Earth, Wind & amp; Fire ( EWF ) is an American band that spans the music genre R & amp; B, soul, funk, jazz, disco, pop, rock, Latin, and Africa. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1970s. Rolling Stone called them "innovative, precise but sensual, calculated but galvanizing" and stated that the band "changed the sound of black pop".
The band was founded in Chicago by Maurice White in 1970, having grown from an earlier band known as Salty Peppers. Other members include Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Fred White, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay and Andrew Woolfolk. The band has received 20 Grammy nominations; they won six as a group and two of its members, Maurice White and Bailey, won individual awards apart. Earth, Wind & amp; Fire has 12 nominations for the American Music Awards and four awards. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and have sold over 90 million records, making them one of the world's best-selling bands of all time.
Five members of Earth, Wind & amp; Fire is also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame: Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Larry Dunn, and Al McKay. The band received Lifetime Achievement awards from the American Society of Composers, Author and Publisher (Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award - 2002), NAACP (Hall of Fame - 1994), and BET Awards (Lifetime Achievement Award - 2002).
Earth, Wind & amp; Fire is known for its horns, energetic and elaborate stage shows, and the contrast between vals falsetto Philip Bailey and Maurice White's baritone. In the 1970s and early 1980s, band hits "Shining Star", "That's The Way of the World", "Devotion", "Reason", "Sing Song", "Can not Hide Love", "Vacation", "Fantasy" , "Holiday Love", "September", "Boogie Wonderland", "After Love Has Lost", and "Let's Groove". Two songs have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame: "That's the Way of the World" (2004) and "Shining Star" (2007).
Earth, Wind & amp; Fire is the first African-American action to sell Madison Square Garden and to receive MSG Gold Ticket Award. In addition the band was later awarded with the 2012 Congressional Horizon Awards.
Video Earth, Wind & Fire
History
1969-1970: BeginningIn 1969, Maurice White, former session drummer for Chess Records and former Ramsey Lewis Trio member, joined two friends in Chicago, Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead, as a songwriting team composing songs and commercials in the Chicago area. The three friends got a record deal with Capitol; they call themselves "The Salty Peppers" and have a marginal hit in the Midwestern area called "La La Time".
Salty Peppers' second single, "Uh Huh Yeah", did not go well, and Maurice moved from Chicago to Los Angeles. He then added to band singer Sherry Scott and percussionist Yackov Ben Israel, both from Chicago, and then asked his younger brother Verdine how he felt about going to the West Coast. On June 6, 1970, Verdine left Chicago to join the band as their new bassist. Maurice began shopping for demo tapes from the band, featuring Donny Hathaway, around to different record labels and the band was later signed to Warner Bros. Records.
1970 1970-1973: Formation and early years
The astrological sign of Maurice, Sagittarius, has the main elemental qualities of Fire and the Earth's and Earth's seasonal qualities, according to classic triplicity. (Sagittarius in the northern hemisphere occurs in autumn, whose element is ground, and in the southern hemisphere, it is spring, whose element is air, therefore the omission of Water, the fourth classic element.) Based on this, it changes the name of the band, for "Earth, Wind & Fire". Maurice holds further auditions at L.A. adding Michael Beale on guitar, Chester Washington in the reed, and Leslie Drayton on the trumpet; Drayton also serves as a group music arranger. Trombonist Alex Thomas completed the ten-man EWF lineup.
The self-titled band debut album, Earth, Wind & amp; Fire, was released in February 1971 for critical acclaim, as did November 1971 The Need of Love . Both albums were produced by Joe Wissert and one single, The Need of Love, entitled "I Think About Lovin 'You", with Sherry Scott on lead vocals, providing EWF with Top 40 R & amp; B first they hit. In 1971, the group also recorded the soundtrack of the movie Melvin Van Peebles Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song .
The soundtrack was recorded at Paramount Recording Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard and released on Stax Records. The band developed a growing popularity on college campuses but, nevertheless, some EWF members began to become restless and the band broke up after being together for less than six months. With only Verdine left, Maurice decided to reshape the group.
In 1972, Maurice added vocalist Helena Davis (soon replaced by Jessica Cleaves, former member of R & amps of The Friends of Distinction), Ronnie Laws on flute and saxophone, rhythm guitarist Roland Bautista, keyboardist Larry Dunn, percussionist Ralph Johnson, and the original vocalist and Denver Philip Bailey to the group. Warner Brothers does not know how to promote this new combo because the only other funk band on their label is Charles Wright & amp; Band Rhythm Watts 103rd Street.
