GREETINGS EARTHLINGS !
Welcome back to my homage series where I celebrate my musical masters & architects in the purest & honest form ! This one here is special so I'm gonna set it off like this:
That horn section, elaborate stage show, complex dynamic musical arrangements and meaningful music that WILL NEVER DIE. That's only some of the ways I can sum up the elements of music:
Earth Wind & Fire !
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Their longevity is summed up greatly by bass master Verdine White himself "From 8-tracks to the Ipods". Some of my greatest musical memories besides growing up seeing local bands attempt to play EWF songs and just being at home jamming on guitar or bass with my cousin Rasheed on drums to every EWF album from "Last Days & Time" to "Touch The World". Now I'm happy to call them real good friends of mine after spending time with them in New York this year and in 2006 where I got to watch one of my bass heroes Verdine warm up on bass and got a drum lesson from one of the most influential drummers in me and my cousin's life, Ralph Johnson. Funny thing is that most of the members had a strong influence on me from Al Mckay's strong precise guitar technique and for me vocally, Maurice's Gospel riffs were always among conversation & laughter just in amazement how his voice resonates and Phillip......that boy Phillip...I would be lying if i didn't say that this man definitely had an influence on my falsetto style of singing. I actually won a contest singing one of my favorite EWF songs he sings lead on "I'll Write a Song For You". To this day, that note that he hits on beginning of "See The Light" when he says "SEARCHIN !!!!", I WOULD JUST SIT THERE LIKE "He's not human" (LMAO)
EWF is without a doubt the first highly successful band in the Funk genre which opened the doors for other bands in this genre that commercial success with their own sounds and this wasn't by accident. From his drum playing days in Chicago as a session musician with Chess Records and more notably Ramsey Lewis, Memphis native Maurice White had a vision from the very beginning for a band with a unique fusion mix that brought Jazz, Funk, Soul and either more universal elements such as African, Brazilian and Latin music into the mix. The name of the group itself was even going against the grain as it was chosen from Maurice's astrological chart. And even more challenging, he wanted the music to have supreme spiritual value. In Pop music, EWF bridge the musical gap that often seperated black and white audiences.
"I wanted to do something that hadn't been done before," Maurice explains. "Although we were basically jazz musicians, we played soul, funk, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and dance music...which somehow ended up becoming pop. We were coming out of a decade of experimentation, mind expansion and cosmic awareness. I wanted our music to convey messages of universal love and harmony without force-feeding listeners' spiritual content."
Following a move to Los Angeles, Maurice called upon his younger brother, Verdine White - a 19 year-old classically trained bassist - to join him along with female vocalist Sherry Scott, Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead. Their initial name was The Salty Peppers before Maurice made the famous change. Their slammin ass classic self-titled 1971 debut album Earth, Wind & Fire, followed by the equally 1972's The Need of Love (both released on Warner Bros. Records). These albums include hardcore Funk-Rock workouts like "Fan Of Fire" , "Come On Children", "Energy" and my personal favorite "Bad Tune" which is the first record to feature Maurice's playing of the African instrument that would become the centerpiece of many EWF recordings, The Kalimba. The group also scored for Melvin Van Peebles' pioneering black film, Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song (on Stax) were steeped in bedrock jazz, rhythm and blues that netted the up-and-coming band a loyal but primarily black underground following. With this foundation laid and a hunger for more commercial success, Maurice exacted a bit of urban renewal on the group, switching out all of the Chicago-based members who were considered by his managers to be "very good but old jazz players". If he was trying to get the people in his age group, he needed young musicans to do it. After pulling resources from Los Angeles, California and Denver, Colorado. Among the stellar cast of new additions was a super versatile drummer-percussionist-vocalist from L.A. named Ralph Johnson, and a percussionist from Denver with an amazing four-octave vocal range named Philip Bailey who went and brought his Denver friends saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk, Keyboard wizard Larry Dunn along for the ride. Maurice's charismatic Gospel baritone voice and Philip's stratospheric falsetto set EWF's vocal identity "in the stone." Already a legend in musician circles from his stints with Ike Turner & Charlie Watts, Al Mckay joined on board with his Funk-Rock-Pop influence where as Kentucky born Guitarist Johnny Graham came from one of the most underrated Funk-Soul of all-time New Birth bringing his strong Blues-soul influence to the mix. And though their stints were brief and only on the first and second albums for Columbia Records, female vocalist Jessica Cleaves and excellent lead guitarist Roland Bautista should be recognized for their contributions as well (Roland would later return to replace good friend Al Mckay for the "Raise" and "Powerlight" albums)
