| Earth, Wind & Fire | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Soul, R&B, funk, jazz fusion, rock |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Labels | Warner Bros., Columbia, Sanctuary |
| Associated acts | Ramsey Lewis, The Pharaohs, Charles Stepney, Phoenix Horns, The Emotions, Caldera, Chicago |
| Website | www.earthwindandfire.com |
| Members | |
| Maurice White Verdine White Philip Bailey Ralph Johnson Reggie Young Gary Bias B. David Whitworth Myron McKinley John Paris Bobby Burns. Jr Greg "G-Mo" Moore Kim Johnson Morris O' Connor Philip Bailey Jr. |
|
| Past members | |
| Wade Flemons Yackov Ben Israel Sherry Scott Alexander Thomas Chester Washington Don Whitehead Leslie Drayton Michael Beal Larry Dunn Jessica Cleaves Roland Bautista Ronnie Laws Andrew Woolfolk Johnny Graham Al McKay Fred White Beloyd Taylor Rahmlee Michael Davis Don Myrick Michael Harris Louis Satterfield Raymond Lee Brown Sheldon Reynolds Sonny Emory Vance Taylor Dick Smith Fred Ravel Morris Pleasure David Romero Mike McKnight Robert Brookins Gordon Campbell Daniel de los Reyes Bobby Gonzales John Johnson Vadim Zilberstein Krystal Bailey |
|
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American Soul and R&B band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1971 by Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.[1][2] Rolling Stone has described them as "innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing" and has also declared that the band "changed the sound of black pop".[3] In 1998, they were ranked at number 60 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Rock N' Roll.[4]
The band's music contains elements of African, Latin American, funk, soul music, pop and rock music, jazz and other genres. The band is known for the dynamic sound of their horn section, and the interplay between the contrasting vocals of Philip Bailey's falsetto and Maurice White's tenor.[5] The kalimba (African thumb piano) is played on all of the band's albums.[6]
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In 1962, Maurice White, a former session drummer for Chess Records and former member of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, 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 recording contract with Capitol, and called themselves the "Salty Peppers," and had a marginal hit in the Midwestern area called "La La Time".[7]
The Salty Peppers' second single, "Uh Huh Yeah," did not fare as well, and Maurice moved from Chicago to Los Angeles. He then added to the band singer Sherry Scott[8] and percussionist Yackov Ben Israel both from Chicago, and then asked his younger brother Verdine how he would feel about heading out to the west coast. On June 6, 1970, Verdine left Chicago to join the band as their new bassist. Maurice began shopping demo tapes of the band, featuring Donny Hathaway, around to different record labels and the band was thus signed to Warner Bros. Records.[7][9]
Maurice's astrological sign, Sagittarius, has a primary elemental quality of Fire and seasonal qualities of Earth and Air q.v. (Sagittarius in the northern hemisphere occurs in the fall, whose element is earth, and in the southern hemisphere, it is spring, whose element is air. Hence the omission of Water, the fourth classical element). Based on this, he changed the band's name, to "Earth, Wind & Fire". Maurice (mbira) held further auditions in L.A. adding Michael Beale on guitar, Chester Washington on reeds, and Leslie Drayton on trumpet who also served as the group's musical arranger. Trombonist Alex Thomas, and electric pianist/vocalist Wade Flemons completed the then ten-man EWF lineup.[5][10]
The band's self-titled debut album, Earth, Wind, Fire, was released in February 1971 to critical acclaim, as was November 1971's The Need of Love. Both albums were produced by Joe Wissert and a single, from The Need of Love called I Think About Lovin' You' with Sherry Scott on lead vocals provided EWF with their first Top 40 R&B hit. In 1971, the group also recorded the soundtrack of the Melvin Van Peebles film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song,.[5]
The soundtrack was recorded at the Paramount Recording Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard and released on Stax records. The band also developed a growing popularity on college campuses but in spite of this some members of EWF started to become restless and the band broke up after having been together for less than six months. With only Verdine left, Maurice decided to re-form the group.