The band successfully auditioned for managers Bob Cavallo and Joe Ruffalo. Cavallo's management of John Sebastian produced a series of performances as an opening act for pop/folk singers and founder of The Lovin 'Spoonful. A show at Rockefeller Center New York introduced EWF to Clive Davis, then President of Columbia Records. Davis was very impressed with the band's performance and purchased their contract from Warner Bros. Their debut album on CBS/Columbia Records, The Last Day and Time , features most of the original material, but Bailey has recommended that the cover of Pete Seeger's band "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", And this band also re-made the Bread hit "Make It with You". The album also includes the original composition (Maurice-penned) "Power", musical instrument for eight minutes. In contrast to the ballad, "Power" features a longer fuzz guitar and soprano saxophone that is played with a funk driving beat.
1973-1980: Classic Period
The album Head to the Sky was released in spring 1973 and gave the group the first two legitimate hit singles, "Evil", co-written by Maurice and Philip, and "Keep Your Head to the Sky" Top 30 and top 60 on the charts R & amp; B and pop, respectively. Prior to the release of this album several personnel changes occurred when Roland Bautista and Ronnie Laws left the band to pursue new musical opportunities. Philip Bailey had recommended his former classmate at Denver East High School, saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk, to the band as a substitute for Laws; Woolfolk is busy in New York studying sax with sax maestro Joe Henderson and will start a career in banking when Bailey calls. To fill the void created by Bautista's departure, guitarist Al McKay (who has performed with Ike and Tina Turner Revue and The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band) and Johnny Graham from R & B group New Birth is added to complement the new lineup. Jessica Cleaves left the band after the album's release; this album is also the last one to be produced by Joe Wissert. Because some band songs require lower vocal registers than Bailey, and because of the success of "Evil", Maurice changed her role in the group to include the lead vocalist.
Recorded at Colorado Caribou Ranch Studio and released in 1974, Open Our Eyes is a commercially successful LP, selling over a million copies in the US and thus has been certified Platinum. At Maurice's request, Open Our Eyes produced jointly by Charles Stepney with White. Stepney previously worked with The Dells, The Rotary Connection, Terry Callier, Minnie Riperton, and Ramsey Lewis Trio, to name a few. Released in May 1974, the single "Mighty Mighty" became Earth, Wind & amp; The first fire of 30 major hit on the pop charts, peaking at No. 29. Another single, "Devotion", is a song with a strong spiritual message. After the completion of this album Maurice's younger sister, Fred White, joined the band. Fred played in the Chicago club as a drummer with Donny Hathaway and Little Feat.
On April 6, 1974, Earth, Wind & amp; The fire took place at California Jam, the West Coast rock festival which attracted 200,000 spectators. Also in 1974, the band collaborated with Ramsey Lewis on his album Sun Goddess , which reached number one on the Billboard Jazz and Black Album chart and was certified Gold in the US by RIAA.
In 1975, Earth, Wind & amp; Fire was approached by Sig Shore, the producer of the movie Super Fly, to record the soundtrack to a new movie about the dark side of the recording industry, which he called That's The Way Of The World. The film also starred in EWF as a new recording known as "The Group"; they performed songs in the film and Maurice had a small section that spoke, as the leader of "The Group". In the film character Harvey Keitel heard "The Group" perform and produce their first album. The title of the film is repeated throughout the film as a shrug to the music world.
But when each band member watched the movie, they were all convinced that the movie was a box office bomb, which finally happened. To avoid connecting with the movie they released the album soundtrack, also titled That's the Way of the World, before the movie premiere. Recorded at Caribou Ranch Studio and produced jointly by Maurice White and Charles Stepney, That's the Way of the World to Earth, Wind & amp; The breakthrough album Fire, spent three weeks at number one on Billboard Pop Albums Charts, five weeks in a row over the Soul Album chart. That Way of the World is also warmly received critically. For example, AllMusic's Alex Henderson described the album as "one of the strongest albums of the [1970s]" and "EWF peak achievement," and Billboard Magazine calls it "a very tightly produced and done package." this makes EWF the first black movie to top the Billboard album and single charts and has been certified triple platinum in the US by the RIAA.
Included in the album is the hit single "Shining Star" - which rose to number one on R & amp; B Singles and Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best R & amp; B Performance by Duo or Group with Vocals - and "That's The Way of the World," which goes to number five and number 12 on R & B Singles and Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Due to the incredible commercial success of the album, the band was able to rent a full horn section, dubbed Phenix Horns. Phenix Horns, which became an integral part of the band's sound, consisted of saxophonist Don Myrick, trombonist Louis Satterfield, and trumpet players Rahmlee Davis and Michael Harris. Myrick and Satterfield both worked with Maurice during her days as a session drummer at Chess Records.
