Narada Michael Walden talks about working with greats like Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana and Aretha Franklin, his time in Journey, and his album Euphoria.

The Story Behind "The More I Love My Life"

Carlos [Santana] inspired me, as he always does, and I brought my lyric writer, Jeffrey Cohen, who wrote "Freeway Of Love" for Aretha Franklin, to help me interpret a new way of playing a new lyric with this idea - this melody we got from the African cat named Ismael Lo. And Jeffrey Cohen came with "The More I Love My Life," exactly as it is. "The more I love my life, the more I feel your kiss." It was so beautiful.

And then as it worked out, Carlos played first - I think I then went to New York to do the Rainforest concert for Sting and I asked him to come in a day early just to sing on this song. He met me at Jimi Hendrix's studio [Electric Lady Studios] and he put down what you're hearing on that record so beautifully and so professionally.

I was in LA and I got Stevie [Wonder] to come and do harmonica at Capitol Studios, which he then came and just killed it. Unbelievable. What he's playing on that record is phenomenal. So I'm really, really happy that these great brothers are showing me such love and such favor at this time of my life.

The Best Part Of Making Euphoria

I enjoyed the process of putting together a collection of songs that I could give over to Lino Nicolosi and his family in Italy and have them bring their touches to it. I just enjoy collecting the songs, making the songs, singing the songs, talking to my wife about lyric ideas, talking to Rachel Efron about "It's So Beautiful," that kind of a song. I like collecting these beautiful nuggets and getting them out in the world. It makes me happy. I think the world needs more love. I think the world needs more inspiration and more things to think about and feel in the heart that we can celebrate life, not just be torn apart by politics, torn apart by the sadness of life, but in fact, be happy to be alive. You know, dance, sing, and just celebrate our lives and that we have such beautiful things from God to enjoy. This is where I'm coming from.

The Enchanted Forest: An LSD-Inspired Symphony

It was so beautiful. It's a symphony I wrote, gosh, how many years ago now? I'm not sure¹. But it was called The Enchanted Forest - it's in seven movements. I'm so happy that Michael Morgan, the great maestro from the Oakland Symphony, asked me about writing a symphony. When he asked me that, I thought I wanted to do that. Carlos was very happy to come on board to learn it, because it was kind of difficult in the seven different movements. One of the movements is also a lot of vocals with kids and Tony Menzi and Jimmy Tracy singing. They sing, "I appreciate you while I'm alive." They would sing to the grandparents, and the grandparents would sing back to the children, "I appreciate you while I'm alive." It was born out of an LSD experience I had.

Before I joined my orchestra, I was about 19, I lived in Pasadena, California, up in the hills of Kinneloa Canyon with my cousin Art Hackley. I took care of his home and he gave me a place to kind of woodshed, practice my drums, and listen to my music - Alice Coltrane's Universal Consciousness, the Buddy Miles Live double album, and Mahavishnu's overture. The first album, The Inner Mounting Flame, had just come out.

So I'm a bit of a hippie at this time, and I took a little windowpane, and I went out on the front lawn, and I can feel this beautiful LSD take my mind to a gorgeous place. I had this experience - a very spiritual experience - which then became the story for the symphony. I could see this beautiful tree, and the sunlight coming through the tree was really powerful, and really magnified, and the sound of the birds was magnified. I was just taken aback by how beautiful, the simplest thing - a tree, and the sunlight, and the birds singing just took my senses. I'm enjoying all of this nature, but then my mind came into play saying, Well, you know, this is not reality now - you're enjoying a high and this is all going to go away. I got very sad that I wouldn't be able to enjoy this anymore - this beautiful sunlight, this beautiful bird. And then what happened was kind of like a message from God in my high, saying, "Don't worry, you sing it now, you will always be able to see this again. Once you see it once, you can imagine it again and enjoy it again." And then I felt happiness that I will be able to experience it again in my life, not just that one time.

