Earth, Wind & Fire were one of the most musically accomplished, critically acclaimed, and commercially popular
funk bands of the '70s. Conceived by drummer, bandleader, songwriter, kalimba player, and occasional vocalist Maurice White,
EWF's all-encompassing musical vision used
funk as its foundation, but also incorporated
jazz,
smooth soul,
gospel, pop,
rock & roll, psychedelia,
blues,
folk, African music, and, later on,
disco. Lead singer
Philip Bailey gave
EWF an extra dimension with his talent for crooning sentimental
ballads in addition to
funk workouts; behind him, the band could harmonize like a smooth
Motown group, work a simmering groove like
the J.B.'s, or improvise like a jazz fusion outfit.
Plus, their stage shows were often just as elaborate and dynamic as
George Clinton's
P-Funk empire. More than just versatility for its own sake,
EWF's eclecticism was part of a broader concept informed by a cosmic, mystical spirituality and an uplifting positivity the likes of which hadn't been seen since the early days of
Sly & the Family Stone. Tying it all together was the accomplished songwriting of Maurice White, whose intricate, unpredictable arrangements and firm grasp of hooks and structure made
EWF one of the tightest bands in
funk when they wanted to be. Not everything they tried worked, but at their best,
Earth, Wind & Fire seemingly took all that came before them and wrapped it up into one dizzying, spectacular package.
White founded
Earth, Wind & Fire in Chicago in 1969. He had previously honed his chops as a session drummer for Chess Records, where he played on songs by the likes of
Fontella Bass,
Billy Stewart, and
Etta James, among others. In 1967, he'd replaced Redd Holt in the popular
jazz group
the Ramsey Lewis Trio, where he was introduced to the kalimba, an African thumb piano he would use extensively in future projects. In 1969, he left
Lewis' group to form a songwriting partnership with keyboardist Don Whitehead and singer Wade Flemons. This quickly evolved into a band dubbed the Salty Peppers, which signed with Capitol and scored a regional hit with "La La Time." When a follow-up flopped, White decided to move to Los Angeles, and took most of the band with him; he also renamed them
Earth, Wind & Fire, after the three elements in his astrological charts. By the time White convinced his brother, bassist Verdine White, to join him on the West Coast in 1970, the lineup also consisted of Whitehead, Flemons, female singer Sherry Scott, guitarist Michael Beal, tenor saxophonist Chet Washington, trombonist Alex Thomas, and percussionist Yackov Ben Israel. This aggregate signed a new deal with Warner Bros. and issued its self-titled debut album in late 1970. Many critics found it intriguing and ambitious, much like the 1971 follow-up, The Need of Love, but neither attracted much commercial attention, despite a growing following on college campuses and a high-profile gig performing the
soundtrack to
Melvin Van Peebles' groundbreaking black independent film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.
Dissatisfied with the results, White dismantled the first version of
EWF in 1972, retaining only brother Verdine. He built a new lineup with female vocalist Jessica Cleaves, flute/sax player
Ronnie Laws, guitarist Roland Bautista, keyboardist Larry Dunn, and percussionist Ralph Johnson; the most important new addition, however, was singer
Philip Bailey, recruited from a Denver
R&B band called Friends & Love. After seeing the group open for
John Sebastian in New York,
Clive Davis signed them to CBS, where they debuted in 1972 with
Last Days and Time. Further personnel changes ensued;
Laws and Bautista were all gone by year's end, replaced by reedman Andrew Woolfolk and guitarists Al McKay and Johnny Graham. It was then that
EWF truly began to hit their stride. 1973's
Head to the Sky (Cleaves' last album with the group) significantly broadened their cult following, and the 1974 follow-up,
Open Our Eyes, was their first genuine hit. It marked their first collaboration with producer, arranger, and sometime songwriting collaborator Charles Stepney, who helped streamline their sound for wider acceptance; it also featured another White brother, Fred, brought in as a second drummer. The single "Mighty Mighty" became
EWF's first Top Ten hit on the
R&B charts, although pop radio shied away from its black-pride subtext, and the minor hit "Kalimba Story" brought Maurice White's infatuation with African sounds to the airwaves.
Open Our Eyes went gold, setting the stage for the band's blockbuster breakthrough.
