83. Narada Michael Walden Part 2: Producing Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, & introducing Jaco Pastorius

Episode 83: Narada Michael Walden Part 2

At this point in the story, Narada has gone from a jazz fusion drummer with Mahavishnu Orchestra, to a major label solo artist with hits, to a Grammy-winning producer with Aretha Franklin. And now... Whitney Houston enters the picture.

We kick off this episode with the moment Narada and Whitney's journey starts together. He gets a call from Arista A&R exec Jerry Griffith, who discovered Whitney, asking him to work with the unknown artist. Narada says yes and immediately produces "How Will I Know." The song becomes a number 1 hit. Then comes the call from Clive Davis asking for a follow-up. Narada delivers "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." The story continues.

We also get into his work with a then unknown Mariah Carey, and wild stories from across his life, including how Narada introduced Jaco Pastorius to Weather Report, giving Jaco his big break!

Narada is an incredible soul with a deep story and endless energy. This is Part 2 of our conversation. Let's go!!

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

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(0:00:00) TRAILER

(0:01:52) NARADA INTRODUCTION

(0:03:33) A SPECIAL OFFER FROM DISTROKID

(0:04:46) MEETING WHITNEY HOUSTON

(0:07:12) “HOW WILL I KNOW” WHITNEY & CISSY HOUSTON

(0:12:28) “THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL”

(0:14:26) “HOW WILL I KNOW”

(0:16:16) PRODUCING 80’S DRUM SOUNDS

(0:17:37) “I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY”

(0:21:12) WHITNEY’S REACTION

(0:23:32) MAKING WHITNEY HAPPY

(0:24:30) TARPAN STUDIOS

(0:25:14) PRODUCING TIPS, MUSIC IMPACT ON THE WORLD

(0:26:41) DRUM INTRO FOR “I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY”

(0:27:43) CLIVE DAVIS’ REACTION

(0:28:10) CREATING A TEAM, RANDY JACKSON, WALTER AFANASIEF

(0:32:10:19) MANAGEMENT, ADMIN SIDE OF BUSINESS

(0:35:14) KITES ARE FUN BY FREE DESIGN

(0:35:38) “I’M EVERY WOMAN”

(0:37:51) UNRELEASED WHITNEY HOUSTON SONGS

(0:39:21) HOW TO ASK GOD WHAT TO DO

(0:40:43) INTRODUCING JACO PASTORIUS TO WEATHER REPORT

(0:44:00) PAT MATHENY

(0:45:12) HIRAM BULLOCK, “I CRY, I SMILE”

(0:45:42) MARIAH CAREY

(0:49:34) MARIAH CAREY & JAY-Z “HEARTBREAKER, STACY LATTISAW

(0:50:33) WORKING WITH OTHER PRODUCERS, ANDERSON .PAAK

(0:52:14) MAKING A HIT, JOURNEY

(0:53:07) RAPID FIRE INTERVIEW

(0:54:13) DRUMMING FOR JOURNEY, STEVE SMITH

(0:54:55) NARADA’S NEW MUSIC, “HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME”

(0:57:54) LOVE FOR DRUMMERS

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