With the new crew Earth, Wind & Fire made a crucial move to Columbia Records where their next three albums, Last Days and Time (1972), Head to the Sky (1973) and Open Our Eyes (1974), ushered them onto the radio with the perfect balance of stompin funk, experimental grooves and sweet soul ballads with classic jams like "Power", "Time Is Your Side", "Devotion", "Kalimba Story", "Keep Your Head To The Sky", "Evil", "Mighty Mighty", "Feelin Blue". The group put major stock in their live shows, performing in any and every club, college and theatre that would book them, typically on double bills with bands from the rock, jazz and soul arenas like their main competition: Parliament-Funkadelic. Around this time, the band paired up with famed arrranger/producer Charles Stephney who brought a whole other perspective & sophistication to the band's songwriting & musical arrangements. Phillip refers to Charles as "The dad in our group and the only one who could tell Maurice to shut-up". A broader demographic within their underground following began to amass, but it was the soundtrack to an ill-fated film that broke EWF wide open. That's the Way of the World (1975) was a stiff at the box office (twice), but Earth Wind & Fire's galvanizing 8-song opus was a sales and cultural phenomenon. The group earned its first 1 single ("Shining Star"), first Grammy Award and first double platinum sales award from that now-classic album which also featured the classic title track, "See the Light", "Happy Feelin" and the ultimate and often misunderstood love ballad "Reasons". Around this time, Maurice & Verdine's younger brother Fred who was also an accomplished drummer joined the fold and later became the only stage drummer as Ralph settled upon more percussion and vocal duties. Fred's basic pocket groove approach resulted in him playing on various sessions that included The Emotions & former Stevie Wonder background singer, Deniece Williams.
Gratitude (a half live/half studio double album released just in time for Christmas 1975) and is considered to be an extreme classic for die hard EWF fans and also the most imitated such as the live version of "Reasons". The Spirit (1976) and All 'n All (1977) albums cemented Earth, Wind & Fire's status as superstars and also showed Maurice's spiritual awareness and fascination with Egyptology and Mysticism as evidenced with the now famous album covers featuring pyramids and artifacts of these cultures. After a trip to Brazil, the band was heavily influenced by the music they heard and images itself became their identity down the line as well as the African inspired wardrobe. Classic hit singles & obscure radio jams began to flow: "Can't Hide Love,", "Saturday Nite" , "On Your Face", "Getaway," "Serpentine Fire", "Jupiter" , The Grammy winning instrumental "Runnin", "Love's Holiday", "Fantasy" and the most unlikely interlude song to become a club favorite "Brazillian Rhyme" a song that makes people in the club go crazy and sing a long to this very day. Then there was "Got to Get You Into My Life," their thrilling R&B arrangement of the Beatles' classic from the otherwise all-star rock film odyssey Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band that expanded their audience even further. Relentless international touring followed. The pace was so frenetic that band members found themselves composing during sound checks and in hotel rooms, even recording on precious off-days. "The Fire" was blazing hot by then, even scoring a smash with "September," one of two new songs included on their first greatest hits set, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire (a quadruple platinum seller). It wasn't for nothing that this 1978 compilation was subtitled Volume I.
Of course, any well-rounded musicologist knows that there is nothing...nothing...like an Earth, Wind & Fire concert. Along with Maurice, Verdine is often the mastermind behind-the-scenes live, and is arguably in possession of the most energetic stage presence of any performer on the planet! Just as "The Fire" vowed to go where no other band had gone before on records, they hired magician Doug Henning and his then-unknown assistant David Copperfield to design their bedazzling stage shows. Band members levitated, soared and disappeared, later to emerge from Egyptian pyramids and space crafts. Meanwhile, drum sets and synthesizer banks flipped upside down, and Maurice battled "The Force" with a light saber while scores of whirling lights and lasers winked in sync. With precision and panache, Earth, Wind & Fire and their legendary Phenix Horns (which also featured the late greats saxaphonist Don Myrick and Trombonist Louis SatterField who was also Verdine's bass teacher in Chicago when he first started and often played background bass during Verdine's high octane bass solos) section high-stepped through some seriously athletic choreography, never missing a lick on their instruments. "It was like Carnival, Mardi Gras, Broadway, Vegas and Cirque du Soleil all at once," Verdine proudly exclaims.
