Earth Wind And Fire Information

Earth, Wind & Fire was a legendary American funk band, formed in Chicago in 1969. A group revolutionary in its amalgamation of soul, jazz, funk and African music into an attractive, universal sound. Formed in Chicago in 1969 by jazz drummer Maurice White, EWF was the personification of White's desire to mix a variety of different musical styles into a unique, singular sound, and to use this music for unity, empowerment and universalism. However, it took several years and multiple lineups (the only constants being White and his brother Verdine) for the group to find its rhythm and its audience. In 1970 the group landed a contract with Warner Brothers and released two albums, Earth Wind & Fire and The Need of Love. By 1973, EWF managed a more stable lineup, including singers Philip Bailey and former Friends of Distinction member Jessica Cleaves (who left by 1975), and band members Al McKay, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, John Graham, Fred White and Andrew Woolfolk. That year they released Head to the Sky, their first top 10 Soul album, and followed it in 1974 with Open Our Eyes, their first #1. The group's breakthrough came in 1975 with their soundtrack album for the little known movie That's the Way of the World. The album's lead single, the bright, funky number 'Shining Star' took the music worlds by storm, topping both charts and taking the album with it. The title track was a worthy follow-up single, and, with the outstanding album cut 'Reasons', established EWF as a new popular musical force. The next album was Gratitude, it documented the extravagant EWF live performances, which were becoming smash concerts around the world. The group's next two albums, Spirit and All 'n All continued their winning ways and boasted a number of now classic cuts, including 'Saturday Night', 'Singasong' and 'Fantasy'. During this period, Maurice White wrote and produced songs and the vocal combination of White and Philip Bailey worked marvelously with the material and arrangements. The group continued to record intermittently over the 80s and 90s with progressively lesser critical and commercial appeal. White recorded a moderately successful solo album and Bailey scored a #1 duet with Phil Collins, 'Easy Lover', as well as a few solo Gospel albums and Jazz recordings. White was later diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which restricted his ability to tour with the group during the 90s and 00s. By the time of the group's In the Name of Love in 1997, Earth Wind & Fire was generally forgotten as a recording group, and successful tours over the next few years were generally based on the group's impressive past hits. In 2003, EWF released The Promise, an album that gave them their biggest album and single ('All In the Way') in a decade. With its revolutionary sound, positive, empowering lyrics and excellent songwriting and performances, Earth Wind & Fire established itself as perhaps the most important and influential Soul group of the late 70s, and one whose music has continued to resonate a generation after its initial release.

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