Narada Michael Walden

Jeff Beck and Narada Michael Walden (2011)

Narada Michael Walden (born April 23, 1952 in Kalamazoo , Michigan ) is an American producer , drummer , keyboardist , singer and songwriter . The guru Sri Chinmoy gave it the name "Narada" in the early 1970s. Walden has been in the music business for around four decades. He received several gold and platinum awards and two Grammys . He has been a drummer with the band Journey since May 23, 2020 .

Life

After graduating from college, he moved to Miami , where he played in various rock bands . In the Mahavishnu Orchestra by John McLaughlin , he moved in 1974 for Billy Cobham on drums. Then he went to the studio with Jeff Beck ( Wired ) and Weather Report ( Black Market ). In 1976 he was the drummer in the Tommy Bolin Band. His debut album Garden of Love Light ( Atlantic Records ) already contained Delightful, a first notable hit in the American R&B charts (1977). With his third album, The Awakening , he made his breakthrough in 1979.

It is characterized as a producer and co-author of several number one hits in charge, including I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) and So Emotional for Whitney Houston and Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship . For Freeway of Love , which became a hit for Aretha Franklin , he received a Grammy in 1986 together with Jeffrey Cohen . At the Grammy Awards in 1988 , he was named Producer of the Year.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1979	Awakening	-	-	-	-	US103 (16 weeks) US	First published: 1979
	The Dance of Life	-	-	-	-	US74 (19 weeks) US	First published: 1979
1980	Victory	-	-	-	-	US103 (8 weeks) US	First published: 1980
1982	Confidence	-	-	-	-	US135 (6 weeks) US	First published: 1982
1988	Divine emotion	-	-	-	UK60 (5 weeks) UK	-	First published as Narada : May 1988

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More albums

• 1976: Garden of Love Light
• 1977: I Cry, I Smile
• 1983: Looking at You, Looking at Me
• 1985: The Nature of Things
• 1995: Sending Love to Everyone
• 2012: Thunder
• 2014: Love Lullabies for Kelly

Compilations

• 1996: Ecstasy's Dance: The Best of Narada Michael Walden
• 2008: Awakening + The Dance of Life (2 CDs)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1979	I Don't Want Nobody Else (To Dance with You) Awakening	-	-	-	-	US47 (11 weeks) US	First published: March 1979
1980	I Shoulda Loved Ya The Dance of Life	-	-	-	UK8 (9 weeks) UK	US66 (6 weeks) US	First published: January 1980
	Tonight I'm Alright The Dance of Life	-	-	-	UK34 (9 weeks) UK	-	First published: February 1980
1985	Gimme Gimme Gimme The Nature of Things	-	-	-	UK87 (3 weeks) UK	-	First published: March 1985
1988	Divine Emotions Divine Emotion	DE35 (10 weeks) DE	-	-	UK8 (10 weeks) UK	-	First published: April 1988

More singles

1976: Delightful 1977: Better Man 1977: Soul Bird 1979: Awakening (EP) 1980: The Real Thang 1980: I Want You 1980: Lucky Fella 1982: You're # 1 1982: Summer Lady 1982: I'm Ready

1982: You Ought to Love Me 1983: Reach Out 1985: High Above the Clouds 1985: The Nature of Things 1985: That's the Way it Is 1985: Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (with Patti Austin ) 1988: Can't Get You Outta My Head 1988: Wild Thing 1991: I Shoulda Loved Ya 1995: Sending Love to Everyone

swell

1. ↑ Neal Schon Music on Instagram: “Word is out! @officialnarada Narada Michael Walden is our new drummer! Multi talented song writer Producer / Mahavishnu orchestra ???? The… “ Retrieved August 5, 2020 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Chart data: Singles DE, US UK US
3. ↑ US albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn presents the Billboard Albums . 6th edition. Billboard Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .

Web links

• Official website (English)
• Narada Michael Walden at Allmusic (English)
• Narada Michael Walden at Discogs (English)