Narada Michael Walden has always been a musical inspiration to me through his work as a drummer. Jeff Beck's "Wired" album and the Mahavishnu Orchestra release, "Visions of the Emerald Beyond," were both monumental stepping stones in my musical journey through life. It wasn't until I started to research Walden's career statistics that I came to find that he is responsible for 56 charted #1 hits, more than any producer in history. He has produced hits for some of the biggest artists that music has ever known; artists like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin – just to name a few. He is also a three-time Grammy winner, receiving the Producer of the Year Grammy in 1987. Okay ….so he's more than just a drummer. With this interview, I wanted to learn who Narada (pronounced Narda) Michael Walden was. What drives this man to perform with such success? What kind of a person is this? Anyone responsible for so much success with so many different people has to have a pleasant personality and demeanor, right? I had no idea how right I was, until we began our conversation..... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Narada Michael Walden: "Scottie, it's Narada!" Dr. Music: Narada! How are you? NMW: "I'm okay. I just jogged over to the studio [Tarpan Studios] and just wanted to make sure I touch base with you." DM: You're popping up everywhere. NMW: "I like to pop up. As long as you're alive, it's important to pop up." DM: I hear the Oakland Symphony has acquired you now, too, Mozart. I hear Mozart is your new name around the office! NMW: "Aww, that's very sweet. I was asked out of 130 people to be chosen of 1 of 4 to compose a classical piece for next year's opening gala." DM: How does composing a symphony differ from everything else you've done? NMW: "It's quite similar actually. The album before the one you mentioned with "Eternity's Breath" on it, is an album called Apocalypse. That album with Mahavishnu Orchestra had the London Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas, produced by The Beatles' producer George Martin, so I'm very familiar with the symphony. And also my earlier solo albums would have symphonic pieces. So I've always had a yearning that way. So, in this new thing I'm gonna put together for next year, it'll be symphonic in nature, then I'll bring the drums in, then maybe even a choir and some rap. So, we'll see how it all goes. I really want to tie the worlds together - old school meets new school …..with Mozart wigs." (Laughs) NMW: "Hey, now you're in Chicago. I'm from Kalamazoo." DM: I do a radio show in Detroit each week, so I'm very in touch with the Detroit area. NMW: "Well, Kalamazoo is smack in the middle between Chicago and Detroit. It's not really Detroit or Chicago; it's just right out in the middle. My dad's from Chicago, so I feel more of an affinity for Chicago. But, the music of Detroit also banged me on the head really hard. But, the music of Chicago banged me hard too, with Curtis Mayfield and his early productions of The Five Stairsteps, and of course The Impressions, and "The Monkey Time/Major Lance." There's so much music coming out of Chicago, then all of the blues stuff that came out of there as well. So, a lot of music in the Midwest, and really untouched by the rest of the world, quite frankly." DM: Yeah! We always think of L.A., of course, and New York – Chicago sometimes gets lost in there. NMW: "You're right, because no one speaks up. But I think it's time that you speak up, I speak up, people who are from that neck of the woods start speaking up. We're more shy and humble in nature, so we don't really rattle the chain about things that much. You know the coast people think they're 'all that' because they're by the sea. But we almost take it for granted, these Great Lakes in our backyards!" DM: Oh yeah. I think the Midwest is a breeding ground for so many things. NMW: "Oh yeah, man. It's in the water. And also, the breeding of the people; we mix Indian blood, African blood, European bloods – all these bloods come together [and] makes a gumbo that produces this sophisticated blues ….sophisticated ghetto mentality that just takes over the world. It's a combination of the world, man." (Laughs) DM: Along with all the other stuff you're working on, you're working on a solo album with Sting and Clarence Clemons as guests? NMW: "Yes, it's done. It's called "The More I Love My Life." And I also have another band album, so we're trying to get the release for this year [2009]. And, I'm also working on a Bach project." DM: I see that "Brothers In Arms" is out from Temple Of Soul! NMW: "Yes, brother." DM: That is some funky stuff! Tell us about it. NMW: "Well, Clarence is my brother. He has been since back in '85; he played sax on 'Freeway Of Love,' our first platinum with Aretha Franklin. I just adore him. He's got a heart of gold. We're very close, and God has been good to us. Whatever I can do with him, I'm always there for him. He's been one of my closest friends in the music industry to really be there for me. You know, it's funny how many people you can have number one records with, but when you look around, who'll be there for you? Who'll really answer a phone call? It doesn't work that way, unfortunately. It works more just a heart connection."

see the rest

http://www.areuonsomethin...alden.html

wow. quite an achievement to be proud of. congratulations to him!!