In 1972, Maurice added vocalist Jessica Cleaves, a former member of the R&B group The Friends of Distinction, Ronnie Laws on the flute and the saxophone, rhythm guitarist Roland Bautista, keyboardist Larry Dunn, percussionist Ralph Johnson and vocalist and Denver native Philip Bailey to the group. Warner Brothers didn't know how to promote this new combo as the only other funk band on their label was Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.[5]
The band successfully auditioned for managers Bob Cavallo and Joe Ruffalo and Cavallo's management of John Sebastian led to a series of gigs as the opening act for the pop/folk singer and The Lovin' Spoonful founder. A performance at New York's Rockefeller Center introduced EWF to Clive Davis, who was then the President of Columbia Records. Davis was very impressed with the band's performance and bought their contract from Warner Bros. Their debut album on CBS/Columbia Records Last Days and Time featured mostly original material, but Bailey had recommended that the band cover the Pete Seeger song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", and the elements also remade the Bread hit "Make It with You".[9][10]
The album Head to the Sky was released in the spring of 1973. Head to the Sky gave the group their first two legitimate hit singles, Evil, which was co-written by Maurice and Philip, and "Keep Your Head to the Sky", both of which reached the top 30 and the top 60 on the R&B and pop charts respectively. After the release of this album some personnel changes took place as Ronnie Laws, Roland Bautista and Jessica Cleaves left the band to pursue new musical opportunities and the album was also their last to be produced by Joe Wissert. Philip Bailey had recommended his former Denver East High School classmate, saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk to the band. Woolfolk had been busy in New York studying sax with sax maestro Joe Henderson and was about to start a career in banking when Bailey called. To fill the void created by Batistuta's departure, rhythm guitarists Al McKay, who had performed with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue and The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band and Johnny Graham from R&B group New Birth were added to round out the new lineup.[11] As some of the band's songs required lower vocals than that of Bailey's, and due to the success of "Evil", Maurice altered his role in the group to incorporate the role of lead vocalist.
Recorded at Colorado's Caribou Ranch Studio and released in 1974 the studio album Open Our Eyes was a commercially successful LP, selling over a millon copies in the US and thus being certified Platinum. Open Our Eyes was co-produced by Producer and songwriter Charles Stepney with White at Maurice's request. Stepney had previously worked with The Dells, The Rotary Connection, Terry Callier, Minnie Riperton and the Ramsey Lewis Trio to name a few.[12] Released in May 1974, the single "Mighty Mighty" became Earth, Wind & Fire's first top 30 hit on the pop charts, peaking at No.29. Another single, "Devotion", was a song with a strong spiritual message. This album also saw the inclusion of Maurice's younger brother, Fred White, into the band. Fred had played in Chicago clubs as a drummer with Donny Hathaway and Little Feat.[5]
On April 6, 1974, Earth, Wind & Fire performed at the California Jam, which was a West Coast rock festival that attracted an audience of 200,000.[13] 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 charts and has been certified Gold in the U.S by the RIAA.
In 1975, Earth, Wind & Fire worked with Sig Shore, the producer of the motion picture Super Fly, on a new film about the dark side of the recording industry. That's The Way Of The World starred Earth, Wind & Fire as "The Group", a new recording act and in the film, Harvey Keitel hears "The Group" performing, and produces their first album. The film's title is repeated throughout the film as a shrug of the shoulders to the music world. Earth, Wind & Fire performed songs in the film and Maurice had a small speaking part, as leader of "The Group".[5] When the band saw the film, they were convinced that the motion picture would be a bomb which it eventually was.[10] To avoid being connected to the movie they released the album's soundtrack which was also titled That's the Way of the Worldbefore it's premiere. Co-produced by Maurice White and Charles Stepney and recorded at the Caribou Ranch Studio That's the Way of the World became Earth, Wind & Fire's breakthrough album going to number one on the pop and R&B charts.[14]
Described as "one of the strongest albums of the 70's", "EWF's crowning achievement" and "a very tightly produced and performed package" by by Allmusic's Alex Henderson and Billboard Magazine respectively.[15][16] That's the Way of the World fostered EWF becoming the first black act to top both the Billboard album and singles charts.[5] The album went triple Platinum and included the hit singles "Shining Star" which rose to number one on the R&B Singles and Billboard Hot 100 and won the band a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and "That's the Way of the World" which went to number five and number 12 on the R&B Singles and Billboard Hot 100 respectively. "Shining Star"'s origins came during a nightly walk that Maurice had during the band's recording of "That's the Way of the World", when looking up towards the starry sky, he gained inspiration and took his ideas for the song to the other band members.[14]
