Earth, Wind & Fire

During the 1970s Earth, Wind & Fire ranked among the most technically skilled, widely praised, and best-selling funk ensembles. Maurice White, who served as drummer, bandleader, songwriter, kalimba player, and occasional vocalist, originated the group and shaped its expansive sound, which rested on funk yet absorbed jazz, smooth soul, gospel, pop, rock & roll, psychedelia, blues, folk, African music, and eventually disco. Philip Bailey supplied an additional layer through his ability to deliver tender ballads as well as energetic funk numbers, while the ensemble could produce Motown-style harmonies, generate grooves reminiscent of the J.B.'s, and explore jazz-fusion improvisation. Their concerts often matched the scale and energy of George Clinton's P-Funk productions. Beyond mere stylistic range, this eclecticism reflected a cosmic, mystical outlook and an affirmative spirit comparable to the early work of Sly & the Family Stone. Maurice White's songwriting, marked by complex and surprising arrangements together with a strong command of hooks and form, gave the band exceptional cohesion within funk. Although not every experiment succeeded, at their peak Earth, Wind & Fire appeared to gather preceding influences into one exhilarating, striking whole.

White established Earth, Wind & Fire in Chicago during 1969. Earlier he had refined his abilities as a Chess Records session drummer, contributing to recordings by Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, and Etta James, among others. In 1967 he succeeded Redd Holt in the Ramsey Lewis Trio, where he first encountered the kalimba, an African thumb piano that would feature prominently in later work. White departed Lewis's ensemble in 1969 to begin a songwriting collaboration with keyboardist Don Whitehead and vocalist Wade Flemons. The partnership soon developed into the Salty Peppers, which recorded for Capitol and achieved regional success with "La La Time." After the next single failed to connect, White relocated to Los Angeles, bringing most of the musicians along and renaming the group Earth, Wind & Fire after the three elements appearing in his astrological charts. By the time he persuaded his brother, bassist Verdine White, to move west in 1970, the roster included Whitehead, Flemons, vocalist Sherry Scott, guitarist Michael Beal, tenor saxophonist Chet Washington, trombonist Alex Thomas, and percussionist Yackov Ben Israel. This configuration signed with Warner Bros. and released its self-titled debut album late in 1970. Critics noted its ambition and originality, qualities also present in the 1971 follow-up The Need of Love, yet neither album gained substantial sales despite growing campus popularity and a prominent role in the soundtrack for Melvin Van Peebles's pioneering independent film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.

Unhappy with the outcome, White dissolved the original lineup in 1972, keeping only Verdine. He assembled a new group featuring vocalist Jessica Cleaves, flutist and saxophonist Ronnie Laws, guitarist Roland Bautista, keyboardist Larry Dunn, and percussionist Ralph Johnson; the pivotal addition proved to be vocalist Philip Bailey, previously a member of the Denver R&B band Friends & Love. After the ensemble opened for John Sebastian in New York, Clive Davis signed them to CBS, where they issued Last Days and Time in 1972. Further changes followed as Laws and Bautista departed by the end of the year, making way for reed player Andrew Woolfolk and guitarists Al McKay and Johnny Graham. At this point Earth, Wind & Fire began to achieve consistent momentum. The 1973 album Head to the Sky, Cleaves's final recording with the band, expanded their dedicated audience, and the 1974 release Open Our Eyes became their first true commercial success. It initiated their partnership with producer, arranger, and occasional songwriting collaborator Charles Stepney, whose contributions helped refine the sound for broader appeal, and it introduced another White sibling, Fred, as a second drummer. The single "Mighty Mighty" reached the R&B Top Ten, though pop stations largely avoided its themes of Black pride, while the modest hit "Kalimba Story" introduced Maurice White's interest in African sonorities to radio listeners. Open Our Eyes earned gold certification and prepared the way for the group's major breakthrough.

