Earth, Wind, & Fire, the #66 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"The Greatest Sound of their time .....Earth ,Wind and Fire set the Standard of what R and B was about and still is .......Love.....Peace .....Harmony !!!!"

"Earth, Wind & Fire is a unique and unforgettable group."

"Great music is timeless."

"if we had more of theses fellas I don't think people would overlook EMPATHY for the other person."

"I love this group--such great talent."

"One of the greatest groups ever."

"The most beautiful music in the world."

"What a band. They're incredible!"

"I knew my time on this earth had not been wasted when my sons agreed with me that EW&F were the most talented band ever!"

"I love the sheer soulful joy, the musicality and the vision of EWF's
songs."

"Earth, Wind & Fire brought so much happiness to millions."

"How the world needs Earth, Wind & Fire."

This incredible mass appeal group started in 1971 in Chicago, Illinois.  Their origins go back to 1969, when Maurice White, a former session drummer with Chess Records and a former member of the Ramsey Lewis Trio ("The 'In Crowd'"), formed the Salty Peppers with friends Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead.  But after two singles flopped, White moved from Chicago to Los Angeles.  

White added vocalist Sherry Scott and Yackov Ben Israel and then asked his younger brother Verdine if he would play bass for the group.  The band recorded demo tapes with singer Donny Hathaway and were signed with Warner Brothers Records.  

White changed the group's name to Earth, Wind & Fire, taken from his astrological sign, Sagittarius, which has a primary elemental qualify of fire.  In the northern hemisphere, Sagittarius occurs in the fall, whose primary element is earth, and in the southern hemisphere, is in the spring, whose element is air.  

Guitarist Michael Beale was added to the group, as was Leslie Drayton on trumpet, trombonist Alex Thomas and Chester Washington on reeds.  In 1971, Earth, Wind & Fire released their self-titled album.  

The group followed that up with the album The Need of Love later in the year.

Although their first two albums received positive reviews and they were attracting good crowds of young people at their shows, the band broke up.  Maurice and Verdine vowed to fight on and recruit new members.

Vocalist Jessica Cleaves, formerly with the Friends of Distinction ("Grazing In The Grass" and "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely") came on board, and the Whites also added another singer, Phillip Bailey and rhythm guitarist Roland Bautista, Larry Dunn on keyboards, percussionist Ralph Johnson and Ronnie Laws on the flute and saxophone.  

But Warner Brothers was unsure how to promote the group with the unique sound, so Earth, Wind & Fire signed on with managers Bob Cavallo and Joe Ruffalo.  This led to the band opening for John Sebastian, another client of Cavallo.  Clive Davis, then president of Columbia Records, saw their show at the Rockefeller Center in New York City and bought their contract from Warner Brothers.  The group released their first album for Columbia, Last Days and Time.

Earth, Wind & Fire began to find their groove with their 1973 album Head to the Sky.  Bautista and Laws left just prior to recording, replaced by saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk and guitarists Johnny Graham and Al McKay.  After the band became superstars, the album went Platinum.

Cleaves left after Head to the Sky.  In 1974, Earth, Wind & Fire recorded the album Open Our Eyes, which has also now sold over one million copies.

Another White brother, Fred, joined the group on drums, after playing with Hathaway and Little Feat.  In the spring, the group received great exposure at California Jam, a major Rock festival on the West Coast that attracted an estimated 200,000.  

In 1975, Sig Shore, who had produced the movie Super Fly, recruited Earth, Wind & Fire to record the soundtrack for a new movie he was making about the shady side of the recording industry.  Members of the band also starred in the film That's The Way of the World, but as they worked through it, they were less and less impressed with the movie.

 

Earth, Wind & Fire decided to release the soundtrack prior to the premiere of the movie as they didn't want to be associated with what they were sure was going to be a bad movie.  It was, but the music was outstanding, going to #1 on the Album chart.  "Shining Star" rose to #1 on both the Popular and R&B charts.

"Shining Star" earned the band a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

 

The gorgeous title song peaked at #12, and is the creme de la creme of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

"Reasons" is another song in that club, with the incredible Phillip Bailey's vocal masterpiece.

Another solid track on the album is "Happy Feeling".

 

"All About Love" features Maurice at his best.

That's the Way of the World has now sold over three million copies, and that success gave Earth, Wind & Fire spending money, which they used to hire their own horn section.  That section, called the Phenix Horns, were the finishing touch to the group that gave them their trademark sound.  The Horns consisted of Rahmlee Davis and Michael Harris on trumpet, Don Myrick on saxophone and trombonist Louis Satterfield.  Myrick and Satterfield had previously known Maurice while the three were at Chess.

 

As Columbia requested new material from the band prior to striking out on the road to open for Santana, Earth, Wind & Fire recorded two singles, "Sing A Song" and "Can't Hide Love".  The former landed at #5 and was a 1 R&B hit.

 

"Can't Hide Love" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Arrangement For Voices.

The two singles were combined with live recordings from their 1974 and 1975 tours for the double album Gratitude, which has now sold over three million copies.  The title song led to a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Meanwhile, Maurice started his own production company which he called Kalimba Productions.  He signed former bandleader Ramsey Lewis as well as the Emotions and singer Deniece Williams.  Those acts opened on tour for Earth, Wind & Fire.

 

White began producing the group starting with the 1976 album Spirit, which rose to #2 on the Album chart and generated sales of over two million copies.  "Getaway", another #1 R&B hit that peaked at #12 overall, helped propel those sales.

 

The title song features another of Bailey's finest performances.

Catch Part Two below!