Everyday Creation
Everyday Creation is about living our purpose, lifting our vibes, and expressing our creativity for the highest good. The show's title refers to three types of creation: The ways we express ourselves (for example, with art, music and so many other pursuits fueled by purpose and passion); the parts of life that fill us with awe — birth, death, love, the big picture; and our innate personal power to create our best possible lives while also making the world a better place. You’ll hear conversations with terrific guests on matters we care about, as well as spiritual perspectives, personal essays on being our best selves, and episodes simply for information and fun. I'm your host Kate Jones, welcoming you to Everyday Creation.
Everyday Creation
Tribute to Gary Wright, featuring Sheldon Zoldan
"Dream Weaver," by singer-songwriter Gary Wright, was the first single from Wright's third studio album, "The Dream Weaver," in 1975. He said the song was inspired by a copy of "Autobiography of a Yogi" given to him by George Harrison.
Harrison also took Wright to India, and both the book and the trip made Wright a fan of Eastern philosophy and changed his life. You can see him perform the song in this video from 1976 on the Midnight Special channel on YouTube.
The song was a number two hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and Wright's follow-up, “Love Is Alive,” reached number two as well.
Wright also wrote "Dream Weaver: A Memoir." The subtitle of the book is "Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison." And he wrote a book for kids titled "Dream Weaver: A Children's Picture Book," with illustrations by Rob Sayegh Jr. I found both on Amazon.
In the chapters, you'll see an image of the cover of Wright's children's book. Also in the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.
This tribute is one of 44 short biographies of music greats who died in 2023. They were written and recorded by writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan, who also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify and Audible.
Kate:
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Hello, and welcome to Everyday Creation. This is
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your host, Kate Jones, with one of 44
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tributes
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to significant figures in the music industry
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who passed away in 2023.
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My guest Sheldon Zoldan,
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a longtime writer and newspaper editor,
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wrote these short biographies
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and recorded them.
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Each one is an intriguing
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glimpse into the life and impact of someone
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who contributed
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to the soundtracks of our lives. Here's what
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Sheldon has to say in this tribute.
Sheldon:
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Gary Wright took an unconventional
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path to become a pop star.
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His was a crooked highway instead of a
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straight shot to stardom.
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Wright died September 4th in Palos Verdes Estates,
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California.
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He suffered from Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's
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disease for about six years.
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He was 80.
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Wright was a child actor during the days
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of early television.
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He was 11 when he sang and danced
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for two years in "Fanny" on Broadway.
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He left acting and singing for college.
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His plan was to be a doctor.
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Wright spent one year in medical school before
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going to West Germany to study psychology.
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That was short lived and he started playing
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in bands.
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He was discovered in 1967
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while playing in Oslo, Sweden,
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and was invited to join a band in
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England
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that would become Spooky Tooth.
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The band met with mixed success.
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He became a solo artist in 1970.
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Meeting George Harrison changed his life.
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Harrison gave him the book
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"Autobiography
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of a Yogi"
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and took him to India.
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The book and visit turned him into a
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fan of Eastern philosophy.
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He got the idea for "Dream Weaver"
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after reading a poem called "God, God, God."
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One of the lines
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talked about mind-weaving dreams.
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Wright wrote dream weaving down in his journal,
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thinking it might make for a good song
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title.
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He wrote the song in an hour.
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The recording had no guitars,
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only keyboards,
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synthesizers
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and drums.
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It reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot
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100 chart in
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1975.
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His follow-up,
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"Love is Alive,"
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also reached number 2.
Kate:
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This is Kate again. Please go to the
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description for more information and to hear the
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song that Sheldon referenced.
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If you enjoyed this tribute, please check out
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the rest of them. Although some of the
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names are not as familiar as others, the
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biographies
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are equally intriguing.
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Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation.
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Please share this episode with anyone who might
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enjoy it.