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of much of his music.

But before I can praise him too much, I gotta remember THIS thread from back in April....jussayin....

http://prince.org/msg/8/334533

He wrote a lot of those songs, too. His bank account should be PHAT!

This is actually incorrect I belive. George Martin had produced the most US #1 pop hits until overtaken a few years ago by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

nusouldownunder said:

This is actually incorrect I belive. George Martin had produced the most US #1 pop hits until overtaken a few years ago by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

Is Walden still producing hits? If so, maybe he did overtake them. But, I don't recall him having any hits of late. I could be wrong though....

JamFanHot said:

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of much of his music.

But before I can praise him too much, I gotta remember THIS thread from back in April....jussayin....

http://prince.org/msg/8/334533

That was the first thing that crossed my mind when I read the thread's title.

nusouldownunder said:

This is actually incorrect I belive. George Martin had produced the most US #1 pop hits until overtaken a few years ago by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

From what I'm understanding...it's just #1s across the board (pop, r&b, whatever). Which would make sense.

Especially if they are counting one song as a multiple number one. For instance:

Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love"

#1 pop

#1 r&b

#1 AC

daPrettyman said:

nusouldownunder said:

This is actually incorrect I belive. George Martin had produced the most US #1 pop hits until overtaken a few years ago by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

From what I'm understanding...it's just #1s across the board (pop, r&b, whatever). Which would make sense.

Especially if they are counting one song as a multiple number one. For instance:

Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love"

#1 pop

#1 r&b

#1 AC

That don't necessarily mean he has the most number-ones just the producer to have a good number of songs who went number-one on two or three different charts. Last I checked, George Martin & Jam-Lewis got more than Walden.

Timmy84 said:

daPrettyman said:

From what I'm understanding...it's just #1s across the board (pop, r&b, whatever). Which would make sense.

Especially if they are counting one song as a multiple number one. For instance:

Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love"

#1 pop

#1 r&b

#1 AC

That don't necessarily mean he has the most number-ones just the producer to have a good number of songs who went number-one on two or three different charts. Last I checked, George Martin & Jam-Lewis got more than Walden.

I get that part. I'm just saying that they are probably counting it by the number of chart positions and not by the songs.

The man has a great track records. So if they are counting his stuff from the 70s to present, it does make sense. Now, I don't recall a hit record he's produced since The Temptations "Stay" in 98 or 99.

Re-reading the entire interivew, it says

56 Charted #1 singles.

That tells me that they are counting the same song on different charts. It would have to include worldwide charts to achieve a number that big.

daPrettyman said:

Re-reading the entire interivew, it says

56 Charted #1 singles.

That tells me that they are counting the same song on different charts. It would have to include worldwide charts to achieve a number that big.

Exactly.

Timmy84 said:

daPrettyman said:

Re-reading the entire interivew, it says

56 Charted #1 singles.

That tells me that they are counting the same song on different charts. It would have to include worldwide charts to achieve a number that big.

Exactly.

That can't be right either... because for example Madonna has technically or actually co-produced 72 of her own #1s if we count different charts separately (everything from 1986 onwards with a few notable exceptions such as Open Your Heart, Justify My Love and the Evita album) and I am sure there are other artists who get co-production credits who have scored more than 56 #1s in different charts combined

[Edited 7/19/10 19:10pm]

jiorjios said:

Timmy84 said:

Exactly.

That can't be right either... because for example Madonna has technically or actually co-produced 72 of her own #1s if we count different charts separately (everything from 1986 onwards with a few notable exceptions such as Open Your Heart, Justify My Love and the Evita album) and I am sure there are other artists who get co-production credits who have scored more than 56 #1s in different charts combined

[Edited 7/19/10 19:10pm]

But see that don't make sense, how can you count that as charted number-ones especially if many of them hit number-one on three or four different charts. That'll be like saying Elvis had 50 number-ones or something when in truth he had 17/18. Or even MJ, saying he had 44 when he had 13 on one chart, 13 on another, and most of them were simultaneously the same single.

Timmy84 said:

jiorjios said:

That can't be right either... because for example Madonna has technically or actually co-produced 72 of her own #1s if we count different charts separately (everything from 1986 onwards with a few notable exceptions such as Open Your Heart, Justify My Love and the Evita album) and I am sure there are other artists who get co-production credits who have scored more than 56 #1s in different charts combined

[Edited 7/19/10 19:10pm]

But see that don't make sense, how can you count that as charted number-ones especially if many of them hit number-one on three or four different charts. That'll be like saying Elvis had 50 number-ones or something when in truth he had 17/18. Or even MJ, saying he had 44 when he had 13 on one chart, 13 on another, and most of them were simultaneously the same single.

I know and I agree. I am just pointing it out to say that the theory of counting like that (a song which went to #1 in three different US charts counts as three #1s) don't make sense because in such a count 56 is a relatively small number for a record.

Based on his official discography, I counted 28 number ones. I think the writer may have been counting a single multiple times based on the album it was released on, i.e. Mariah Carey's "Vision Of Love" was a number one single, but has been on multiple releases, ditto for Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman".

He has produced number ones on himself as a solo act, plus Diana Ross, Jefferson Starship, Angela Bofill,

Shanice Wilson, Stacy Lattisaw, The Temptations, Tevin Campbell, Aretha Franklin, George Michael, Gladys Knight, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

BILLBOARD gave him an award as one The Top Ten most prolific record producers.

[Edited 7/19/10 23:05pm]

RnBAmbassador said:

Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman".

Hate...deep rooted hatred.

sosgemini said:

RnBAmbassador said:

Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman".

Hate...deep rooted hatred.

Why? I like Whitney's remake. The remixes by C&C Music Factory are good also.

daPrettyman said:

sosgemini said:

Hate...deep rooted hatred.

Why? I like Whitney's remake. The remixes by C&C Music Factory are good also.

Cause to the world, that's a Whitney song and Whitney should not have even gone their with Chaka's signature song.

sosgemini said:

Cinnie said:

sosgemini said:

Cause to the world, that's a Whitney song and Whitney should not have even gone their with Chaka's signature song.

To the world, Chaka Khan's signature song is "I Feel For You" and Whitney's signature song is Dolly's. "I'm Every Woman" is Oprah's siganature song

Whitney's version is fine... to her credit she even screams 'Chaka Khan' towards the end

jiorjios said:

"Chaka mad" (C)Prince via Kevin Smith

sosgemini said:

daPrettyman said:

Why? I like Whitney's remake. The remixes by C&C Music Factory are good also.

Cause to the world, that's a Whitney song and Whitney should not have even gone their with Chaka's signature song.

I think the record company/Clive Davis did it. Either way, I'm sure all of the parties were happy considering all of the money that album made. Hell, even Bill Withers gets paid from that damn album.

Cinnie said:

sosgemini said:

Cause to the world, that's a Whitney song and Whitney should not have even gone their with Chaka's signature song.

To the world, Chaka Khan's signature song is "I Feel For You" and Whitney's signature song is Dolly's. "I'm Every Woman" is Oprah's siganature song

Cinnie said:

sosgemini said:

Cause to the world, that's a Whitney song and Whitney should not have even gone their with Chaka's signature song.

To the world, Chaka Khan's signature song is "I Feel For You" and Whitney's signature song is Dolly's. "I'm Every Woman" is Oprah's siganature song

Cinnie said:

sosgemini said:

Cause to the world, that's a Whitney song and Whitney should not have even gone their with Chaka's signature song.

To the world, Chaka Khan's signature song is "I Feel For You" and Whitney's signature song is Dolly's. "I'm Every Woman" is Oprah's siganature song

Timmy84 said:

"Chaka mad" (C)Prince via Kevin Smith

http://www.youtube.com/wa...Mg#t=9m27s

Cinnie said:

Timmy84 said:

"Chaka mad" (C)Prince via Kevin Smith

http://www.youtube.com/wa...Mg#t=9m27s