| 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, psychedelic, 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 positivism 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 Red 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." 1990's 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. |
