Earth, Wind and Fire
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Gratitude, Spirit and All N' All are among of their hit albums. Hit singles began to spawn like "Can't Hide Love," "Gratitude," "Fantasy," "Getaway" and "Got To Get You Into My Life," an imaginative cover of The Beatles tune for a film. Grammy nominations and wins, Gold, platinum and double platinum sales plaques, Ceaseless international touring, and Writing and recording new albums while at sound check or in hotel rooms and studios on off-days. These are few of the things that can be described to Earth, Wind and Fire , one of the popular R&B/Funk Band from the late 60's until today's generation.
Members
Maurice White
Verdine White
Ralph Johnson
Philip Bailey
John Paris
B. David Whitworth
Larry Dunn
Greg "G-Mo" Moore
Vadim Zilberstein
Gary Bias
Bobby Burns Jr.
Johnny Graham
Krystal Bailey
Kimberly Johnson
Reggie Young
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About
Earth, Wind and Fire was formed in 1969 by "Maurice White". Maurice was born on 1941 at Memphis. He went to Chicago in his teenage years. Maurice became the new drummer of "Ramsey Lewis Trio" in 1967. He replaced, "Red Holt". He left the group in 1969. He joined a songwriting team, which comprise of his two friends, "Wade Flemons" and "Don Whitehead" to write songs and commercials in the area of Chicago. They signed a recording contract with Capitol Records. The trio called themselves, Salty Peppers. They released several singles such as, "La La Time", "Uh Huh Yeah" among others.
When Maurice realized that this entire singles did not fare well at the charts, he decided to transfer to other location and changed the bands name into Earth, Wind and Fire. He recruited "Sherry Scott" and "Phillard Williams". In 1970, Maurice brother "Verdine White" joined the band. He also held auditions in Los Angeles and got "Michael Beale" on guitar, "Chester Washington" on reeds, "Leslie Drayton" on trumpets and "Alex Thomas" on trombones to complete the 10 members line up.
They released their self-titled debut album in 1970. Their next album, The Need of Love was released in 1971 with the single, "I Think About Lovin' You" which became their first Top 40 hit.
After six months of being together, other members felt restless so they decided to break up. Maurice decided to reform the group. His brother was retained in the line up but he held another auditions for the line up. Maurice added "Jessica Cleaves" on vocals, "Ronnie Laws" on flute, and saxophone, "Roland Bautista" on guitar, "Larry Dunn" on keyboard, "Ralph Johnson" on percussion and "Philip Bailey" on vocals.
In 1973, the new line up released their first album, Head To The Sky. After the released of the album, Ronnie and Roland left the group. "Andrew Woolfolk", "Al McKay" and "Johnny Graham" was added to the group.
They released their next album, Open Our Eyes in 1974, which became platinum. After the released of the album, Jessica left the band. In May 1974, they released their single, "Mighty Mighty" which became their first top 30 hit on the pop charts, reaching #29.
The group's breakthrough to a mass audience came in 1975 with the release of their album That's the Way of the World, which was the soundtrack to a film in which the group appeared. It spawned the number one hit single, "Shining Star".
More hit albums like, Electric Universe, Powerlight among others were released and hit singles such as, "Runnin", "All N' All" and "You" among others were issued.
In addition to overseeing Earth, Wind & Fire’s albums and tours, Maurice was fast becoming one of the hottest producers around. He even started his own label, ARC, in 1978. Without question one of the hardest-working bands in show business, Earth, Wind and Fire found themselves physically and creatively exhausted by the early Eighties.
They took a four-year vacation starting in 1984 until 1987 in which they released their next album, Touch The World. Up to this year, the band is still performing an intact.
