently told the family the singer-songwriter “was entering his final chapter,” and Wright passed away Monday surrounded by family and loved ones.
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Wright, a New Jersey native, got his start in the entertainment industry as a child actor who then went on to Broadway, according to Variety. After starring in the musical Fanny with future Brady Bunch star Florence Henderson,he studied medicine and then psychology in New York and Berlin, all while also playing with bands, including one called The New York Times. He later went on to become a founding member of the U.K.-based band Spooky Tooth and was also a member of Wonderwheel briefly in the early 1970s. Wright was also a member of the multimember supergroup Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, contributed to the solo albums by the late Beatle George Harrison, and frequently collaborated with the Beatles musician George Harrison.
Wright, however, was perhaps best known for his solo music career. He released the albums Extraction and Footprint in 1970 and 1971 before his 1975 album The Dream Weaver became his breakthrough hit. Two songs on that album – “Dream Weaver” and “Love is Alive” – became No. 2 singles in 1976, and the album, which went on to sell 2 million copies, per USA Today, was recognized as one of the first rock albums to feature only synthesizers.
Amid news of his passing, many in the music industry have paid tribute to Wright. Singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop remembered Wright as his “dear friend” as he shared two photographs of himself smiling with the musician from “the very first and last time we shared the stage together, alongside our mutual musical pal John Ford Coley.” He remembered Wright as someone whose “vibrant personality and exceptional talent made every moment together truly enjoyable.” Ambrosia co-founder David Pack wrote on Facebook that Wright “was a legend with his breakthrough hits dream Weaver and my love is alive, as well as play keyboards on every George Harrison solo album. I truly believe Gary is in paradise and he and George are already working on new music.” Wright is survived by his second wife Rose, his first wife Tina and their sons, Justin and Dorian.
