Gary Wright, founding member of Spooky Tooth, passes away at 80

Gary Wright, musician best known for hit singles Dream Weaver and Love Is Alive, tragically passed away at 80 on Monday morning.

The musician’s son, Justin Wright, confirmed the sad news of his father's death. Wright had died at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, CA, surrounded by his family.

Per TMZ, the singer had been in a long and difficult battle with dementia and Parkinson’s, which he was diagnosed around five or six years ago. His condition had been worsening over the past year.

Wright was a child actor, who performed in the Broadway production of Fanny with future Brady Bunch star Florence Henderson.

However, after his acting stint, he went on to study medicine and then psychology in New York and Berlin.

He was the founding member of the U.K.-based band Spooky Tooth and was an in-demand session player from the late ’60s on, playing on all of George Harrison’s solo albums.

In his glory days, Wright produced two massive hit songs that shook the ’70s, Dream Weaver and Love is Alive. Lesser known, however, is the fact that Wright has actually produced over 12 different albums over his career, notwithstanding the many collaborations he has done as well.

Among many well-wishers, musician Stephen Bishop took to social media to pay his respects to the late singer.

“It is with great sadness that I received the news of my dear friend Gary Wright’s passing,” Bishop posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Gary’s vibrant personality and exceptional talent made every moment together truly enjoyable. His legacy will live on for many years to come,” added Bishop.