Because of the tremendous commercial success of "That's The Way Of The World", the band could then afford to hire a full horn section entitled the Phenix Horns who became an integral part of the band's sound. The Phenix Horns was composed of saxophonist Don Myrick, trombonist Louis Satterfield, both of whom worked with Maurice during his Chess Records session days, and trumpeters Rahmlee Davis and Michael Harris. After returning from their first European tour where they opened for Santana, Columbia Records wanted another album released and so the band returned to the studio in June 1975. From these sessions came two singles "Sing a Song" and "Can't Hide Love", the latter written by Clarence "Skip" Scarborough.[9] These songs and other studio songs were included along with mostly live concert material from their 1974 and 1975 tours on on the double album Gratitude which the band released in 1975. Gratitude stayed at number one on the pop and R&B charts for three weeks and with it's release the Phenix Horns got their first credits on an EWF album. Also in 1975, Earth, Wind & Fire won Down Beat magazine's Readers Poll for favorite Rock/Blues Group.[17]
Maurice created and developed a production company entitled Kalimba Productions in late 1975. Two artists that he had signed to Kalimba Productions were vocalist Deniece Williams, a former member of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove backup group, and the girl group, The Emotions, who had a run of hits with Stax Records from 1969 to 1974. Maurice loaned the band's signature Phenix Horns and most of the band members to his other production projects and put on tour some of the acts that he was producing at the time. Sadly in 1976, Charles Stepney, after helping co-produce and arrange Earth, Wind & Fire's new album, Deniece Williams's debut album, This Is Niecy, and The Emotion's first Columbia Records album Flowers, died of a heart attack May 17 in Chicago at the age of 43. He was survived by his wife Rubie, his three daughters, Eibur, Charlene and Chante, his parents and his brother.[18]
With Stepney's death Maurice took over and completed the production of the band's new album, called Spirit, which was released October 1976. EWF paid tribute to Stepney in the form of the album's title track.[19] and included were the hit singles "Getaway" and "Saturday Nite". "Getaway" was written by Bernard (Beloyd) Taylor and Peter Cor Belenky and was one of the small number of EWF's hits that was written by someone from outside of the group.[5][20]
The band's concerts during this time were loaded with pyrotechnics, magic, laser lights, flying pyramids, levitating guitarists and elaborate production tricks, that included the entire group ascending in a pyramid and a disappearing act, which saw EWF literally vanishing from sight. Magician Doug Henning directed many of their tours throughout the 1970s with his young assistant, David Copperfield. Their concerts were choreographed by George Faison.[5][21]
November 1977, the group released another studio LP, All 'N All. Starting with this album, the Japanese artist Shusei Nagaoka began doing the artwork and the illustrations for several of Earth, Wind & Fire's album covers.[22] With its Egyptian/African themed album cover, All 'N All featured the hit singles "Serpentine Fire" and "Fantasy", and has achieved triple Platinum status. In 1978, EWF picked up three Grammy Awards, the third for their version of The Beatles' "Got to Get You into My Life". This song, as well as the band, were featured in the movie, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. The film itself was a commercial bomb; however, "Got to Get You into My Life" was the biggest hit from the movie's soundtrack, reaching numbers one and nine on the R&B and Pop singles charts, respectively.
1978 was also the year that Maurice and managers Cavallo and Ruffalo worked out a deal for the launch of a new record label called The American Recording Company (ARC), to be distributed through CBS and the creation of a recording studio, George Massenburg/ARC also called "The Complex" in West Los Angeles. The year ended with another hit single, "September", which was added to the quintuple platinum compilation album, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1, and was released November 23, 1978, just four days before Thanksgiving.
At this time, Bobby Harris of the Dazz Band requested and got Philip Bailey to produce the group's first album, Kinsman Dazz. Bailey would also co-produce the second album, Dazz and had a major input into the group's vocal arrangements.[23] In 1979, the band performed "September" and "That's The Way Of The World" at the Music for UNICEF Concert, which was broadcast worldwide from the United Nations General Assembly for NBC.[24] The band donated their royalties from one of their songs to UNICEF.
1979 also saw the release of I Am, the group's ninth album, their seventh for Columbia and their second to be released on the ARC label. Songs from the album included "In the Stone", "Can't Let Go" and the much-anticipated, but sad ballad, "After the Love Has Gone" by David Foster, which went to the number 2 spot on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts and won for the Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammy Awards of 1980.