In 1975,
EWF completed work on another movie
soundtrack, this time to a music-biz drama called That's the Way of the World. Not optimistic about the film's commercial prospects, the group rushed out their
soundtrack album of the same name (unlike Sweet Sweetback, they composed all the music themselves) in advance. The film flopped, but the album took off; its lead single, the love-and-encouragement anthem "Shining Star," shot to the top of both the
R&B and pop charts, making
Earth, Wind & Fire mainstream stars; it later won a Grammy for Best
R&B Vocal Performance by a Group. The album also hit number one on both the pop and
R&B charts, and went double platinum; its title track went Top Five on the
R&B side, and it also contained
Bailey's signature ballad in the album cut "Reasons." White used the new income to develop
EWF's live show into a lavish, effects-filled extravaganza, which eventually grew to include stunts designed by magician Doug Henning. The band was also augmented by a regular horn section, the Phoenix Horns, headed by saxophonist Don Myrick. Their emerging concert experience was chronicled later that year on the double-LP set Gratitude, which became their second straight number one album and featured one side of new studio tracks. Of those, "Sing a Song" reached the pop Top Ten and the
R&B Top Five, and the ballad "Can't Hide Love" and the title track were also successful.
Sadly, during the 1976 sessions for
EWF's next studio album,
Spirit, Charles Stepney died suddenly of a heart attack. Maurice White took over the arranging chores, but the Stepney-produced "Getaway" managed to top the
R&B charts posthumously.
Spirit naturally performed well on the charts, topping out at number two. In the meantime, White was taking a hand in producing other acts; in addition to working with his old boss
Ramsey Lewis, he helped kick start the careers of
the Emotions and
Deniece Williams. 1977's
All n' All was another strong effort that charted at number three and spawned the
R&B smashes "Fantasy" and the chart-topping "Serpentine Fire"; meanwhile,
the Emotions topped the pop charts with the White-helmed smash "Best of My Love." The following year, White founded his own label, ARC, and
EWF appeared in the mostly disastrous film version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, turning in a fine cover of
the Beatles' "Got to Get You Into My Life" that became their first Top Ten pop hit since "Sing a Song." Released before year's end, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 produced another Top Ten hit (and
R&B number one) in the newly recorded "September."
1979's
I Am contained
EWF's most explicit nod to
disco, a smash collaboration with
the Emotions called "Boogie Wonderland" that climbed into the Top Ten. The ballad "After the Love Has Gone" did even better, falling one spot short of the top. Although
I Am became
EWF's sixth straight multi-platinum album, there were signs that the group's explosion of creativity over the past few years was beginning to wane. 1980's
Faces broke that string, after which guitarist McKay departed. While 1981's Raise brought them a Top Five hit and
R&B chart-topper in "Let's Groove," an overall decline in consistency was becoming apparent. By the time
EWF issued its next album, 1983's
Powerlight, ARC had folded, and the Phoenix Horns had been cut loose to save money. After the lackluster Electric Universe appeared at the end of the year, White disbanded the group to simply take a break. In the meantime, Verdine White became a producer and video director, while
Philip Bailey embarked on a solo career and scored a pop smash with the
Phil Collins duet "Easy Lover."
Collins also made frequent use of the Phoenix Horns on his '80s records, both solo and with
Genesis.
Bailey reunited with the White brothers, plus Andrew Woolfolk, Ralph Johnson, and new guitarist Sheldon Reynolds, in 1987 for the album Touch the World. It was surprisingly successful, producing two
R&B smashes in "Thinking of You" and the number one "System of Survival." Released in 1990, Heritage was a forced attempt to contemporize the group's sound, with guest appearances from Sly Stone and
MC Hammer; its failure led to the end of the group's relationship with Columbia. They returned on Reprise with the more traditional-sounding Millennium in 1993, but were dropped when the record failed to recapture their commercial standing despite a Grammy nomination for "Sunday Morning"; tragedy struck that year when onetime horn leader Don Myrick was murdered in Los Angeles.
Bailey and the White brothers returned once again in 1997 on the small Pyramid label with In the Name of Love. After 2003's
The Promise, the group realigned itself with several top-shelf
adult contemporary artists and released 2005's
Illumination, which featured a much-publicized collaboration with
smooth jazz juggernaut
Kenny G. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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