So when I was asked about making the symphony, years and years later, I decided I would take that story and make it like an enchanted story for the symphony - of the high of seeing God, the light, and hearing the birds and the beauty, and then make a movement about the sadness of it going away and how we have to kind of deal with that. But then at the ending of the symphony, God reminds us we can always enjoy God's love. It's always here for us. We can always enjoy the sunlight, and the birds, and the beauty of life by just remembering how beautiful it is. So that's what the symphony is really about.

"I Didn't Want To Die Like Jimi Hendrix"

I've always been grateful in my life to have life. My grandma Nellie, my dad's mom, she'd be washing dishes and she'd be looking out the window and she'd be crying. Kind of singing a song to God. And I said, "Grandma, why are you crying?" She said, "Well, my eyes opened up this morning, your eyes opened up this morning. I'm really happy about that." That's really heavy, grandma - you're washing dishes, you're crying, singing a song to God because you're happy that our eyes opened up. That's when I really started thinking about the simplest things - of eyes opening up. Because she would say, "Well, some children's eyes didn't open up this morning."

Then later in my life, I meet the Guru Sri Chinmoy with [Mahavishnu Orchestra leader] John McLaughlin, and that whole life is like, have more love, have more devotion, have more surrender, have more gratitude for being alive. So there it is again. When you're playing music, offer the experience of music to God. There it is again. And then they say, don't judge yourself, offer the experience to God. There it is again. It's all this connection to God and to have more love for your life and for yourself. So really it's just a way that I've learned to stay alive and not die. I didn't want to die like Jimi Hendrix, my hero, however he died². I didn't want to do that. I wanted to live. And I knew that drugs could take you out of here. I knew that being unhealthy could take you out of here easily. Like Sting says, how fragile we are. It really is true that we are fragile on the planet. So I wanted to find ways to live and I know that gratitude is a way to live.

Memories Of The Mahavishnu Orchestra

Oh, I want to thank John McLaughlin for discovering me. I was so pained in my life, how I'd ever make it, and I saw such wonderful musicians across America in little dives, in little hole-in-the-wall places, and across the railroad track-type clubs. They were genius players - drummers, guitar players, bands, like the Shades Of Brown band, and they'd be awesome. And I'd think, How are they ever going to make it? Who's ever going to come up to Blue Rock, Illinois, to discover these people? Who's ever going to discover me? So it's all this frustration in life as you're working hard to perfect your craft of playing music, but how to get discovered?

Even when I came to LA, I joined the music registry and tried so hard to find like-minded musicians. Oh, it was so difficult, so I know what players are going through out there. I give them so much love and encouragement.

But I want to thank Mahavishnu for taking me under his wing when I met him. I told him, "My name is Michael Walden, I play drums, and I want to be just like you because what I saw you do tonight with the concert with Mahavishnu Orchestra, with Billy Cobham on the drums, it's out of this world. I've never seen anything like you."

And he said to me, "Well, it's largely due to my prayer life, my meditation life, that I'm kind of able to hear this music and play in this fashion."

I said, "Yeah, I know, I've seen you on the back of your album covers - poems by Guru Sri Chinmoy. I'm seeing the names of your songs - everything is about this meditation life."

And he said, "Give me your number, I'll give you a phone call."

And he did! So he called me and I met the guru and it changed my life. I have to really thank him for allowing me, teaching me, bringing me along in this way that has saved me. I've been saved. I've been saved!

Drumming With Journey

Oh, Journey is a fantastic band. I've got such supreme love for Neal [Schon, lead guitarist] and for the great catalog of music. And for Steve Smith, who put all those parts down - he was actually a little bit of a student of mine when I first came to San Francisco, then he just blossomed into being this genius cat that's on all these recordings of Journey and stuff. If you try to just walk in and play that stuff, it's not so easy. I learned. When you try to memorize all those licks from measure to measure to measure on all the live performances, on all that body of catalog - it's a lot of music, a lot of memorization, which really took me time to put my head around.