Early 1979 saw the band touring overseas, headlining shows in Europe and Japan. Though the band had previously overlooked disco, the summer of 1979 saw EWF topping the dance music charts with their most disco inspired single "Boogie Wonderland", which was produced by Maurice and Al McKay, and featured The Emotions. Even with the song's success, Verdine White claims that band is not a disco band, saying "I guess you could say we were at the party but didn’t get on the dance floor".[25][26]
The double-album Faces, the group's tenth album, was released October 1980 and went Gold. In a 2007 interview, when asked which EWF album is his favorite, Maurice White replied "Probably Faces because we were really in tune, playing together and it gave us the opportunity to explore new areas".[27] After the release of this album, longtime rhythm guitarist Al McKay left the band to pursue production interests and was replaced by returning electric guitarist Roland Bautista who gave the band a bit of a hard rock feel. Phil Collins saw EWF while they were on one of their European tours and came in contact with the Phenix Horns; they later worked with Genesis on songs like "No Reply At All" and "Paperlate", and on his solo hits, like "I Missed Again" and "Sussudio".
The Platinum Raise!, EWF's eleventh album was released in the fall of 1981. Raise! featured the million selling hit single "Let's Groove", and another single "Wanna Be With You" which won EWF a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group. Earth, Wind & Fire appeared at American Bandstand's 30th Anniversary Special where they performed Let's Groove on October 30, 1981.[28]
Two years after the release of Raise! camePowerlight which included the singles "Fall In Love With Me" a number 17 pop hit, and "Side By Side." "Powerlight" went Gold. Also in 1983 the song "Dance, Dance, Dance" was contributed to the soundtrack of the animated film Rock & Rule. After the fully synthesized album Electric Universe was released in late 1983 to a poor critical and commercial reception Maurice believed that EWF needed a break so he put the band on hiatus.
During their hiatus, Philip Bailey released his second and most commercially successful solo project, the Gold album Chinese Wall which featured the Phenix Horns and was produced by Phil Collins. The first single from that album, a duet with Collins called "Easy Lover", sold over a million copies, rose to number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the UK Singles Chart respectively and was Grammy nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo or Group. The music video of Bailey and Collins rehearsing their collaboration went to the top of MTV's video playlist, won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in 1985. Bailey released four gospel albums in this period, and one of them titled Triumph, won him a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male.
Maurice White during this time produced for Barbra Streisand on her Platinum album Emotion and worked with Neil Diamond on his Gold album Headed for the Future and Cher on her 1987 Platinum album Cher. He also released the solo album Maurice White in 1985, which included a cover of "Stand by Me", which went to number six on the R&B charts and number eleven on the Adult Contemporary charts. The album also featured an appearance by saxophonist Gerald Albright. Also, during the hiatus, Verdine White worked behind the scenes, writing and directing videos. He produced the English pop rock and jazz-funk band Level 42's album Standing in the Light, with Larry Dunn, and promoted go-go bands like Trouble Funk and E.U.[5] The compilation album The Collection was released May 1986 and this album stayed at number 5 on the UK singles charts for two weeks and was certified Gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry.
In 1987, CBS Records convinced both Philip Bailey and Maurice White that a reunion of Earth, Wind & Fire would be fruitful. As a result original members Verdine White, Ralph Johnson and Andrew Woofolk returned to the band with new members guitarist/vocalist Sheldon Reynolds, lead guitarist Dick Smith, drummer Sonny Emory. A new horn section dubbed the Earth, Wind & Fire Horns was also created and this was made up of Gary Bias on the saxophone, Raymond Lee Brown on the trumpet and flugelhorn and trombonist Reggie Young. The band's reunion fostered the 1987 Gold album Touch the World, which was nominated for a Soul Train Award in the category of Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year and rose to number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 33 on The Billboard 200.[29]
Featured on the album was a song penned by an unknown songwriter by the name of Skylark called "System of Survival". Released as a single the song became a hit going to number one on the Billboard R&B charts and Dance charts, and another single called "Thinking Of You" peaked at number one and number three on the R&B and Dance charts as well.
In 1988 the band released the compilation album The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 2 which went Gold in the US. The group's final album released by Columbia Records was 1990's Heritage, which featured a collaboration with Sly Stone of Sly & the Family Stone. EWF then signed once again with Warner Brothers and from this came the release in 1993 of their 16th studio album entitled Millennium. Included on the album was a track written by Prince called Super Hero and the single "Sunday Morning" for which the band got a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Tragedy befell the band in 1993 as on July 30 former band member and Phenix Horns saxophonist Don Myrick was fatally shot by the Los Angeles Police Department in a case of mistaken identity. In addition on October 13 former lead vocalist Wade Flemons died from cancer in Battle Creek, Michigan.