After the first EWF tour in Europe, where they opened for Santana's rock band, Columbia Records wanted another album released as soon as possible. As a result, EWF returned to the studio in June 1975 and from a recording session of two singles - "Sing Songs" and "Can not Hide Love", most recently written by Clarence "Skip" Scarborough - the spawning. These and other studio footage were included, along with most of the live concert material from their 1974 and 1975 tours, on the double album Thanksgiving released at the end of 1975. Gratitude went up to and is at number one on the pop and R & amp; B for three weeks and six weeks; it's also the second best selling album R & amp; B 1976 and Triple Platinum certified for the sale of over 3,000,000 copies in the US by the RIAA.
The band was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R & amp; B Performance by Duo or Group with Vocals for the title track, "Gratitude." "Can not Hide Love" was also nominated Grammy for Best Arrangement For Voices. Earth, Wind & amp; Fire also won the Rock Music Award in the Best Soul Album category for Gratitude and Down Beat Reader Reader magazine for the favorite Rock/Blues Group in 1975.
Additionally, in 1975 Maurice founded a production company called Kalimba Productions where he signed artists such as former band leader Ramsey Lewis, singer Deniece Williams, who was a member of the "Wonderlove" Stevie Wonder, and The Emotions group of women had run a hit with Stax Records from 1969 to 1974. Maurice lent the band's signature Phenix Horns and most other band members and toured Earth, Wind & amp; Dismiss these artists and others who enter Kalimba Productions.
Having helped produce together and organize Earth, Wind & amp; Fire's new album, debut album Deniece Williams, Ramsey Lewis's Salongo, and The Columbia Record's first The Emotions Flowers, Charles Stepney died of a heart attack on May 17, 1976 in Chicago at the age of 43 years With Stepney died, Maurice took over and finished production of the band's new album, Spirit, released in October 1976. EWF paid tribute to Stepney in the form of an album title.
The album reached number 2 on Billboard Pop and R & amp; Album B Chart and double certified Platinum in the US by RIAA; In addition, Spirit spawned hit singles "Getaway" and "Saturday Nite."
During this period, the EWF concert began to be filled with fireworks, magic, laser lights, flying pyramids, levitation guitarists, and intricate production tricks that covered the whole group riding in the pyramid and disappearing action. Stage wizard Doug Henning steered many of their tours throughout the 1970s with his young assistant and successor, David Copperfield. The band also began to be choreographed by George Faison.
In 1977, EWF released their album All 'n All. The album achieved triple platinum status and spawned hit singles "I'll Write a Song For You," "Serpentine Fire," "Love Vacation," and "Fantasy." The album was inspired by Maurice White's long trip through Argentina and Brazil. The album went on to win two Grammy awards and the American Music Awards, and All All became one of Earth, Wind & amp; The most popular album from Fire. This album went to 3 on Pop Song Ladder and 1 on Black Album chart respectively.
In 1978, the EWF took three Grammy Awards, a third to bring the Beatles song "Got to Get You into My Life." The EWF performance of the song includes on the soundtrack for the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This movie is a commercial failure, such as That's The Way Of The World many years earlier; However, the cover version of EWF "Got to Get You into My Life" is the biggest hit of the movie soundtrack, reaching number one and nine in R & amp; B and Pop single chart, respectively.
1978 was also the year when the managers Maurice and EWF, Cavallo and Ruffalo, made a deal for the launch of a new record label called The American Recording Company (ARC), to be distributed through CBS, and studio recording, George Massenburg/ARC, also called "The Complex, "in West Los Angeles. This year ended with the release of another hit single, titled "September", which was added to the Quintuple Platinum compilation album, The Best of Earth, Wind & amp; Fire, Vol. 1, was released on November 23, 1978. At this time, Bobby Harris of Dazz Band requested and got Philip Bailey to produce the group's first album, Kinsman Dazz. Bailey has the main input in group vocal settings and will continue to produce the band's second album, Dazz.
In January 1979 saw the band performing "September" and "That's The Way Of The World" at the Music for UNICEF Concert, which was broadcast worldwide from the UN General Assembly by NBC. Other artists appearing on the show are ABBA, Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John, Donna Summer and Rod Stewart. After this show, the band donated royalties from one of their songs to UNICEF and embarked on a tour of Europe and Japan.
The group's ninth album overall, seventh for Columbia Records, and the second released on the ARC label is I Am. This is another successful hit, being a double Platinum and reaching number 3 and 1 on R & B and Pop charts, respectively. The singles generated from this album include "In The Stone," "Can not Let Go," and the sadly "After the Love Has Gone" ballad of David Champion/Bill Champlin who climbed to the No. 2 spot on Billboard Pop and R & amp; B charts and won the Grammy for Best R & amp; B Vocal Performance by Duo or Group in 1980. Although the band had previously overlooked the disco, the 1979 summer saw EWF topping chart dance music with their most disco-inspired single, "Boogie Wonderland," produced by Maurice and Al McKay and featuring The Emotions. (The lyrics detail the side of the genre and discotic lifestyle.) Even with the success of the song, Verdine White claims that the band is not a disco band, saying: "I guess you could say we were at a party but could not be on the dance floor."
