Remembering George Harrison, with Gary Wright at the Sanctuary in Chatham

Gary Wright performs at the Sanctuary in Chatham. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Gary Wright performs at the Sanctuary in Chatham. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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If you were alive in the mid-70s, you could not escape Gary Wright.

His hits, Dreamweaver and Love Is Alive, were everywhere.

Gary Wright performs at the Sanctuary in Chatham. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Gary Wright performs at the Sanctuary in Chatham. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

For better or worse, the keyboard ace helped usher in the era of synth pop.  On the U.S. Bicentennial, Wright performed with Peter Frampton and Yes for 130,000 fans at Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, he enjoyed an incredible and enduring friendship with George Harrison, the “Quiet Beatle” who, it turns out, had plenty to say.

Wright shared some Fab recollections last Saturday at The Sanctuary  concert series in Chatham, where he performed his hits accompanied alternately by a pianist and recorded backing tracks.

George Harrison with Gary Wright in the 1980s, from Wright's talk at the Sanctuary. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
George Harrison with Gary Wright in the 1980s, from Wright’s talk at the Sanctuary. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

One gem was a little-known 1971 ballad he wrote with George, To Discover Yourself.  Wright shared slides of holidays spent with Harrison meditating in India, exploring ice caves at the Matterhorn and following the motor racing circuit to Brazil.

He punctuated the evening by reading passages from his new book, Dream Weaver, Music, Meditation and My Friendship with George Harrison.

Heady stuff for a kid from Cresskill, NJ.

Especially when you consider that, but for a twist or two of fate, we now would be calling him Doctor Wright, and trying to decipher his prescription pad instead of reading about his life with rock royalty.

Ringo Starr with Gary Wright and his wife Rose. Wright has toured with Ringo's All-Starr Band. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Ringo Starr with Gary Wright and his wife Rose. Wright has toured with Ringo’s All-Starr Band. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

He actually pursued a medical degree because show biz struck him as too fickle.

As a boy he had appeared on Captain Video and his Video Rangers.  And he beat the Beatles to The Ed Sullivan Show, dueting with Florence Henderson, his co-star in Broadway’s Fanny who later became Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch.

At some point during the ’60s, however, Wright yanked off his stethoscope and strapped on a portable keyboard.

He found himself in England with Spooky Tooth, a band with a cult following in West Germany.

Gary Wright's autobiography, 'Dream Weaver' centers on his friendship with George Harrison. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Gary Wright’s autobiography, ‘Dream Weaver.’ Wright’s hit song was inspired by a book on Indian mysticism that George Harrison gave him. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

And then Harrison’s bass player summoned him to the famed Abbey Road studio to play on Isn’t It A Pity, a cut from George’s landmark All Things Must Pass album.  Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Badfinger were there, with Phil Spector at the controls.

Which brings us to our main beef with Saturday’s 90-minute presentation in Chatham.

It did not even scratch the surface.

Gary Wright’s story begs for a full-blown multimedia stage show.  The success of Jersey Boys and Carole King’s Beautiful proves that lots of Baby Boomers are hungry to re-live their glory days.

The soft-spoken Wright, 71, should tap that market while he still can hit most of the high notes.

George & Me: A kid from Jersey tops the charts … and embarks on a spiritual journey…a magical mystery tour…guided by his generation’s Pied Piper.

Reserve my tickets now!

HEAR OUR 2011 PODCAST WITH GARY WRIGHT

The Sanctuary’s next show, featuring Arlo Guthrie on Nov. 9, is sold out. Dar Williams will perform her ‘Honesty Room’ album on Dec. 7.

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