In 1994, Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the NAACP Hall Of Fame. The band received another tribute in the following year in the form of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[30] All the original members of the group attended the ceremony and in his speech Maurice White attributed EWF's success to the support of all of their fans. During this time, Maurice White retired from touring with the band due to contracting parkinson's disease in the late 80's. At this juncture Philip Bailey was given the role of onstage leader of the band and Maurice concentrated more on producing and developing new Earth, Wind & Fire recordings and working with other artists. He remained a member of the band and showed up at concerts and other events from time to time. The studio album In the Name of Love was released in 1997 on Pyramid Records to a favorable critical reception. EWF performed at the 1997 Montreux Jazz Festival and gave an encore performance the following year. In 2004 a DVD of their 1997 performance was released which is entitled Earth, Wind & Fire: Live At Montreux 1997 and in 1999 the group performed on the A&E Network show Live by Request.[31]
Earth, Wind & Fire was inducted on March 6, 2000 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by rapper Lil' Kim to a standing ovation during the 15th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction dinner held at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The band's original members Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Al McKay, Larry Dunn, Andrew Woofolk, Fred White and Johnny Graham played together for the first time in 20 years at the ceremony, performing Shining Star and That's The Way Of The World.[32] After their induction into the Hall of Fame an effort was made by the original band members to have a full reunion which eventually proved unsuccessful.[33]
Earth, Wind & Fire were the special musical guests at a White House state dinner hosted by President Bill Clinton held on the South Lawn of the White House in honor of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco and Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem on June 20, 2000.[30][34] So impressed was His Majesty by the band's performance that he made a successful personal request for EWF to perform in Morocco for his 37th birthday celebration, which took place on August 21, 2000.[35]
In 2001, EWF released a biographical documentary of the band entitled Shining Stars: The Official Story Of Earth, Wind & Fire, directed by Kathryn Arnold. Following the September 11 attacks, the band members donated $25,000 to the American Red Cross at a September 13 show at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater in Virginia. This show was the band's first concert since the events took place.[36]
February 24, 2002 saw Earth, Wind & Fire performing at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah.[37] A live album from the band's 1980 performance in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil entitled Live In Rio was released on Maurice White's own Kalimba Records label in 2002 as well. In that same year EWF was honored with the Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The award was presented by Jimmy Jam, ASCAP President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman and Stevie Wonder.[38] In addition the band was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Hollywood's RockWalk the following year.[39]
Also in 2003 The Promise which was the band's first studio album in six years was released on Kalimba Records. The Promise received critical acclaim upon its release with Blender Magazine calling the album "a classy collection" and People Magazine describing The Promise as "musically rich". [40][41] The Promise rose to number 19 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts and the song Hold Me from The Promise was Grammy nominated for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. Included on The Promise were songs that were reminiscent of the classic EW&F sound such as the kalimba laden track "All in the Way", which reunited EWF with The Emotions, and Betcha'. Also featured on the album were the tracks "Where Do We Go From Here" and "Dirty" which were two previously unreleased songs from the "I Am" recording sessions.
