Over a 40-year career, Gary Wright has performed in front of millions of people, had his music licensed to blockbuster movies and television shows, and continues to have his music played on radio on a daily basis.
Best known for his global smash hit singles Dream Weaver and Love Is Alive, Gary will perform as part of Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band on an extensive 27-date European tour from June 4th to July 17th. This is the third time Wright has toured with Ringo Starr's All Starr band (previously in 2008 and 2010).
This year, Wright's multi-million selling Dream Weaver album celebrates its 35th anniversary.
When the album was originally released in 1976, and Dream Weaver became a massive success, Wright toured extensively with Yes, Fleetwood Mac and Peter Frampton (the latter on his Frampton Comes Alive! tour).
Now, with his first rock album released in over 20 years, Connected is a masterful reminder of Wright's innate ability to forge a sublime musical connection with the inner human desire that engages one to move, groove, clap one's hands and to sing along.
Finessed with a lifetime of song writing craft and production ingenuity by Wright himself, Connected showcases a breath-taking collection of songs that captures his self-realised world-unifying vision with the joyous magical transcendence of his all-time classic hits.
The mood heats up with the majestic first single Satisfied that includes performances from Ringo Starr on drums, Joe Walsh on lead guitar, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on rhythm guitar. The song packs a deliciously funky keyboard riff supported by life-affirming vocals.
TRACK LISTING:
1) Satisfied
2) Get Your Hands Up
3) Under Your Spell
4) No One Does It Better
5) Can't Find No Mercy
6) Life's Not A Battlefield
7) Gimme Some Time
8) Connected
9) Kirra Layne
10) You Make Me Feel Better
The Single "Satisfied" from Gary Wright's New Album "Connected"
Former lead singer of the British progressive blues rock band Spooky Tooth (1967-1974), American born Wright went solo in 1975. He was one of the first classic rock musicians to combine synthesizers with rock and funk. Gary's hypnotic melodies and pulsating rhythms have inspired generations of musicians including Jay-Z, Eminem, Mya, Salt-N-Pepa, Busta Rhymes, and Anastacia.
During his career, Wright performed piano and keyboards on Harry Nilsson's ballad Without You, all of George Harrison's solo albums including All Things Must Pass, and hit singles by Ringo Starr, including It Don't Come Easy and Back off Boogaloo.
Better By You, Better Than Me, a song written by Wright for Spooky Tooth's milestone 1969 album Spooky Two, was covered by Judas Priest on their 1978 album Stained Class.
The song Comin' Apart, from the 1981 album The Right Place, was sampled by DJ Armand Van Helden for the 2004 club anthem My My My. Heartbeat, another song taken from the The Right Place album, was re-recorded by Jay-Z in 2009.
In 1984, Chaka Khan included her cover version of Love Is Alive (re-titled My Love Is Alive) on her album I Feel For You. In 2001, Anastacia recorded a version of Love is Alive that on her debut album Not That Kind, while Joan Osborne recorded another version of the song for the Matt Dillon film One Night at McCool's.
Dream Weaver has appeared on soundtracks for films including Wayne's World, The People Vs Larry Flynt, and Disney's 2010 blockbuster movie Toy Story 3. At the end of this year, Wright will appear in Martin Scorcese's George Harrison biopic.
Pre-Order the Deluxe Digital Edition of Connected which includes three special bonus tracks; two of which are exclusive to this offer; Never Give Up (with George Harrison on guitar, 1989) & The Way I Feel (from the 1986 German film Fire and Ice).
This Deluxe Digital Download also includes a re-record of Love Is Alive featuring Gary's son Dorian and a 25-page digital book with liner notes, lyrics &and exclusive pictures from the Rob Shanahan photo shoot.
The album also includes original demos taken from The Dream Weaver sessions. This Deluxe Digital Album is available as high-quality 320 kbps MP3s, Apple Lossless files, FLAC files or Source Audio files. Buy it now for $11.99.