In October 1980, the double album Face was released and rose to number 2 and number 10 and R & amp; B and Pop charts, respectively; it gets Gold status in US. In a 2007 interview, when asked which EWF album was his favorite, Maurice White replied: "Maybe because we're really in tune, playing together and it gives us a chance to explore new areas." After the release of this album, old rhythm guitarist Al McKay left the band for personal and professional reasons. He was replaced by rhythm guitarist Roland Bautista, who gave the band a slight hard rock sound with his style of play.
1981-1992: Electronic Period
White decided that, given the changing musical landscape, the band needed to incorporate into their work more popular electronic sounds at the time. As a result, EWF's eleventh album, Raise !, was influenced by this new electronic sound and released in the fall of 1981. It sold over one million copies in the US. Raise! featured hit singles "Let's Groove," which also became Platinum, and another single "Wanna Be With You," which won the EWF Grammy for Best R & B Vocal Performance By Duo Or Group. Earth, Wind & amp; The fire appeared in the 30th Anniversary Specialties at The Bandstand, where they performed "Let's Groove" on October 30, 1981.
Two years after the release Raise! comes Powerlight , which includes the single "Fall In Love With Me", hit pop number 17, and "Side By Side". "Powerlight" becomes Gold. Also in 1983, the band contributed the song "Dance, Dance, Dance" to the animated film soundtrack Rock & amp; Rules . After a fully synthesized album Electric Universe was released in late 1983 for poor critical and commercial reception, Maurice believes that the band needed a break so he put the EWF on hiatus in early 1984.
During the hiatus period, Philip Bailey released his second most successful solo project commercially, the gold album Chinese Wall , featuring Phenix Horns and produced by Phil Collins. The first single from the album, a duet with Collins entitled "Easy Lover," sold over a million copies, rose to number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and was nominated by Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by A Duo or Group. The video of the song goes to the top of the MTV video playlist and won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Appearance in 1985. Bailey released four Gospel albums in this period, and one of them, titled Triumph, Grammy for Best Gospel Performance Vocal, Male.
Maurice White, during this time, produced for Barbra Streisand on her Platinum album Emotion and worked with Neil Diamond on Her Headed for the Future and Cher on Platinum 1987- his. Cher . He also released his self-titled self-titled Maurice White album in 1985, which included a cover of "Stand by Me" which came in at number six on the R & D charts; B and number eleven on the Contemporary Adult charts.. The album also featured performances by saxophonist Gerald Albright. Also, during hiatus, Verdine White writes and directs the video. She produces Stand in the Light , by British pop band and jazz-funk band Level 42, with Larry Dunn, and promotes go-go groups like Trouble Funk and E.U.
The collection album The Collection was released in May 1986, stays at number 5 on the UK singles charts for two weeks, and was awarded a Gold certificate in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry.
Phil Collins saw the EWF on one of their European tours and became a fan of the band. He came in contact with Phenix Horns and they eventually worked with the band Genesis in songs including "No Reply At All" and "Paperlate," and on Collins hit solos like "I Missed Again" and "Sussudio".
In 1987, CBS Records convinced both Philip Bailey and Maurice White that the Earth, Wind & amp; The fire will bear fruit. As a result, original members Verdine White, Ralph Johnson and Andrew Woolfolk returned to the band with new members of guitarist/vocalist Sheldon Reynolds, lead guitarist Dick Smith, and drummer Sonny Emory. New horn section nicknamed Earth, Wind & amp; Fire Horns are also made, consisting of Gary Bias on saxophone, Raymond Lee Brown on trumpet, and Reggie Young on flugelhorn and trombone.
The band's reforms cultivated the 1987 Gold album Touch World , which was nominated for the Train Soul Award in the R & D Album category B/Best Soul This year and rose to number three on R & D; B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 33 on The Billboard 200. Featured on the album is a song written by an unknown songwriter by the name of Skylark, entitled "System of Survival". Released as a single, a hit song, will be number one on Billboard R & amp; B charts and Dance charts. Another single titled "Thinking Of You" peaked at number one and number three on the R & amp; B and Dance as well. In 1988, the band released the compilation album The Best of Earth, Wind & amp; Fire, Vol. 2 , which became Gold in the US. The group's last album released by Columbia Records was the 1990's Heritage , featuring a collaboration with Sly Stone of Sly & amp; Stone Family. In 1992, the band released an anthology of 55-song songs from their career up to that time titled The Eternal Dance .
1993-present: Neo-classical period
The EWF was signed once again with Warner Bros and after it was released in 1993 from their 16th studio album, Millennium . The album featured the single "Sunday Morning," which earned a Grammy-nominated band for Best R & amp; B Vocal Performance by Duo or Group, Billboard's top-40-charting single "Spend The Night," and a song written by Prince called "Super Hero." The tragedy struck the band in 1993; on July 30, former Phenix Horns sax player Don Myrick was shot dead by the Los Angeles Police Department in a misidentified case. Then on October 13, former lead vocalist Wade Flemons died of cancer in Battle Creek, Michigan. In 1994, Earth, Wind & amp; Fire is sworn into NAACP Hall Of Fame.
The band received another award in the following year in the form of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. All the original members of the group attended the inauguration ceremony, and in his speech, Maurice White attributed the success of the EWF with the support of all their fans. In 1994, White retired from touring with the band. At that moment, he explained that he wanted to rest from the harshness of the road. Philip Bailey was given the role of leader on the band stage.
The studio album In Love Name was released on Pyramid Records in 1997 for a lucrative critical reception. EWF performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1997 and presented the following anniversary. In 2004, a DVD of their 1997 appearance was released, titled Earth, Wind & amp; Fire: Live At Montreux 1997. In 1999, the group performed on A & amp; E Network Live by Request , and in the same year Maurice revealed that the real reason for ending his life was the Days of touring in 1995 is because he had Parkinson's disease in the late 1980s, which made it more difficult for him over the years to handle the rigors of the tour. A website entitled www.Startalk.org was established in 1999 to offer Maurice support with his health struggle and published messages from celebrities like Steven Tyler from Aerosmith, Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Isaac Hayes, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton and Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine. Maurice, however, has the disease under control, so much so that he sometimes makes appearances on Earth, Wind & amp; Fire show, and keep writing, recording, producing and developing new recording for Earth, Wind & amp; Fire and other artists.
On March 6, 2000, Earth, Wind & amp; The fire was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a standing ovation during the 15th annual induction dinner held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel New York. All original band members from 1973 - 80's "classic period", namely Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Al McKay, Larry Dunn, Andrew Woofolk, Fred White and Johnny Graham, attended the ceremony, in which nine of them played together for the first time in 20 years, performing "Shining Star" and "That's The Way Of The World". After their induction into the Hall of Fame efforts were made by original band members to fully reunite, but ultimately proved fruitless.
Earth, Wind & amp; Fire is a specially invited music guest on June 20, 2000, a White House dinner party hosted by President Bill Clinton at the White House South Lawn, in honor of His Holiness Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, and His Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem. Very impressed by the King's appearance that he made a successful personal request for EWF to perform in Morocco for his 37th anniversary celebration, on 21 August 2000.
In 2001, a biographical documentary from the band titled Shining Stars: The Official Story Of Earth, Wind & amp; Fire was released, directed by Kathryn Arnold. After the September 11 attacks of that year, the band members donated $ 25,000 to the American Red Cross on the September 13 show at Virginia Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater, the band's first concert since the event took place. February 24, 2002 saw Earth, Wind & amp; The fire featured at the 2002 Winter Olympics closing ceremony held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A live album from the 1980 band performance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, entitled Live In Rio , was released on Maurice White's Kalimba Record label in 2002, and in the same year the EWF was honored with Rhythm & amp; Cultural Heritage Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The award was presented to EWF by ASCAP President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman, Stevie Wonder, and Jimmy Jam. In addition, the band was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and RockWalk Hollywood in 2003.
In 2003, Kalimba Records released The Promise - the band's first studio album in six years. The Promise went up to number 19 on the Top R & amp; B/Hip-Hop Album and received critical acclaim after its release, with People and Blitz Magazine describing the album as "rich music" and "classy collection", respectively. The song "Hold Me" is produced and written by Team & amp; Bob, nominated by Grammy for Best Traditional Vocal & R & B Performance. The album spawned a calendar-laden song that recalls the classic sound of EW & amp; F, entitled "All in the Way", which unites the EWF with The Emotions. Featured on the album are two previously unreleased songs from recording sessions "I Am": "Where Do We Go From Here" and "Dirty".
On February 8, 2004, Earth, Wind & amp; The fire was done in recognition of the funk at the 46th Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, California. Other artists featured in this award are Funkadelic Parliament, OutKast, and Robert Randolph and Family Band. EWF sings "Shining Star" and then upon request Outkast sings "The Way You Move" with them. Robert Randolph and Family Band performed their single "I Need More Love" and then all the bands worked together to sing the classic Funkadelic Parliamentary "Give Up the Funk". Earth, Wind & amp; Fire contributed to Jimi Hendrix's tribute album: Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix, released on May 4, 2004, with cover of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)".
In the summer of 2004 Earth, Wind & amp; Fire signed a recording contract with Sanctuary Urban Records, owned by Mathew Knowles (father and manager of Beyoncà © c's). Gary Bias and Bob Burns, Jr., about Earth, Wind & amp; Fire Horns is featured on Queen Latifah The Dana Owens Album , which was released on September 28, 2004, and reached 16 and 11 on Billboards 200 and Top R & B/Hip-Hop Album diagrams, respectively, and Gold certified. On September 27, 2004, Phenix Horns' former trombone Louis Satterfield died, aged 67.
Kenny G's cover of "The Way You Move", released in November 2004 and charted at number 12 on the Adult Contemporary single chart, featuring bands with Maurice and Philip on lead vocals. EWF and Kenny G performed "The Way You Move" at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in January 2005.
On December 11, 2004, Earth, Wind & amp; The fire was honored at the first annual Grammy Jam held at Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, where several artists such as Stevie Wonder, Yolanda Adams, Sheila E., Miri Ben-Ari, George Duke, Kanye West and Randy Jackson paid tribute to the band. in the form of performances. Other celebrities who attended the event were Pamela Anderson, Tim Allen, Prince, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Nick Cannon, and Suzanne de Passe. EWF was conducted on "Rockin 'Eve Dick Clark's Night on December 31, 2004.
EWF released their single "Show Me The Way", in which they paired up with neo-soul artist Raphael Saadiq at Sanctuary Records in the fall of 2005. The single earned a Grammy nomination and was featured on the album's Illumination 19, which was released on September 20, 2005. For this album EWF collaborated with artists such as will.i.am, Kelly Rowland, Big Boi Outkast, and Brian McKnight. Illumination reached number eight on the Top R & amp; B/Hip-Hop and number 32 on Billboard Hot 100. Another single that appeared from the album, dubbed "Pure Gold", reached number 23 on the Adult Contemporary Charts.
The album garnered the criticism of criticism, with AllMusic's Rob Theakston referring to the album as a "remarkable record" and Steve Jones from USA Today ' commenting that on the EWF album is as "vibrant as ever". Illumination received Grammy nomination for Album R & amp; B Best and Soul Train Music Award in R & amp; B-soul album. EWF also received NAACP Image Award nominations for Best Duo or Group.
The February 6, 2005, Super Bowl XXXIX pregame show in Jacksonville, Florida saw the band teaming up with The Black Eyed Peas singing "Where Is the Love?" and "Shining Star". In March 2005, EWF performed in Russia for the first time.
In 2004, Earth, Wind & amp; Fire and Chicago embarked on a joint national tour, featuring a concert DVD that took place at the Los Angeles Greek Theater entitled Chicago & amp; Earth, Wind & amp; Fire - Live in the Greek Theater. This DVD was released on June 28, 2005, and was certified Platinum two months later. Chicago and EWF once again toured together in 2005 and collaborated for a new recording of Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now," which was included in the 2005 Chicago Compilation album Love Songs. As part of the opening for the 57th Anniversary Emmy Awards held on September 18, 2005, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the band once again collaborated with The Black Eyed Peas. This is the first time a musical artist has opened at the annual awards show.
In 2005, EWF released their first Christmas-themed song "Gather Round," produced and organized by David Foster and written by Maurice White, Foster, and Philip Bailey. In 2006, Maurice worked with Maurice Hines (brother of famous entertainer Gregory Hines) to release Broadway drama Hot Feet, which is a musical jukebox whose theme is Earth, Wind & amp; Fire. Maurice co-wrote with Allee Willis - who wrote "September," "Boogie Wonderland," "In the Stone," and "Sunday Morning" for the band - some new songs for the drama. EWF performed with Mary J. Blige and Ludacris "Runaway Love" at the 49th Grammy Awards held at the Los Angeles Staples Center.
Interpretation: Celebrating Earth's Music, Wind & amp; Fire, an album featuring a cover version of EWF material, was released on Stax Records on March 27, 2007. Consecutively produced by Maurice, the album featured artists such as Chaka Khan, Kirk Franklin, Lalah Hathaway, Mint Condition, Dwele , Meshell Ndegeocello, and Angie Stone. The appearance of Dwele and Meshell Ndegeocello on "That Way of the World" and "Fantasy", respectively, were each nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.
The band was the opening act of the special edition of American Idol entitled "Idol Gives Back" (which aired April 25, 2007) and featured the "Boogie Wonderland", "Shining Star" and "September" medley. At the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2007, Earth, Wind & amp; The fire shows "Fantasy" and "September". Organized by Kevin Spacey and Uma Thurman, the Nobel Peace Prize Concert is broadcast to over 100 countries. Other featured artists include Melissa Etheridge, Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox, and Kylie Minogue.
Earth, Wind & amp; The fire took place on the opening night of one of the biggest music events in Latin America, the Festival of ViÃÆ'Â ± a del Mar Chile. The band impresses the audience with their performances that the band was awarded with Gaviota de Plata (the English translation: the Silver Seagull), the highest award that can be presented to the performing artist in ViÃÆ' Â ± a Festival del Mar. The intro to the EWF song "In the Stone" has been used for several years as the introductory theme for the event broadcast.
Maurice White, Ralph Johnson, Philip Bailey and Verdine White each received an honorary degree from Arts and Media College at Columbia College Chicago during the 2008 college exercises Verdine White and Bailey both gave short speeches during the ceremony, followed by the four honors' delivers an impromptu performance of the "Shining Star". The EWF was conducted at the 2008 US Open opening ceremony hosted by Forest Whitaker and presented to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Open Era of tennis with the parade of more than 25 former US Open champions.
Earth, Wind & amp; The fire was conducted at the White House on February 22, 2009, for the Governor's Dinner; they were the first musical artists to appear there since Barack Obama took office. The band toured once again with Chicago in 2009 for a tour of thirty cities in the US. On April 26, 2009, EWF performed at 39th New Orleans Jazz & amp; Heritage Festival. Less than two weeks before this, former keyboard player Robert Brookins died of a heart attack; 46 years old.
In 2010, EWF appeared in 40 New Orleans Jazz & amp; Heritage Festival. In the same year, bandmembers Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson participated in the recording single "We Are the World 25 for Haiti". 2010 is also the year that sees Earth, Wind & amp; Fire's original members, Maurice White, Phillip Bailey, Verdine White, Al McKay and Larry Dunn, were all inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
In November 2011, the band was awarded the Legend Award at the Soul Train Awards in Atlanta, Georgia's Fox Theater. In 2012, EWF was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Annual Trumpet Award, held at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta.
On February 29, 2012, early guitarist Roland Bautista died, aged 60 years, due to natural causes.
Earth Wind & amp; Fire with former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton and Charlie Wilson became guest stars in the song LL Cool J 'Something About You. The song later appeared on the 2013 album "Authentic".
Now, Then & amp; Forever , the group's first album in eight years, was released on September 10, 2013. On January 13, 2014, former percussionist Beloyd Taylor, who co-wrote the 1976 hit band "Getaway" died. Just a few months later on May 2, former vocalist Jessica Cleaves died at the age of 65 after suffering a stroke complication.
On September 13, 2014, Earth, Wind & amp; Fire was done at Proms in the Park in Hyde Park with BBC Concert Concert On October 21, 2014, Earth, Wind & amp; Fire released their first holiday album entitled Holiday. On December 8, 2014, Earth, Wind & amp; The fire was done at the Kennedy Center Honors, honoring Al Green. On December 14, 2014, Earth, Wind & amp; The fire was done at Christmas in Washington.
Maurice White died on February 4, 2016, after suffering for several years with Parkinson's disease. He survived by his wife, his two sons, his daughter and his brothers Verdine and Fred.
Maps Earth, Wind & Fire
Legacy
Earth, Wind & amp; Fire songs have been covered by artists such as Olly Murs, Point of Grace, D'Angelo, CDB, Dionne Warwick, The 5th Dimension, Pomplamoose, Taylor Swift Lenny White, Patti LaBelle, The Manhattans, Wynonna Judd, Yolanda Adams, Justin Timberlake, Donny Osmond, Chaka Khan, 112, Omarion, Herb Alpert, Musiq Soulchild, and Tito Puente.
Earth, Wind & amp; Fire songs have been sampled by many artists, including UGK, A Tribe Called Quest, Jean Wyclef, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Nas Jay Z, Amerie, The Fugees, LL Cool J, De La Soul, Common, Frank Zappa, Naughty by Nature, P Diddy, The Roots, Will Smith, Cee-Lo Green, Lisa "Left Eyes" Lopes of TLC, Public Enemy, EPMD, Lupe Fiasco, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Tupac Shakur, Brand Nubian and MC Lyte.
Bumi, Angin & amp; Api telah mempengaruhi seniman seperti BeyoncÃÆ' ©, Usher, will.i.am, Janelle MonÃÆ'¡e, Mary J. Blige, Pangeran, Pharrell Williams, India.Arie, The Neptunes, Jon Secada, Wyclef Jean, Common, Phil Collins, Boney James, Angie Stone, Raphael Saadiq, All-American Rejects, Jesse McCartney, Musiq Soulchild, Solange Knowles, Babyface, OutKast, Jamiroquai, Five for Fighting, Lenny Kravitz, Marc Broussard, Omarion, Rob Bourdon dari Linkin Park, Eric BenÃÆ' © t, Jill Scott, Justin Timberlake, Sheila E., Marcus Miller, Erykah Badu, Jamie Foxx, Patrick Stump dari Fall Out Boy, Meshell Ndegeocello, Wynton Marsalis, DNCE, Meghan Trainor dan Mario.
