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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 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.
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