Gary Wright - CONNECTED
USB Pendant/ Necklace
High quality heavyweight pendant/necklace that is also a USB storage device which contains Gary Wright's new album CONNECTED (includes digital booklet with liner notes, lyrics and exclusive photos), five rare bonus tracks (including two with George Harrison; one as musician, one as co-writer) and five of the original demos from The Dream Weaver sessions in 1975. Also includes a music video for "Don't Try to Own Me" (with a cameo by George Harrison) and a 22-minute video interview filmed in Gary's studio in June 2010.
The Official Gary Wright website
www.thedreamweaver.com
Ringo Starr AND HIS ALL STARR BAND
UK AND EUROPEAN TOUR SUMMER 2011
www.ringostarr.com
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band return to the road for a 12th tour. Joining Ringo Starr will be Rick Derringer on guitar, Richard Page on bass, Wally Palmar on guitar & harmonica, Edgar Winter on sax & keyboards, Gary Wright on keyboards and Gregg Bissonette on drums.
The 27-date tour kicks off in Kiev, Ukraine on 4th June, stopping in Russia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia, Poland, Britain, France, Czech Republic, Italy, Holland and Germany before concluding in Vienna on 17th July.
Ringo Starr is one of the world's brightest musical luminaries, enjoying a successful and dynamic solo career as a singer, songwriter and drummer, an active musical collaborator and as an actor. Drawing inspiration from classic blues, soul, country, honky-tonk and rock 'n' roll, Ringo continues to play an important role in modern music with his solo recording and touring.
Ringo Starr's music, as a solo artist and as a Beatle, is permeated with personality. His exceptional musicianship have given us classic songs including It Don't Come Easy, Yellow Submarine, Octopus' Garden, Photograph, Back Off Boogaloo and You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful And You're Mine).
The All Starr Band has toured consistently since its inception in 1989. Based on the concept "everybody on stage is a star in their own right", each concert sees Ringo performing songs from his solo and Beatles' career and each Starr performing hits from their own careers. Over the years the revolving line up has included such stellar artists as Joe Walsh, Dr. John, Todd Rundgren, Timothy B. Schmidt, John Entwhistle, Peter Frampton, Sheila E., Rod Argent and Paul Carrack.
4th June - Kiev, Ukraine - Palace Of Ukraine
6th June - Moscow, Russia - Crocus City Hall
7th June - St Petersburg, Russia - Big Concert Hall
10th June - Gothenburg, Sweden - Liseberg
11th June - Oslo, Norway - Norwegian Wood Festival
12th June - Randers, Denmark - Vaerket
14th June - Riga, Latvia - Arena Riga
15th June - Warsaw, Poland - Sala Kongresowa
17th June - London, England - Hampton Court
18th June - Liverpool, England - Empire
20th June - Birmingham, England - Symphony Hall
22nd June - Manchester, England - Opera House
23rd June - Glasgow, Scotland - Clyde Auditorium
24th June - Bournemouth, England - BIC
26th June - Paris, France - Palais des Sports
28th June - Budapest, Hungary - Sport Arena
29th June - Prague, Czech Republic - KCP Congress Centre
2nd July - Lyon, France - Centre de Congres
3rd July - Milan, Italy - Civic Arena
4th July - Rome, Italy - Auditorium Cavea
7th July - Hamburg, Germany - Stadtpark
9th July - Weert, Holland - Bospop Festival
10th July - Dusseldorf, Germany - Philipshalle
12th July - Berlin, Germany - Tempodrom
13th July - Munich, Germany - Circus Krone
14th July - Salzburg, Austria - Halle 1
16th July - Frankfurt, Germany - Jahrhunderthalle
17th July - Vienna, Austria - Open Air Arena
Returning to the stage for the 2011 tour are the six All Starr band members who toured with Ringo in 2010:
Rick Derringer is a noted rock guitarist, vocalist and entertainer who was just 17 when his band The McCoys recorded the No.1 hit 'Hang On Sloopy' in 1965, knocking 'Yesterday' by The Beatles from the top spot. He later played with both Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter and had considerable success with his hit single ‘Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo' and with his eponymous band Derringer. Throughout the 70's and 80's he appeared on albums with Alice Cooper, Richie Havens, Todd Rundgren, Cyndi Lauper, Barbra Streisand, Kiss and Steely Dan. Derringer discovered Weird Al Yankovic, producing music for Grammy-winning albums and videos and the 2006 Grammy Awards brought Rick his third Grammy with his participation on the Les Paul 90th birthday tribute CD.
Gary Wright - over the course of his 40-year career which began in the UK with the rock band Spooky Tooth, Wright is hailed as a pioneer who utilized synthesizers in pop music. His name is synonymous with his worldwide hits ‘Dream Weaver' and ‘Love Is Alive'. Gary has inspired generations of artists including Jay-Z, Chaka Khan, Anastacia, Joan Osbourne, Judas Priest, Eminem, Mya, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and DJ Armand Van Helden all of whom have either sampled or covered his songs. Gary's world-unifying vision and musical prowess are evident on ‘Connected' - his first pop-rock album for 20 years. Gary joined the All Starr Band in 2008.
Richard Page is best known as the singer/bassist for the multi-platinum, Grammy nominated group Mr. Mister. In the late 70's and early 80's Richard recorded three albums under the moniker of Pages with Steve George. The pair formed Mr Mister in the mid 80s. The band released three albums and had several world-wide hits, including ‘Broken Wings' and ‘Kyrie'. They split in 1990 and a fourth Mr Mister album, ‘PULL' remained unreleased for 20 years. Recently re-mastered, the album is now available on Richard's own label, Little Dume Records. Page has recorded two solo albums, ‘Shelter Me' and ‘Peculiar Life', as well as providing backing vocals for Elton John, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Barbara Streisand and Elvis Costello. As a songwriter Page has had his songs recorded by Madonna, Leona Lewis, Josh Groban, Celine Dion and Hall & Oates.
Wally Palmar, lead vocalist, harmonica, rhythm guitar player, and founding member of The Romantics, is amongst one of the most recognized voices of the 80's. The group's self-titled debut album yielded the hit ‘What I Like About You', which carries on throughout the decades. Other singles include, ‘When I Look In Your Eyes', ‘One in a Million', and the international hit ‘Talking In Your Sleep'. The Romantics are continuously being re-introduced to new generations today via the extensive airplay on contemporary, rock and satellite radio, commercials and movie soundtracks. Never content to simply rest on his red-leathered laurels, Palmar continues to write, record and tour with The Romantics.
Edgar Winter is an accomplished jazz, rock and blues keyboard player and saxophonist as well as a vocalist who found success in the early 70s and has continued to record throughout the 80s, 90s and 00s. Edgar has worked with guitarists Rick Derringer and Ronnie Montrose as well as his older brother Johnny Winter (a noted blues rock guitarist). In 1972 Edgar had a #1 hit with ‘Frankenstein', taken from his acclaimed album ‘They Only Come Out At Night'. Edgar also enjoyed great success with the hit ‘Free Ride' as well as ‘Dying To Live' which Eminem produced for the hit movie ‘Tupac'. Winter's songs have appeared on soundtracks to over 20 films.
Gregg Bissonette is a drummer and vocalist who comes from a musical family, where his father was also a drummer, his mother a pianist, brother a bass player and sister a violinist. Gregg played on three albums by former Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth, with the first ‘Eat ‘Em And Smile' one of the most acclaimed rock albums of the mid 80s. Since then Gregg has recorded and toured with a number of artists, including Toto, ELO, Santana, Andrea Bocelli, The Maynard Ferguson Big Band, Spinal Tap and James Taylor. Having first worked and toured with Ringo Starr in 2003, Gregg's been an All Starr member since 2008, making this his third All Starr tour.
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