Narada Michael Walden

Walden was born in Plainwell, Michigan. He attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1970 to 1972. Walden played with rock bands in Miami after he graduated from college. He was a member of the second incarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra from 1974 to 1976, playing drums and providing vocals. Atlantic released his first album, Garden of Love Light, in 1977, with a single that reached the R&B chart. The album was followed by I Cry I Smile and The Awakening. The latter album reached No. 15 on the R&B chart. Walden's singles continued to be popular in R&B during the 1980s including a duet with Patti Austin and an appearance on the soundtrack of the movie Bright Lights, Big City. He built his studio in 1985 and produced music for The Temptations, Stacy Lattisaw, Aretha Franklin, Angela Bofill, Lisa Fischer, Sister Sledge, Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin, Whitney Houston, Clarence Clemons, George Benson, Sheena Easton, Kenny G, Lionel Richie, Al Jarreau, and Mariah Carey. Walden has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won three: Best R&B Song for "Freeway of Love" (1985); Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (1987); and Album of the Year for The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (1993).

Walden's first marriage was to ASCAP 1988 Honors winner, writer/performer (Anukampa) Lisa Marie Coles in Hempstead, New York in 1978 until divorcing in California in 1992. The couple co-wrote hit songs for Stacy Lattisaw, Sister Sledge, Angela Bofill, Wanda Walden and Aretha Franklin. In 2013, Walden married former Catholic school teacher Katie Mersereau at Marin Civic Center in San Rafael, California. The couple have two daughters, Kelly and Kayla, and a son, Michael. The pair worked together on Walden's album Evolution, released in 2015, with Mersereau credited as providing backing vocals on four tracks and writing one song, under her married name, Katie Mersereau-Walden. Walden was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy, of whom he is a devotee.