Narada Michael Walden’s Still Yours For the Summer Celebrates Life, Love, and Music

Summer gets an encore in 2025 with the release of Still Yours For the Summer, the brand-new solo album from legendary musician, songwriter, and producer Narada Michael Walden. The 14-track project arrives as a radiant celebration of life, music, and spirit, offering listeners a soundtrack that fuses heat, joy, and timeless grooves.

Walden—an Emmy and multiple GRAMMY® Award winner whose production credits include Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, George Michael, and many others—calls the record his most diverse and ambitious effort yet. “Everything I do has heat,” he explains, “but this time I wanted people to feel a warm vibe from the beginning to the end. It recalls when I had the hit ‘Freeway of Love’ with Aretha Franklin, and you’d hear it everywhere in the summertime. This album takes you back to that spirit.”

The music travels across styles and eras, drawing on disco, R&B, funk, reggae, Afrobeat, Latin rhythms, rock, and jazz. Tracks like the fiery opener “I Love My People Now” set the tone with explosive vocals, searing guitars, and a gospel-infused choir. On “Dance Till Sunrise,” Walden channels Afrobeat and Caribbean vibes with contributions from Double O and saxophonist Eddie Minnifield, while “Jump Up” pairs him with rising 11-year-old rapper Ivan for a high-energy dance anthem.

The album’s centerpiece, “Still Yours For the Summer,” begins as a tender ballad before soaring into a rock-soul fusion featuring Walden’s longtime collaborator and Journey bandmate Neal Schon. Other highlights include a disco-charged reimagining of Sly Stone’s “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” the funky “Bougie Cherry Bomb,” and a fresh take on his own classic “I Shoulda Loved Ya 2025.” Walden also honors his early mentor John McLaughlin with the instrumental “Mahavishnu” and the reflective “I Dreamt of Mahavishnu.”

Production took place at Walden’s Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, CA, and Nicolosi Studio in Milan, Italy, with a stellar lineup of musicians including Vernon “Ice” Black, Ralphe Armstrong, Angeline Saris, and Justus Dobrin.

Full Tracklist – Still Yours For the Summer

1. I Love My People Now

2. Hot Fun in the Summertime

3. Dance Till Sunrise

4. Keep Shining

5. Still Yours For the Summer

6. Bougie Cherry Bomb

7. Jump Up

8. Mahavishnu

9. Aloha Aloha

10. Last Night I Dreamed of Mahavishnu

11. I Shoulda Loved Ya 2025

12. Cowboy Disco

13. Cool Bounce

14. God’s Love is Gonna Take Us There

Beyond the studio, Walden continues to honor his musical heroes. On Saturday, September 13, 2025, he will perform at STAND! – A Celebration of Sly and the Family Stone, part of the Sound Summit festival at the Mountain Theater in Mount Tamalpais, CA. The tribute will feature Taj Mahal, Rustee Allen, members of Graham Central Station, and more, celebrating the legacy of Sly Stone while raising funds for Mount Tamalpais State Park.

With Still Yours For the Summer, Narada Michael Walden once again proves why he is one of the most versatile and visionary artists of his generation. “People need to feel something positive—with electricity and God’s love,” he says. “You can party to this record, and you can mellow out to it. It takes you on a trip through the solar system and back again.”