Like many so other groups, The group was ultimately forced to cash in on the growing Disco movement in the late 70's which was totally beneath what they stood for as a group and many EWF purists will tell you that that's went it kind of went artistically downhill but nevertheless, The hits kept on coming with one of my ultimate favorite EWF albums - I Am (1979) album which Verdine refers to as "Our Abbey Road" with classic jams like "In the Stone" , "Boogie Wonderland", "Can't Let Go", "After The Love Has Gone" and one of my favorites "Let Your Feelings Show". The double album Faces (1980) - the last to include Al Mckay and also the first EWF didn't sell a million but still had great songs like 'Let Me Talk" and "Pride".
By this time, EWF were no longer to be considered the groundbreaking group that they were especially with high charting Pop/R&B singles like the classic "Let's Groove" from the classic Raise! (1981) album which did feature some great songs like "My Love", "You're a Winner", "I've Had Enough" and the grammy-winning "I Wanna Be With You" and the Gold selling Powerlight (1982) which featured more classic jams like "Fall In Love With Me" , "Something Special", "The Speed Of Love" & "Side By Side". As if THAT weren't enough, Maurice White (in a divine partnership with the late, legendary orchestrating genius, Charles Stepney) produced major hits by Ramsey Lewis ("Sun Goddess"), Deniece Williams ("Free") and The Emotions ("Best of My Love"), all of whom also opened for Earth, Wind & Fire on tour. After the disappointing rushed "Electric Universe" album, the band took a serious hiatus for a few years while Phillip and Maurice released solo albums. Phillip scored a huge hit with Phil Collins on "Easy Lover" while Ralph and ex-member Al Mckay produced the Temptations last huge hit "Treat Her Like A Lady". The band returned in 1987 pairing down to five members (Maurice, Phillip, Andrew, Ralph & Verdine) for the 1987's Platinum "Touch The World". Other key members added to the fold was drummer Sonny Emroy and veteran guitarist/vocalist Sheldon Reynolds who was known for his work with The Commodores and many other artists. The album produced two top R&B hits, The 1 "System Of Survival" & top 10 "Thinking Of You".
While there was a little spark of that old school magic, EWF purists didn't fully digest the band's new synthesized approach to the music and their last album for Columbia "Heritage" suffered greatly in the sales department despite having a few gems. Two years later, The group found themselves back at Warner Brothers under the Reprise division with the album "Millenium" which some songs featured EWF in top live musicianship form like "Honor The Magic", "I Wouldn't Change A Thing About You" and the grammy-nominated "Sunday Morning". The tour for the album was huge bringing them back around the world playing for the legions of multi-cultural fans. It was also bittersweet because this would also be the last tour for Maurice. Although it wouldn't be made public until a few years later, Maurice was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. But Maurice is still part of the group behind the scenes singing, producing & arranging and every now and then, makes the usual guest appearance alongside his boys. In 2000, The Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame inducted the elements and it was the first time in 14 years that all the original members performed on stage together. These days, Ralph, Verdine & Phillip along with new recruits like David Whitworth, Jon Paris continue to hold the fort on stage.
The music and showmanship of Earth, Wind & Fire remains a natural for traditional media and new media alike. VH1, HBO and the Arts & Entertainment Network have all aired top rated concert performances with A&E releasing its 1999 Live By Request program on DVD. The Eagle Vision video company released the EWF documentary Shining Stars, which contains rarely seen historic video footage along with in-depth interviews with the band members. As always, EWF continues to appear on numerous network television shows from "Oprah" to "Leno." And Hollywood as well as the hip-hop artists who samples their music continues to have a love affair with their mass appealing music, commissioning new Earth, Wind & Fire music for films such as Roll, Bounce ("Love Together"), Robots ("Love's Dance") and Hitch, ("This is How I Feel"), as well as tapping their classics for films such as Be Cool ("Fantasy"), Soul Food ("September") and Muppets in Outer Space ("Shining Star"). Even the commericial game has been good to them with their songs being featured in MANY commericals especially around the time of their 2006 classic album"Illumination" which was not only nominated for grammys but also critically acclaimed by fans for it's return to their true classic sound & form collaborating with Will.I.AM, Outkast, Raphael Saadiq and even Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Then there are the NBC Ice Capades specials, Target commercials and even a musical called "Hot Feet" that celebrated and featured the music of EWF. When I went to see this play myself, It made me realize the power and magic of one of the greatest, untouchable forces in the music history and as I witnessed at a recent concert in NYC at Radio City Music Hall, after 37 years in the game, ITS FAR FROM OVER !!
L*A*W SALUTES YALL !!
WATCH THESE CLASSIC LIVE PERFORMANCES FROM EWF: