The Dream Again – My story with regard to Narada Michael Walden and Ray Charles
Most drummers know or have heard Narada Michael Walden, but many music listeners have not. I first experienced his playing when seeing him perform with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1975, when they were touring in support of Visions of the Emerald Beyond. Jeff Beck was the headliner that evening, at the Dome Arena in Rochester, NY, having just released his fusion LP, Blow By Blow. Narada was likely about 23 years old at the time. His drum skills and the energy he poured into the music were over the top - extraordinary.
The following year we found Narada writing and playing on Jeff Beck’s Wired album. When Narada released his first solo album, Garden of Lovelight, I bought two copies of the album and an 8-track tape that I wore out while listening as I rode in my Chevy van. Sunup was playing a gig in the Green Mountains of Vermont and I’ll never forget cruising the winding roads, blasting that album in the van. Some of the guest performers on that album were: Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana and I loved Ray Gomez’s guitar playing throughout that disc.
Others may recognize Narada’s name from producing Grammy Award winning hits from Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. You’ll find him playing on Journey’s new album, or on a Chick Corea or Weather Report album. He is both talented and versatile.
I’ve continued following Narada ever since 1975 and was so thrilled when he released his EP, Rising Sun, about ten years ago. He re-recorded several of my favorite Narada tunes, like, Dance of Life. You should definitely check out these tunes on your favorite streaming platform.
There are many drummers that I have such deep respect for and some are right here in Rochester. But the two I have loved listening to and followed over the decades are Narada and Steve Gadd (who is from Rochester). The two of them have so many awards with a scrolling list of the many great musicians they’ve performed or recorded with over the past 50 years.
I’m going to make a long story even longer! The first impactful album I received as a gift when I was about 9 years old was, Ray Charles in Person on Atlantic Records. I still have that album. It was recorded live in the rain, in Atlanta and I was just crazy about that album. I can remember lifting the needle on the turntable and playing certain parts of that recording over and over. It propelled me to want to be a singer, and when the Beatles came on the scene that just pushed toward that desire full throttle.
In 1967 or 1968 I was in my senior year in high school and playing with a rock band. I managed to convince most of the band that we should go hear Ray Charles at the Auditorium Theatre in Rochester, NY. We had first and second row seats. Billy Preston was with him on the organ. I was mesmerized at how Ray would completely crawl into a song to make it so powerful. He played “The Sun Died” and I had tears rolling out of my eyes. My band mates didn’t all share the same enthusiasm about the show that I did, which was disappointing. How could that have been possible?! I left that night with a newfound dream of playing the Auditorium Theatre. About six years later I did get to play there with Sunup, opening for Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt. That is another story, which I’ll leave alone for now.
Back to Narada…
In early January I reached out to Narada to ask if he’d play on one of the songs I was recording. Nearly everything was laid down in the recording process. The song choice was, “The Dream Again”, which had deep meaning for me. Narada was the perfect drummer for this song, not only because of his drum style, but also due to his deep sense of spirituality and desire to bring true peace in the world.
Once I connected with him I sent him the tracks we had and then, I wouldn’t hear back for a while, so then I’d persist in reconnecting and resend the track at his request. This probably went on for two months before there was a sign that this pairing might occur. I remember saying to Bill Tiberio when he was in recording his parts, “I’m going to reach out to Narada Michael Walden to play on the track. I sincerely believe he will.” Bill concurred.
I have a friend, Bob Naramore, who is a very gifted artist. He was ramping up his artwork and working on a portrait of Ray Charles. One morning I was checking out Facebook posts and saw that he was working on that painting. The painting, though unfinished at the time, knocked me out. In mid-March I again saw a post that the painting was finished and was just so drawn to this painting. My reaction to wanting to grab this painting was immediate; however, I was working on the album, videos, recording, marketing and much more. It really was bad timing from a monetary standpoint.
The next day, it was still on my mind. I woke up and put on this Ray Charles T-shirt that I purchased shortly after he died. I don’t wear it very often, because I want to preserve it and my wife says it makes me look fat. She might be right. Anyway, I sat around doing my usual morning routines and then I just caved. I reached out to Bob and said I wanted to buy the painting, because it was absolutely wonderful and held a lot of meaning for me.
In the mid-afternoon I went for a walk. I was about halfway through my walk and my cell phone rang. It was a beautiful day and a couple dogs were barking and carrying on as I walked along this dead end street. It was a number that I didn’t recognize, but I did see that it was the same area code as Tarpan Studios (Narada’s recording studio), so I opted to answer. Sure enough, it was Narada telling me he’d play on the track. He was kind, upbeat, straight forward and quick, but uplifting in his conversation. To say that I was thrilled would be an understatement. I was going to be able to complete this track with musicians who are great friends of mine, but would also include one of my favorite drummers in the world, who I felt certain would lift this track to another level – and did!
As a gesture of my appreciation for Narada performing on “The Dream Again,” I sent him a print of the Ray Charles painting I had just purchased, and followed up with an email giving a little story about Ray Charles’ influence on me. He sent me back a photo of him holding the print and then expressed to me what an impactful album that was for him as well. He said, “I carried that album with me in the snow in Michigan…I would be 7! My fav. Funny, before I read this I was showing that album to Kim Rea in my studio.”
My hope is that you’re able to see how one inspiration sparked another and how that inspiration propelled a vision for the pursuit of a dream that went far beyond the music? The icing on the cake for me is being able to create this music with my son, Marshall. Being the recording engineer, he was able to follow me as I took these steps, hopefully, understanding that the pursuit of a vision and a dream is possible, but not necessarily easy. You must persist even when it may seem you’re on your last drop of hope – especially in these turbulent times.
My hope is that when you’re listening to this song that it would bring back a vision or serve to inspire you toward pursuit of a dream of a deep and meaningful experience. I believe we all want to sense and feel “The Dream Again.”
Garry
