Narada Michael Walden

Over more than three decades, Narada Michael Walden has forged an extensive path as drummer, songwriter, producer, and vocalist, accumulating gold, platinum, and multi-platinum honors throughout. He has produced or co-written number-one successes for Whitney Houston along with Mariah Carey’s “Vision of Love,” Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love,” and Lisa Fischer’s “How Can I Ease the Pain.” His accomplished drumming established him as a premier session player across countless dates. Those engagements covered rock, jazz, pop, R&B, and fusion, placing him onstage and in the studio beside John McLaughlin, the Mahavishnu Orchestra—where the twenty-one-year-old Narada replaced drumming legend Billy Cobham—and Jeff Beck on the Wired album, among others. Rhino assembled highlights from his own recording career on Ecstasy’s Dance: The Best of Narada Michael Walden, an album whose varied palette mirrors the eclecticism that runs through his catalog.

During the eighties he emerged as a Grammy-winning powerhouse, claiming Producer of the Year in 1987, Album of the Year for the 1993 soundtrack The Bodyguard, and Song of the Year in 1985 for Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love,” the track that delivered the Queen of Soul her first platinum album. Billboard later ranked him among the Top Ten Producers With the Most Number One Hits. He helmed the Temptations’ “Stay,” the group’s first number-one single in twenty-five years and the centerpiece of their platinum-plus, Grammy-nominated Phoenix Rising; he also oversaw selections for the follow-up, Ear-Resistable, released by Motown/Universal on May 16, 2000.

Born April 23, 1952, in Kalamazoo, MI, he received the name Narada from guru Sri Chinmoy. After finishing college he moved to Miami, FL, where he performed with several rock bands. Atlantic Records issued his debut, Garden of Love Light, which featured the mid-tempo “Delightful” that reached number 81 R&B in spring 1977. The subsequent I Cry I Smile contained the tender “So Long” plus the album tracks “I Need Your Love,” “I Remember,” and “Better Man,” all of which received airplay in Chicago and elsewhere even though only “Better Man” appeared as a single; the label instead chose “Soulbird” and “Manago Bop.”

The Awakening became his breakthrough, climbing to number 15 R&B in spring 1979 behind the brassy “I Don’t Want Nobody Else (To Dance With You).” Additional tracks aired from the set included the airy “Listen to Me” and the jubilant opener “Love Me Only,” the latter also arranged by Patrick Adams. Top session bassist Keni Burke, formerly of the Five Stairsteps and later known for “Risin’ to the Top,” appeared on the album.

His second-biggest hit, “I Shoulda Loved Ya,” peaked at number four R&B in late 1979 and anchored The Dance of Life, which itself reached number nine R&B that same season and included the gentle ballad “Why Did You Turn Me On.” “You’re #1” and “Summer Lady” appeared on the summer 1982 Confidence album. His cover of the Four Tops’ “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” retitled “Reach Out,” scored a major dance hit on Looking at You, Looking at Me, which charted in spring 1983. After switching to Warner Bros., the Motown-flavored duet “Gimme Gimme Gimme” with Patti Austin—credited to Narada Michael Walden with Patti Austin—rose to number 39 R&B in early 1985 and graced The Nature of Things. “Divine Emotions,” released on the Reprise imprint, featured in the Michael J. Fox film Bright Lights, Big City; the accompanying Divine Emotion album yielded the charting single “Wild Thing” and the smooth album track “That’s the Way That I Feel About Cha.” His 1995 Toshiba/EMI release was titled Sending Love to Everyone.

In late 1985 Walden launched Tarpan Studios, a state-of-the-art facility near San Francisco. His productions and performances have graced projects by Stacy Lattisaw (“Let the Feeling Flow” and “Let Me Be Your Angel”), Al Green (Your Heart’s in Good Hands), Shanice Wilson (“I Love Your Smile” and “I Hate to Be Lonely”), Ray Charles, Diana Ross, George Michael, Wild Orchid, Tevin Campbell, Angela Bofill, MyTown, Steve Winwood, Phaze II, Regina Belle (“Baby Come to Me”), Andy Vargas, Debelah Morgan, Jai, Jermaine Stewart (“We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off”), Natalie Cole (“Good to Be Back”), Clarence Clemons, Puff Johnson, Eddie Murphy (“Put Your Mouth on Me”), and Carl Carlton (“The Bad CC”), among many others. Additional Narada Michael Walden-related releases include Stacy Lattisaw and Johnny Gill’s Perfect Combination, Lisa Fischer’s So Intense, and the soundtracks to Beverly Hills Cop II, Perfect, Waiting to Exhale, License to Kill, The Bodyguard, Jason’s Lyric, 9½ Weeks, Crooklyn, Free Willy, and The Associate.