Awards & Certifications
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus for "Shining Star: |
| 1978 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Instrumental Performance for "Runnin" |
| 1978 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus for "All N' All" |
| 1979 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Instrumental Performance for "Boogie Wonderland" |
| 1979 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus for "After The Love Has Gone" |
Certifications
| Year | Album | RIAA Certification |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | That's The Way of The World | Certified 3x Platinum |
| 1977 | All N' All | Certified 3x Platinum |
| 1978 | The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 | Certified 5x Platinum |
| 1979 | I Am | Certified 2x Platinum |
| 1980 | Faces | Certified 2x Platinum |
| 1981 | Raise | Certified Platinum |
Chart Toppers
| Year | Title | US Singles Chart | US R&B | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Love is Life | 93 | 43 | Earth, Wind and Fire |
| 1974 | Kalimba Story | 55 | 6 | Open Our Eyes |
| 1974 | Devotion | 33 | 23 | Open Our Eyes |
| 1974 | Mighty Mighty | 29 | 4 | Open Our Eyes |
| 1975 | That's the Way of the World | 12 | 5 | That's the Way of the World |
| 1975 | Shining Star | 1 | 1 | That's the Way of the World |
| 1975 | Sing A Song | 5 | 1 | Gratitude |
| 1977 | Fantasy | 32 | 12 | All N' All |
| 1979 | Boogie Wonderland | 6 | 2 | I Am |
| 1980 | You | 48 | 10 | I Am |
| 1981 | Let's Groove | 3 | 1 | Raise! |
| 1983 | Fall in Love With Me | 17 | 4 | Powerlight |
| 1983 | Magnetic | 57 | 10 | Electric Universe |
| 1987 | System of Survival | 60 | 1 | Touch The World |
| 1987 | Thinking of You | 67 | 3 | Touch The World |
News
Tours & Concerts
Nov 2 2007 8:00P Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada
Nov 3 2007 8:00P Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 15 2008 8:00P Vivo Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
Feb 16 2008 8:00P Via Funchal, Sao Paolo, São Paulo
Feb 18 2008 8:00P Conrad Casino, Punta de Este
Feb 20 2008 8:00P Quinta Vergara, Vina del Mar
Feb 22 2008 8:00P Casino Vina del Mar, Vina del Mar
Feb 23 2008 8:00P Santiago Arena, Santiago
Mar 3 2008 8:00P Arena, Leipzi
Mar 4 2008 8:00P AWD Dome, Bremen
Mar 5 2008 8:00P Kopi Arena, Oberhausen
Mar 7 2008 8:00P TUI Arena, Hannover
Mar 8 2008 8:00P Treptow Arena, Berlin
Mar 10 2008 8:00P Olympiahalle, Munich
Mar 11 2008 8:00P Jahrhun-Derthalle, Frankfurt
Mar 12 2008 8:00P Porsche Arena, Stuttgart
Mar 14 2008 8:00P Gelredome, Arnhem
Mar 15 2008 8:00P Gelredome, Arnhem
Announcements
There are no announcements as of this time
Discography
Albums
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 Gratitude
Columbia |
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 In The Name of Love
Rhino |
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Singles
| Date | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Love is Life | Warner Bros. |
| 1971 | I Think About Lovin' You | Warner Bros. |
| 1974 | Kalimba Story | Columbia |
| 1974 | Devotion | Columbia |
| 1974 | Mighy Mighty | Columbia |
| 1975 | Shining Star | Columbia |
| 1975 | That's the Way of the World | Columbia |
| 1975 | Sing A Song | Columbia |
| 1977 | Fantasy | Columbia |
| 1978 | Jupiter | Columbia |
| 1978 | Magic Mind | Columbia |
| 1979 | In The Stone | Columbia |
| 1979 | Boogie Wonderland | Columia |
| 1979 | Star | Columbia |
| 1979 | Can't Let Go | Columbia |
| 1980 | You | Columbia |
| 1980 | Let Me Talk | Columbia |
| 1981 | Let's Groove | Columbia |
| 1983 | Fall in Love With Me | Columbia |
| 1983 | Side By Side | Columbia |
| 1983 | Spend Your Love | Columbia |
| 1983 | Magnetic | Columbia |
| 1987 | Thinking of You | Columbia |
| 1990 | Heritage | Columbia |
| 1990 | For The Love of You | Columbia |
| 1990 | Wanna Be The Man | Columbia |
| 1993 | Two Hearts | Reprise |
| 1997 | Revolution | Rhino |
| 2005 | Pure Gold | Sanctuary |
Compilations & Live Releases
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 The Eternal Dance
September 8, 1992Columbia |
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 Gold, Vol.2
Tristar |
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 Les Indispensables de Earth, Wind & Fire
Sony Music Media |
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 The Love Songs
2002 |
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Other artists
Similar artists
Contemporaries
Influences
Trivia
- the band's name was based on the fact that White's astrological sign being Sagittarius, had a primary elemental quality of Fire, but also had seasonal qualities which are Earth, and Air, hence the omission of water.