On February 8, 2004, Earth, Wind & Fire performed at the 46th annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, California in a tribute to funk. Other artists who performed in this tribute were OutKast, Robert Randolph and the Family Band and Parliament Funkadelic. EWF sang "Shining Star" and then at Outkast's request crooned "The Way You Move" with them, and then teamed up with all of the other bands to sing Parliment Funkadelic's classic Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker).[21][42] Earth, Wind & Fire contributed to the Jimi Hendrix Tribute album which was released in May 4, 2004, Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix with a cover of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)". Gary Bias and Bob Burns Jr. of the Earth, Wind & Fire Horns were featured on Queen Latifah's The Dana Owens Album which was released on September 28, 2004. The album got to 16 and 11 on The Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album charts respectively and was certified Gold. Earth, Wind & Fire appeared on Kenny G's track "The Way You Move", which he released in November 2004 and charted at number 12 on the Adult Contemporary singles chart the band featuring Kenny G performed "The Way You Move" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in January of the following year.[43]
On December 11, 2004, Earth, Wind & Fire were honored at the first annual Grammy Jam held at Los Angeles's Wiltern Theater. At the event several artists paid tribute to the band in the form of performances and these included Stevie Wonder, Yolanda Adams, Sheila E., Miri Ben-Ari, George Duke, Kanye West and Randy Jackson. Pamela Anderson, Tim Allen, Prince, Mathew Knowles, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Nick Cannon and Suzanne de Passe were some of the celebrities that attended the Jam.[44] EWF performed on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on December 31, 2004, .[45]
In the Summer of 2004, Earth, Wind & Fire signed a record deal with Sanctuary Urban Records, owned by Mathew Knowles, who is the father and manager of r&b/pop singer Beyoncé. On September 20, 2005 EWF released the single "Show Me the Way", on which they paired up with neo soul artist Raphael Saadiq. The single garnered a Grammy nomination and was featured on Illumination their nineteenth studio album, which was released on the same day as the single. With this album EWF collaborated with artists such as Will.i.am, Kelly Rowland, Outkast's Big Boi and Brian McKnight. Illumination reached number eight on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album Chart and number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single "Pure Gold" reached number 23 on the Adult Contemporary Charts. The album garnered the admiration of critics with Allmusic's Rob Theakston referring to the album as an "outstanding record" and Steve Jones of USA Today' remarking that on the album EWF are as "vibrant as ever".[46][47] Illumination received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album and a Soul Train Music Award in the category R&B-soul album. EWF also received a NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Duo or Group.[48]
Earth, Wind & Fire performed on the Super Bowl XXXIX pregame show in Jacksonville, Florida on February 6, 2005. The band teamed up with The Black Eyed Peas singing "Where Is the Love?" and "Shining Star".[49][50] March 2005 EWF performed in Russia for the first time.[30]
In 2004 Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago embarked upon a joint national tour which gave rise to to a DVD of the concert at Los Angeles's Greek Theater entitled Chicago & Earth, Wind & Fire – Live at the Greek Theatre, which was released June 28, 2005, and was certified Platinum just two months after its release. Chicago and EWF toured together again in 2005 and collaborated for a new recording of Chicago's ballad "If You Leave Me Now", included on Chicago's 2005 compilation album Love Songs. As part of an opening act for the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards the band once again teamed up with the The Black Eyed Peas on September 18, 2005 and their performance marked the first time a musical artist has opened at the annual awards show.[30] On September 27, 2005, former Earth, Wind & Fire member and member of the Phenix Horns trombonist Louis Satterfield passed away. He was 67 years old. In 2005 EWF released their first Christmas themed track entitled "Gather Round", which was produced and arranged by Foster and written by Maurice White, David Foster and Philip Bailey.[51]
In 2006 Maurice worked with Maurice Hines (the brother of Gregory Hines) to release the Broadway play Hot Feet, a jukebox musical which had as its theme the music of Earth, Wind & Fire. Maurice wrote several new songs along with Allee Willis for the play. EWF made an appearance at the 49th Grammy Awards held at Los Angeles's Staples Center performing along with Mary J Blige and Ludacris "Runaway Love".[52]
Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire is a cover album of EWF's material which was executively produced by Maurice White and released on Stax Records on March 27, 2007. Featured on the album are artists such as Chaka Khan, Kirk Franklin, Lalah Hathaway, Mint Condition, Dwele, Meshell Ndegeocello and Angie Stone.Dwele and Meshell Ndegeocello's rendtions of of "That’s The Way Of The World" and Fantasy respectively were each nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.