Then we got Deen to come back, who knew the catalog - Deen Castronovo, who's brilliant. And then we played together, and that was lovely. Having two drums. It was like an army of drums in that band for like nine shows we did together. It was phenomenal. Like Lollapalooza in Chicago, during COVID, it was 125,000 people out there. It was miraculous, playing "Don't Stop Believin'" for all those people who just love that music. "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)," all those songs - they just love that music. I was really taken back by the power of music, and the power of what we love, and then the drive of Neal and the drive of Jonathan Cain [keyboardist] and bringing all that good sound to the world. And Arnel [Pineda, lead singer], who can jump 15 feet in the air and keep singing! What a great performer he is!

I had a great time with Journey and I love our new album, Freedom, a double album. It's a hot new record. I wish Sony would push harder on it so you all can hear it more with some great work in there. I want to wish Journey all the best. I feel great that I was able to help ignite and keep it going. And now they're out there just slaying it on a brand new concert tour with another hot band, Def Leppard, or whoever they're going to be with now. They're doing a lot of great work, so I'm very proud of Journey. I had to come back home to my children - I'm raising a 10-year-old named Kelly, an 8-year-old named Kayla, and a 5-year-old boy named Michael. My family really needs me, so I can't be touring so much.

Riding On The "Freeway Of Love" With Aretha Franklin

I first wrote "Freeway Of Love" for myself, and it was Preston Glass, my partner, who suggested, "Why don't we give that song to Aretha?"

I was like, "Preston, you're a genius, I would have never thought to give that to Aretha. But now that you mention it, we can flip the lyric that Jeffrey Cohen's written for her." [sings opening verse]

And I go, "Jeffrey, how do you rhyme with pink Cadillac?"

He goes, "The wind's against my back." I go, "Damn, Jeffrey, you're such a genius."

So that song really was Preston saying, "Do it," and Jeffrey Cohen helping me write it. Then cutting it, I wanted to echo what I loved in Motown, like the feel that Stevie Wonder would do with [singing], "All right, everything is all right, uptight, out of sight." That kind of drum groove, to give back what we thought was Detroit at the heyday of making all the cars, the Cadillacs and all that, and bring it up under Aretha and a new sound, a new song. So that was my intention to bring it all together. Although Aretha was never signed to Motown, we established her in our brain in Detroit. So that's what it was - how to make this a global smash.

Having Clarence Clemens play the sax was also a genius stroke. Roy Lott from Arista Records called and said, "What about Clarence Clemens from Bruce Springsteen to play a sax on there?" Wow! Because Clarence and Bruce were on top of the world. You go and see those guys in concert, it's like gods! When Clarence blows that horn, it's like, whoa, it's mighty. So he came in playing that sax like King Curtis. And from that, I wrote "You're A Friend Of Mine" with him and Jackson Browne, and Daryl Hannah [on backing vocals]. And we became the best of friends. So I'm so proud of my legacy with Clarence through "Freeway Of Love."

The Hidden Gem In His Catalog

I love the first thing I cut for Aretha Franklin called "Until You Say You Love Me." It's so deep to me because it's the first thing I've recorded with her and experiencing her genius. Her father had just died after being in a coma for two years. She wouldn't record during that time. The first time back in the studio after a two-year lay off was "Until You Say You Love Me," so it was really chilling for me to even be in her presence. When you meet her, you see a fire in her eyes. She's all-knowing, she can play the piano, she can sing, she hears everything, she knows everything, yet she was so tender from her father's death.

At the time, Prince had a major film, Purple Rain, where he would do "The Beautiful Ones." He got those kinds of deep sounds doing tricks in the studio with the drums. He would record the drums fast and speed the tape down. Tricks I did back in the '70s, he was doing. So I took my own tricks from him and made this concoction that we had never heard for Aretha before. These bubbling sounds that were hot for the day up under her classic sound - that combination really thrilled me, and to hear her sing that song just knocked me out.

