Bernard Wright (November 16, 1963 – May 19, 2022) was an American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

keyboardist and singer who began his career as a session musician and later released four solo albums.

Biography

Wright was born in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It has a popular large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis, St Albans, and Cambria Heights to the ea ...

, New York. In the liner notes to his debut album '' 'Nard'', he stated that his mother is Lessie Wright. His godmother was singer

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

. He attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York. His classmates included writer Carl Hancock Rux and gospel recording artist Desiree Coleman Jackson. He was offered a slot touring with Lenny White when he was 13, and he played with Tom Browne at the age of 16. GRP Records signed him in 1981 and released his debut album '' 'Nard'', tracks from which were prominently sampled in hits by

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

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, Skee-Lo, and

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

. The album was re-released in 2001. He followed with ''Funky Beat'' (1983) on Arista and '' Mr. Wright'' (1985) on

Manhattan Records Manhattan Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group and operates as a branch of Interscope Capitol Labels Group. Company history Manhattan Records was formed in 1984 by Bruce Lundvall and was later renamed EMI Manhatt ...

. The latter of these albums included his biggest R&B appearance, "

Who Do You Love Who Do You Love? may refer to: Music Albums * Who Do You Love? (album), ''Who Do You Love?'' (album), by King Adora Songs * Who Do You Love (Bernard Wright song), "Who Do You Love" (Bernard Wright song), 1985 * Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley song), ...

", for which a video was made that is featured in the title sequence of '' Video Music Box''. The female vocalist was Marla Adler. In 1990 he released the gospel album ''Fresh Hymns'', followed by ''Brand New Gospel Format'' in 1991, and ''Fresh Hymns II'' in 1992. He released an album with Sadao Watanabe, titled ''Go Straight Ahead' N Make a Left'', in 1997. In 2000 he formed a trio with Alfredo Elias and Damon Banks and released the album ''Back to Our Roots''. Wright also appeared on recordings by musicians including Miami Mike Devine Pennington, Doug E. Fresh, Cameo,

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

, Pieces of a Dream, Charles Earland,

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sa ...

, and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

. After his recording days, Wright continued playing keyboards in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, where he mentored younger artists. Bernard Wright died on May 19, 2022, at the age of 58, after being hit by a car while crossing a street in Dallas. He was married to Anita Wright for nearly 40 years and is survived by his children Bernard Jr., Christopher, and Victoria Wright.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Bernard 1963 births 2022 deaths African-American musicians American boogie musicians American funk keyboardists American jazz keyboardists American jazz singers Arista Records artists GRP Records artists Manhattan Records artists Musicians from Miami Jamaica Boys members Musicians from Queens, New York People from Jamaica, Queens Road incident deaths in Texas