The Elements

 Keep It Oldskool Presents 
         Artist Profile 

Earth Wind and Fire



In music there are artists/groups that are above any normal classification. Artists/Groups such as, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Teena Marie, RunDMC etc. The aforementioned artists/groups have spanned decades not years and have never seen the support or love waver in any form. Keep It Oldskool wants to highlight the elements of the universe EARTH WIND & FIRE. The band has had upwards of 40 past and current members. In that regard we will mention the original lineup as well the lineup when EWF was at its highest peak. That is not a reflection on the past or current members of the group.




Origins 

The origins of the group which would go on to give us monumental music along with a sense of pride with the Afrocentric album covers was started when Maurice White a session drummer got together with two friends (Wade Flemons and Donald Whitehead) and formed a trio called the Salty Peppers in 1971. The trio also composed commercial jingles. Younger brother of Maurice, Verdine White  became the bassist as the group left  
Chicago and went to California along with Yackov Ben Isreal and Sherry Scott.  After auditions the group added Michael Beale,Chester Washington and Leslie Drayton. The original lineup of the newly named EARTH WIND &FIRE was born. 

 

The first self titled album Earth Wind and Fire was released in 1971. The album although was a critics favorite, did not not give them the sales that they would have hoped for. In the same year they released their second album The Need of Love The first and second album did provide future Hip Hop producers with tracks to sample  such as "Moment of Truth" which was sampled by both Kid N Play and LL Cool J for "Energy" and "Murdergram" respectively 

After a chance meeting with movie director Melvin Van Peebles the group scored the soundtrack to his movie Sweet Sweetback's Badaassss Song. Most of the  members of the group all left due to the lack of success.  That left only Maurice and Verdine White. The brothers decided to put together a whole new group once that was complete they began what was the most successful period of the the group.


FUNKING IT UP 




Adding future fixture of the group Phillip Bailey with Jessica Cleaves,Ronnie Laws,Roland Bautista, Larry Dunn and Ralph Johnston the group newly signed to Columbia/CBS Records set about to put the world on notice. 1973's Head to the Sky album was certified platinum and featured to hits, "Evil" and "Keep Your Head to the Sky" After more defections EWF again added members. Each release after that garnered EWF more acclaim. 1975's That's The Way of the World album was intended to be the soundtrack to a Sig Shore movie of the same name. The album which included #1 R&B and Pop Chart hit "Shinning Star" as well as "That's The Way of The World" was certified triple platinum (3 million records sold).

The group also had innovative and inspiring album covers that group bass player Dean White said were conceived by Maurice White (courtesy of www.kentakepage.com) 

“Maurice came up with the whole concept for the artwork. I think it really reflected our view of the world. The globalization of the world, the things that are happening today, and what we see all over the world with wars and other things. We have always been conscience of what our world view has been so our album covers have always reflected that. Obviously we tried to communicate that through our music too but the covers always gave us a visual aspect too.” 

EWF album covers were an event themselves. Whether it was the Egyptian style motif or the dazzling colors of the cover art EWF made sure that their albums and covers provoked discussion. Here are some of the best of the 20 EWF albums 

  




In addition to the handling the creative aspect of EWF, Maurice White established a production company called Kalimba where he worked with artists such as Denice Williams and the group The Emotions. 

The group was world renown for it's horn section. The horn section had a distinctive sound that was easily identifiable. EWF had to many hits and albums to possibly name each one but even today if you hear the beginning of some of their songs you instantly know the words to them.

 

IN CLOSING 

EWF is a group that spans all genres and has contributed to all forms of music from samples being used in Hip Hop, performing a John Lennon/Paul Mccarthy penned song ("Got to Get You Into my Life") to the numerous contributions to Funk Music.  Even in 2014 43 years after its foundation a form of the group still performs,travels and records. In 2000 EWF was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group has won 6 Grammy Awards,4 American Music Awards as well as sold over 90 million albums worldwide.

KEEP IT OLDSKOOL SALUTES THE ELEMENTS OF THE UNIVERSE EARTH. WIND & FIRE