I also have to say I'm very proud of my first big pop hit with Stacy Lattisaw, "Let Me Be Your Angel" - that broke open the doors for me. Even [Arista Records president] Clive Davis called and said, "Who are you? How did you know how to make those kinds of records?" And then he said, "Well, do you want to work with Aretha? You want to work with Dionne Warwick?" Because of "Let Me Be Your Angel." So, I've got to thank Stacy Lattisaw.

He's A Swiftie

I've been listening to Taylor Swift's music. She's become so huge that I'm studying her. My kids love her, so I'm listening to her when I take the kids to school. The catalog - she came out of the country world and crossed into a pop sound, and then crossed into like New York hip, cutting-edge with this new album. I'm really digging her genius and her versatility. You would think at first that she is a country artist, but she's not - she can do everything. And she can perform. And she can act. And she can do everything she wants. So I'm really taken by her talent and how she's becoming the world's biggest star and entertainer of the year and all that. I'm really caught up in that because Whitney was that to me. Whitney was the forerunner of having that gift of singing and dazzling looks, and you couldn't take your eyes off her. So now here's Taylor Swift. Dazzling. You can't take your eyes off her, so I'm happy for her. And I'm happy for so many great artists these days.

I'm following Beyoncé, I'm following Adele, who's great. I follow that new kid [JVKE] that was a star on TikTok with "The Golden Hour" - what a genius song! So I'm just always learning.

Discovering Talent In The Social Media Age

I heard from a friend of mine named Layla, who called me and said, "I met this kid in the subway last night, he's awesome, his name is Cruz Angel." So I go look at him and I call him and say, "You're a phenomenal talent. I've got to work with you. I hope you're not crazy because if you're not crazy, you're singing is incredible."

So this is how I live my life - discovering things that are phenomenal, that need love and attention because A&Rs for the labels are no longer doing that. It used to be that the A&R would call from Arista, like Gerry Griffith about Whitney Houston or Tommy Mottola would call about Mariah Carey or it'd be the labels. Not anymore. Now it's about who you may find on Instagram, who you may find on TikTok, and who you may find on Facebook. We're taking on more of that role now. But a lot of my stars have gone on, like Whitney's in heaven now, Aretha's in heaven. We got to discover the new talent.

I would love to partner with some money source, label source that could help back my ideas when I find these new talents to help market them, help spread it, help make it happen. That's the one thing we're still missing in that component with the money. To go, oh yeah we love this idea, this new kid, this new whatever...pow, bring them on the scene. That's what I'm still looking for.

A Memorable Prince Concert

Prince wants me to talk about this. Prince is coming through right now. He wants me to tell you about the show he did in Chicago when he was brand new, and he had just put out the second album where he was really gonna have his hits with "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Sexy Dancer." He was opening the shows for Rick James, who was now huge with "You And I" and whatever he was doing with a new brand of funk.

Prince was trying to steal the show and almost did - it was nasty, but he was so brave. The sound was awesome. He's a genius. So he's rocking the guitar and singing, and the drums and everything is huge, and the girls are screaming because he's so gorgeous. And then what he does, he takes the house lights down to almost nothing. Then the girl on the keyboard would come down and lay on the ground in front of him, and the strobe light comes on and he's pulling her clothing off, and you can see the ripping of the clothes, and the girls are screaming in the audience, and the strobe lights are going crazy. I was just so taken by how far he would take it, to push back Rick James to make himself a star. And then the lights would come back on and he'd have a spotlight on his cutout pants and move his butt cheeks to the rhythm of the music. He was already a genius musically, but theatrically on the stage, he was unheard of.

I went backstage to go meet him 'cause I was hot with wanting to design my own stuff, so he wanted to meet me too. And when I shook his hand, I said, "I know you play all the instruments, but what are you going to focus on for your future?" And he didn't know. He was like, "Well, maybe guitar. I'm not really sure." He went on to become the master guitar player of all time. That time he wasn't even sure he was going to focus on the guitar. But he sure did steal the show from Rick. I'm telling you - you ask me about the best concert, I don't know about the best concert, but he's coming through saying, "Don't forget how I shocked you on that." And he did. I'll never forget it as long as I live.