In 1975 Earth, Wind & Fire finished a second film soundtrack, this time for the music-industry drama That's the Way of the World. Lacking confidence in the movie's prospects, the band issued the soundtrack album ahead of the film's release, composing all the music themselves, in contrast to their earlier contribution. The film underperformed, yet the album succeeded; its lead single, the uplifting anthem "Shining Star," ascended to number one on both the R&B and pop charts, establishing Earth, Wind & Fire as mainstream stars and later earning a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group. The album itself topped both the pop and R&B charts and achieved double-platinum status; its title track reached the R&B Top Five, and the album also contained Bailey's signature ballad "Reasons." White invested the resulting revenue in expanding the live presentation into an elaborate, effects-laden spectacle that eventually incorporated illusions created by magician Doug Henning. The band added a permanent horn section, the Phoenix Horns, led by saxophonist Don Myrick. Their developing stage reputation appeared on the 1975 double album Gratitude, which became their second consecutive number-one release and included one disc of new studio material. Among those tracks, "Sing a Song" reached the pop Top Ten and the R&B Top Five, while the ballad "Can't Hide Love" and the title track also performed strongly.

During the 1976 sessions for the next studio album, Spirit, Charles Stepney suffered a fatal heart attack. Maurice White assumed the arranging duties, yet the Stepney-produced single "Getaway" still topped the R&B charts after Stepney's passing. Spirit performed solidly, peaking at number two. Meanwhile White began producing other artists; in addition to reuniting with former employer Ramsey Lewis, he assisted the early careers of the Emotions and Deniece Williams. The 1977 album All n' All reached number three and yielded the R&B hits "Fantasy" and the chart-topping "Serpentine Fire," while the Emotions scored a pop number one with the White-produced "Best of My Love." In 1978 White launched his own imprint, ARC, and Earth, Wind & Fire appeared in the largely unsuccessful film adaptation of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, delivering a strong version of the Beatles' "Got to Get You Into My Life" that became their first Top Ten pop single since "Sing a Song." The compilation The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1, issued late that year, generated another Top Ten hit and R&B number one with the newly recorded "September."

The 1979 album I Am included the group's clearest disco reference, the Top Ten collaboration with the Emotions titled "Boogie Wonderland." The ballad "After the Love Has Gone" performed even better, stopping one position short of number one. Although I Am marked Earth, Wind & Fire's sixth consecutive multi-platinum release, indications emerged that the band's intense creative period was losing momentum. Faces ended the unbroken streak, after which guitarist McKay left. Raise, released in 1981, produced a Top Five pop hit and R&B number one with "Let's Groove," yet overall consistency continued to slip. By the time Powerlight appeared in 1983, ARC had closed and the Phoenix Horns had been dismissed to reduce expenses. Following the underwhelming Electric Universe at year's end, White disbanded the group for an extended hiatus. Verdine White subsequently worked as a producer and video director, while Philip Bailey pursued a solo career that yielded the pop hit "Easy Lover," a duet with Phil Collins. Collins also featured the Phoenix Horns on numerous 1980s recordings, both solo and with Genesis.

Bailey rejoined the White brothers, Andrew Woolfolk, Ralph Johnson, and new guitarist Sheldon Reynolds in 1987 for Touch the World. The album proved unexpectedly successful, generating two R&B hits in "Thinking of You" and the number-one single "System of Survival." Heritage, issued in 1990, represented an unsuccessful effort to update the group's sound through guest appearances by Sly Stone and MC Hammer; its poor performance ended the Columbia association. The band resurfaced on Reprise with the more traditional Millennium in 1993, yet the label dropped them after the album failed to restore earlier sales levels despite a Grammy nomination for "Sunday Morning." That year also brought tragedy when former horn leader Don Myrick was murdered in Los Angeles. Bailey and the White brothers returned in 1997 on the independent Pyramid label with In the Name of Love.

Following the 2003 release The Promise, which mixed original material with reinterpretations of earlier songs, the group collaborated with several prominent adult-contemporary artists on 2005's Illumination, which included a track with smooth-jazz artist Kenny G. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album. Earth, Wind & Fire maintained an active touring schedule and opened the 2007 American Idol Gives Back broadcast. Three years later Maurice and Verdine White, Bailey, Dunn, and McKay were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The band issued Now, Then & Forever, its first album in five years, in 2013. On February 3, 2016, Maurice White passed away from Parkinson's disease at his Los Angeles home at the age of 74. Saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk died on April 24, 2022, at age 71. Drummer Fred White died on January 1, 2023, at age 67.