Miles Davis described the EWF as "an all time favorite band" that says, "they have everything (horns, electric guitars, singers and more) in one band". Quincy Jones has proclaimed itself as "the biggest fan of Earth, Wind & Fire from day one." Dionne Warwick has named Earth, Wind & amp; Fire as his favorite group of all time. David Foster has mentioned Earth, Wind & amp; Fire as his all-time favorite band on Hit Man Returns show: David Foster and friends (2011). In this concert he showed his respect to Maurice White openly.
In the movie BAADASSSSS! , actor Khalil Kain describes a young Maurice White leading the initial incarnation of Earth, Wind & amp; Fire. Released at the Sundance Film Festival, the film is based on Melvin Van Peebles' struggle to film and distribute the Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song movie and directed by his son Mario Van Peebles.
Earth, Wind & amp; Fire songs have also been featured in many movies around the world. These movies include Anchorman , Last Vegas , The Intouchables , Night in the Museum (series movie) , and Caddyshack .
Earth, Wind & amp; Fire songs have also been featured on many television shows. These events include The Mentalist , True Blood , Office , Glee , Daredevil , and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno .
Trivia
The kalimba (African thumb piano) is featured on all band albums.
Members
- Philip Bailey - vocals, conga, percussion, kalimba (1972-1984; 1987-present)
- Verdine White - bass guitar, backing vocals (1970-1984; 1987-present)
- Ralph Johnson - drums, percussion, vocals (1972-1984, 1987-present)
- B. David Whitworth - percussion, vocals (1996-present)
- Myron McKinley - keyboard, music director (2001-present)
- John Paris - drums, vocals (2001-present)
- Philip Bailey, Jr. - vocals, percussion (2008-present)
- Morris O'Connor - main guitar, vocals (2008-present)
- Serg Dimitrijevic - rhythm guitar, vocals (2012-present)
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio album
- Earth, Wind & amp; Fire (1971)
- Love Needs (1971)
- Last Day and Time (1972)
- Head to Heaven (1973)
- Open Our Eyes (1974)
- That's the World Path (1975)
- Spirit (1976)
- All 'n All (1977)
- I Am (1979)
- Face (1980)
- Raise! (1981)
- Powerlight (1983)
- Electric Universe (1983)
- Touch World (1987)
- Inheritance (1990)
- Millennium (1993)
- In Love Name
- The Promise (2003)
- Illumination (2005)
- Now, Then & amp; Forever (2013)
- Holidays (2014)
Top 10 albums
The following albums reached the Top Ten on one of the USA pop album charts Billboard 200 or UK Kingdom Albums UK.
- 1975: That's the World Path (US # 1)
- 1975: Thanksgiving (US # 1)
- 1976: Spirit (US # 2)
- 1977: All 'N All (US # 3)
- 1979: I Am (US # 3; UK # 5)
- 1980: Faces (US # 10; UK # 10)
- 1981: Raise! (US # 5)
Top 10 singles
The following single reached the Top Ten in the USA Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart or UK Singles Chart UK.
- 1975: "Shining Stars" (US # 1)
- 1975: "Sing Song" (US # 5)
- 1978: "Must Ask You into My Life" (US # 9)
- 1978: "September" (US # 8; UK # 3)
- 1979: "Boogie Wonderland" ( featuring The Emotions ) (US # 6; UK # 4)
- 1979: "After Love Has Lost" (AS # 2; UK # 4)
- 1981: "Let Groove" (US # 3; UK # 3)
See also
- List of top selling music artists
- List hit number one (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List hit number one (United States) dance
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart
References
Further reading
-
Bailey, Philip; Keith Zimmerman; Kent Zimmerman (2014). Shining Star: Challenging Earth Element, Wind & amp; Fire . New York: Viking. ISBN: 9780670785889. OCLCÃ, 852221287. - Mulhern, Tom. Bass Heroes: Styles, Stories & amp; Secret 30 Great Bass Players: from the Guitar Player Magazine Pages . Backbeat Books, 1993. ISBNÃ, 0-87930-274-7
- Payne, Jim. Weinger, Harry. The Great Drummer of R & amp; B, Funk & amp; Soul Mel Bay Publications, 2007. ISBNÃ, 0-7866-7303-6
External links
- Official website
- Earth, Wind & amp; Fire at AllMusic
- Earth, Wind & amp; Flame discography in Discogs
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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