The band served as the opening act for a special edition of American Idol titled "Idol Gives Back" on April 25, 2007 where they performed a medley of "Boogie Wonderland", "Shining Star" and "September".[53] Earth, Wind & fire also performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which took place in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2007. Other artists at the concert included Melissa Etheridge, Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox and Kylie Minouge. The Nobel Peace Prize Concert was broadcast to over 100 countries and was hosted by Kevin Spacey and Uma Thurman .[54] On the opening night of Chile's Viña del Mar Festival which is one of the largest musical events in Latin America, Earth, Wind & Fire performed and for their performance the audience awarded them with the "Gaviota de Plata" (the Silver Seagull) which is the highest award that can presented to an artist performing at the festival.[55][56][57] Ironically the fanfare introduction to their song "In the Stone" has been used many years in this festival as the introductory theme for the broadcasting of the event.[58]
Maurice White, Ralph Johnson, Philip Bailey and Verdine White each received an honorary degree from the Arts and Media College at Columbia College Chicago during the college's 2008 commencement exercises on May 18, 2008. Verdine White and Bailey both gave remarks during the ceremony, which was followed by by all four giving an impromptu performance of "Shining Star".[59] On August 25, EWF performed at the opening ceremony of the 2008 US Open, hosted by Forrest Whitaker. The event commemorated the 40th anniversary of the founding of tennis’s Open Era with a parade of more than 25 former US Open singles champions.[60] In November 2008 Verdine White was presented with Bass Player magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award by fellow bass guitarist Nathan East.[61] Earth, Wind & Fire performed at the White House on February 22, 2009, at the Governors' Dinner, the first formal White House dinner that was hosted by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.[62] The band will tour once again with Chicago for a 2009 tour of thirty US cities.[63] On April 26, 2009, EWF performed at the 39th New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.[64] In 2010 EWF performed at the 40th New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson participated in the recording of the We Are the World 25 for Haiti single in the same year.[65] 2010 was also the year that saw Earth, Wind & Fire's original members Maurice White, Phillip Bailey, Verdine White, Al McKay and Larry Dunn all being inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. On Thursday, November 17, 2011 the band was bestowed with the honor of receiving the Legend Award at the 2011 Soul Train Awards held at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Earth, Wind & Fire's songs have been covered by artists such as Point of Grace, D'Angelo, Dionne Warwick, The 5th Dimension, Pomplamoose[66] Lenny White,[66] Patti LaBelle,[67] The Manhattans, Wynonna Judd, Yolanda Adams, New York Voices, Donny Osmond, Chaka Khan, 112,[67] the Vienna Boys' Choir,[66] Herb Alpert,[68] Musiq Soulchild,[69] and Tito Puente.[67]
Earth, Wind & Fire's songs have been sampled by numerous artists, including UGK, A Tribe Called Quest, Wyclef Jean, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Nas[70] Jay-Z,[71] Amerie, The Fugees, LL Cool J, De La Soul, Common, Frank Zappa, Naughty by Nature, P Diddy, The Roots, Will Smith,[72] Cee-Lo Green,[73] Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez[74] of TLC, Public Enemy, EPMD, Lupe Fiasco, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Tupac Shakur and MC Lyte.[66][67][70][71]
Earth, Wind & Fire have influenced artists such as Usher,[75] Will.i.am,[76] Janelle Monae[77] Mary J. Blige,[78] Prince,[79] Pharrell Williams,[80] India.Arie,[81] The Neptunes,[82] Jon Secada,[83] Wyclef Jean,[84] Common,[85] Phil Collins,[86] Boney James,[87] Angie Stone,[88] Raphael Saadiq,[89] The All-American Rejects,[90] Jesse McCartney,[91] Musiq Soulchild,[92] Solange Knowles,[93] Babyface,[94] OutKast,[95] Jamiroquai,[96] Five for Fighting,[97] Lenny Kravitz,[98] Marc Broussard,[99] Omarion,[100] Rob Bourdon of Linkin Park,[101] Eric Benét,[102] Jill Scott,[103] Justin Timberlake,[104] Sheila E.,[105] Marcus Miller,[106] Erykah Badu,[107] Jamie Foxx,[108] Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy,[109] Meshell Ndegeocello,[110] Wynton Marsalis,[111] and Mario.[112]
Miles Davis described EWF as his "all time favorite band" saying, "they have everything (horns, electric guitar, singers and more) in one band".[113] Quincy Jones has proclaimed himself to be the "biggest fan of Earth, Wind & Fire since day one."[114] Dionne Warwick has named Earth, Wind & Fire as her favorite group of all time.[115]
In the movie BAADASSSSS!, the actor Khalil Kain portrayed a young Maurice White leading the early incarnation of Earth, Wind & Fire.[116][117] Released at the Sundance Film Festival, the film was based on Melvin Van Peebles' struggle to film and distribute the movie Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and was directed by his son Mario Van Peebles.
The following albums reached the Top Ten on either the United States Billboard 200 pop albums chart or the United Kingdom UK Albums Chart.[118][119]
The following singles reached the Top Ten on either the United States Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart or the United Kingdom UK Singles Chart.[118][120]
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