“Earth, Wind & Fire” are an American musical group from Chicago. The leader and founder of the group, Maurice White, was born in Memphis on December 19, 1941. As soon as he reached the age of majority, he moved to Chicago to work as a session drummer for "Chess Records". In 1967 he took over from drummer Red Holt in the group "Ramsey Lewis Trio" with whom he played until 1969. He then decided to leave the band to join friends Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead, and compose songs and advertising jingles for local broadcasters. The three friends then decided to create their own musical band calling it "Salty Peppers". They got a deal with "Capitol Records" and recorded two singles without success. Maurice White decided to change the name of the band and to look for new members for the Band. He recruited his brother Verdine White as bassist, Sherry Scott as singer, Phillard Williams as percussionist, Michael Beale on guitar, Chester Washington on horns and Leslie Drayton on trumpet. "Earth Wind & Fire" was chosen as the new name of the Band. The name derives from Maurice White's zodiac sign, Sagittarius, a sign of fire influenced by the elements of earth and air. Their first album, with the same title, was released in 1970. In 1971, thanks to the single "I Think About Lovin 'You", extracted from their second album, "Earth Wind & Fire" will enter the US charts for the first time. In that same year, there were several differences from some members of the group and they decided to abandon the project. In 1972, Maurice White completely changed the lineup of "Earth Wind & Fire". In addition to himself and his brother Verdine, Ralph Johnson joined the lineup on percussion, Larry Dunn on keyboards, Roland Bautista on guitar, Ronnie Laws on flute and saxophone and Jessica Cleaves and Philip Bailey as backing vocals. In the spring of 1972 they debuted with the album "Last Days and Time". After the release of the second album "Head To The Sky" in 1973, Ronnie Laws and Roland Bautista left the group. They were replaced by saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk and guitarists Johnny Graham and Al McKay. The great success for “Earth, Wind & Fire” came in 1975 thanks to the soundtrack of the film “That's the Way of the World”, starring Harvey Keitel and directed by Sig Shore. The song "Shining Star" came first on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975, was awarded the "Grammy Award" for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and won gold. Maurice and Verdine's younger brother Fred White also joined the group as a drummer. In 1975, the album "Gratitude" went double platinum. In 1977 the Band released a new album, All 'N All, and for the fifth consecutive time they won two platinum records. In 1978 they won three "Grammy Awards" and in 1979 they reached the top of the dance charts with "Boogie Wonderland". In 1979 the group performed the song “September” at the “Music for UNICEF Concert”, broadcast worldwide from the UN headquarters, and they sold the rights to the song to UNICEF. The double album "Faces" was released in 1980 and obtained a gold record. In 1981, the album "Raise!" won the double platinum record. The single extracts “Let's Groove” and “I Wanna Be With You” will achieve global success and won prestigious awards. "Powerlight" was released in early 1983, and thanks to the hit singles "Fall In Love With Me" and "Side By Side", it won gold. This will be the last great success of a memorable band that made R&B music history. On July 30, 1993, saxophonist Don Myrick was killed in a tragic mistake by a Los Angeles policeman. On October 13, 1993, Wade Flemmons, a member of "Earth Wind & Fire" between 1970 and 1972, died in Battle Creek, Michigan. On September 15, 1995, "Earth, Wind & Fire" was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1998, Maurice White announced that he had Parkinson's disease. On September 27, 2005, trombonist Louis Satterfield passed away. On February 4, 2016, Maurice White died at the age of 75 from complications of the disease.
Album
1971 - Earth, Wind & Fire
1972 - The Need of Love1972 - Last Days and Time
1973 - Head to the Sky
1974 - Open Our Eyes
1974 - Another Time
1975 - That's the Way of the World1975 - Gratitude
1976 - Spirit1977 - All 'N All
1978 - The Best Of Earth Wind & Fire Vol. 1
1979 - I Am1980 - Faces
1981 - Raise!
1983 - Powerlight
1983 - Electric Universe
1987 - Touch the World
1988 - The Best Of Earth Wind & Fire Vol. 2
1990 - Heritage1992 - The Eternal Dance
1993 - Millennium1995 - Definitive Collection
1996 - Elements Of Love
1996 - Greatest Hits Live
1996 - Avatar1997 - In the Name of Love
2002 - The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire
2002 - That's The Way Of The World: Alive in 75
2003 - EWF Live in Rio
2003 - The Promise2004 - Love Songs
2005 - Illumination2013 - Now, Then & Forever
2014 - Holiday
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