How Stevie Wonder Wrecked His World

I have to also say one more thing, because now Stevie is saying something. Stevie Wonder wants me to talk about when I first saw him at the Apollo Theater, after he made the big commotion of "Fingertips."

My aunts and my family said, "You know, there's someone better than you on the drums."

I said, "No, no."

"No, no, there is - he's a little blind boy out of Detroit, name's Stevie Wonder, Little Stevie."

I said, "Well, if he's blind, how can he play the drums? How can he even see where the drums are?"

They said, "No, he can."

Well, not long after, came this phenomenal hit single called "Fingertips," part one and two, and it was a hit. Everywhere. I was looking to go and see him play live in Chicago, where he was going to be appearing at the Regal Theatre. What's the best show I've ever seen? He's right up there. When he walked on the stage, he was like an alien. They walked him out, little Stevie Wonder - not big Steve, little Steve, but he walked slowly like a little alien, you know? And the girls are screeching like it's The Beatles. That's how big he was. The sound is bouncing off the walls of these girls screaming as he walks on the stage. And when he gets to the microphone, [singing] he's so pure, everybody say yeah! Say yeah! Say yeah! Yeah. Yeah. [skatting the song] The band is just rocking hard, like just tearing a roof off.

And I'm like "Oh my God, how am I ever going to compete with this?" I'm a little kid. I'm like one to two years younger. I'm like, "It's true. He is better than me. How am I going to make it?" That's what happened to me when I'm 10. He's 11 or 12. He wrecked my world, Stevie Wonder wrecked my world.

A Message For Listeners Of The Songfacts Podcast

To all your fans and all your listeners, I want to say - value yourselves more. Don't get caught up in all the political stuff that's going down that's trying to divide us, work hard to bring us together. We need each other. In America, God made us intentionally of different nationalities, cultures, and creeds that we'd be powerful like we are. So we need each other, and we know it, but we have to keep it fresh. We have to work at it to keep it renewed that we love ourselves and love each other. And make it more of a point to reach out to each other, and let each other know that we're there for each other.

It's really important that America stays strong in the world and reminds the world that we are diverse cultures and it's a beautiful thing. We're bringing you the beauty of what diverse cultures can bring. Jazz, rock, hip-hop, blues, country, folk - the things you're dancing to, we're making over here. We're making it because we are diverse. This is the beauty of us - that we love ourselves more for what we're doing in the world, what we're bringing to the world. We can't be so divisive, we don't even appreciate what we're doing for the world.

So I want your listeners to know, I love you, I'm here for you, I invite you all to come to Tarpan Studios and see my beautiful shindig over here, which is the microphones that Whitney sang on, and where we cut these beautiful tracks, and my drums, and see how we operate.

And then two, if you have young singers out in the world that I should be hearing about, if they have a little budget I can work with, I love all that. I want to encourage music in the world. I want to encourage love in the world. I want to encourage goodness in the world. I want to encourage kindness in the world. My mom would say, "Be kind or leave." Let's remember that - it's simple, be kind or leave. Just do the right thing.

Keeping Classic Music Alive

Keep an ear out for my new artist, a new girl I'm working with named Miist. She's from China, and Carlos is going to play on a song for her. So it's really fantastic. She's making a new record right now.

Look out for these new things I'm putting my hands on. These new kids I want to work with. There are new things in the future. Just pay attention to my work, our brand and our love. I want to really make sure that the world keeps paying attention to that - we're trying to keep classic music alive. We're trying to keep things alive that we don't want to forget about - chord changes, bridges, live instruments.

February 27, 2024

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Here's our "They're Playing My Song" feature where Narada talks about "Freeway Of Love"

More from Narada at naradamichaelwalden.com

Footnotes:

• 1] The Enchanted Forest: Seven Higher Worlds Of Music premiered in 2010. (back)
• 2] Hendrix died by aspirating his vomit and asphyxiating while intoxicated with barbiturates. He was 27 years old at the time of his passing in 1970. (back)

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