NJ Pop Singer Song Writer Dead

It's been a strange weekend.

They say that celebrity deaths usually come in groups of three.  Once again, this premise seems to be true.

The world of music was saddened to learn of the death of Jimmy Buffet.  Buffet passed away after a 4-year battle with cancer.

Then, we learned that Steve Harwell, the original lead singer of Smashmouth (All-Star, Walking on the Sun) succumbed acute liver failure said to be the result of years of alcohol abuse.

Today, we lost a pop star who was born in Bergen County.  Gary Wright has passed away at the age of 80.  His son, Justin announced that Wright died after fighting Parkinson's and Dementia.

Wright was most famous as a solo artist, who had had hits with the songs Dream Weaver, and Love is Alive.

His hit Dream Weaver was inspired by a book given to him by George Harrison.  There have been many explanations about what the song is about, and at one point, Gary said Dream Weaver may even be God.

Dream Weaver was also groundbreaking for Wright's use of synthesizers.  In fact, Dream Weaver was produced using synthesizers, keyboards and drums.

In 2008, Gary joined Ringo Starr's All-Star band.

Gary Wright joins a long list of famous music artists from New Jersey.  Aside from Bruce and Jon, New Jersey has produced Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, Franki Valli and many others.

Gary's battle with Parkinsons several years ago, and recently progressed to the point where he could no longer move or talk.