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By J. MATTHEW COBB
To seriously discover what is elementary to gospel music, you have to get right down to its musical roots and break down the elements. Gospel is earthy, breezy and fiery in most cases - and it probably explains why the premiere R&B, funk and soul band of the 1970s and 80s better known as Earth Wind And Fire helped to influence the changes of contemporary gospel music. Their musical flow and energy, along with their creative spark and drive to enforce newer and universal ideas into mainstream music, stirred up a generation of music lovers during the great age of the seventies unlike any other group up to this point. And while the seventies birthed or canonized such transitional genres including funk, disco, psychedelic soul, jazz fusion, punk and rock, Earth Wind And Fire were on a mission to create a satisfying symphonic sound by uniting cultural forces from American soil including jazz, blues, rock & roll, funk, gospel and doo-wop. But that wasn't the end of EWF's creative process - far from the end. But in the end, Earth Wind And Fire can easily be defined for being one of the most musically accomplished, critically acclaimed and influential unified funk outfits in American music. Maurice White, born in Memphis, moved to Chicago as a teenager and found his way at Chess Records playing drums for a number of sessions including the likes of Billy Stewart, Etta James, Little Milton and Fontella Bass. In 1967, jazz legend Ramsey Lewis extends the invitation for White to tour and record with him. This was when he finally introduced to many American audiences the power and beauty of the kalimba; an African instrument made of a small wooden box with thin metal strips attached to its base and when plucked, the sound is reminiscent f vibes. After forming an experimental group around the late 60s called The Salty Peppers and getting a recording contract with Capitol Records, White decided it was time for a change. Their minimal hit "La La Time" only broke ground in small regions and didn't show much promise for the group's career. So change was evident for White's future. He decided to add new personnel to the band, decided to move out West and changed the name to Earth Wind And Fire. Here's where the name evolved from. White's astrological sign, Sagittarius, contains the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. He decided to change Air to Wind and dropped Water all together from the new name. Maurice's brother, Verdine White, also tagged along with White to Los Angeles in hopes to bring a new sound and progress for the group. The first group was restless and hoping for their big break from the beginning. “I had an early band from Chicago,” Maurice White said about his musical beginnings. “Earth, Wind and Fire was the second band. The first band's reality was different from mine…the second band was more patient” White went on to say that the first band wanted success immediately, but the members of Earth, Wind and Fire had the same reality as he did, knowing that success takes time. “It took three years to reach the pinnacle of success,” Maurice explained. The first carnation of Earth Wind And Fire recorded two albums on the Warner Bros. label and decided to break away after the release of 1971's "The Need Of Love". But Clive Davis saw hope in their career anyway and buys out their contract from Warner Brothers and gives Maurice new hope in the group. More auditions open up and the new lineup includes the unforgettable talents of Ralph Johnson (percussion, drums), Ronnie Laws (flute, saxophone), Roland Bautista (guitar), Denver native Philip Bailey (lead vocals) and Larry Dunn (keys). More changes were to come with the phenomenal Al McKay replacing Bautista on guitar and other additions including master musician/producer/songwriter Charles Stepney and the renowned Phoenix Horns. Doors begin to open up indeed for EWF with the release of 1973's "Head To The Sky"; which introduced to new audiences for the first time the moving falsetto wonders of Phillip Bailey's voice. The song was a key opener on R&B radio and prepared them for their 1974 successful follow-up "Open Our Eyes".This album goes platinum and is anchored by great tunes including the spiritual jam "Mighty Mighty", the strutting funk of "Kalimba Story" and the moving lyrical richness of "Devotion". The title cut is also a true classic and features White's prayerful pleas for salvation and of thanksgiving to God along jazzy chord changes and subdued horn arrangements. Then comes their next adventure: scoring the motion picture soundtrack for "That's The Way Of The World". Even though the band was featured in the film, EWF decided to push the release of the album before the movie dropped. Wise decision indeed, since the movie tanked terribly. But the soundtrack was a mesmeric success and soared to #1 on both pop and R&B charts. Songs including the everlasting title cut, the slow-jam ballad "Reasons" and the epic adventure "Shining Star" ushered a new season of popularity and success for the talented group and helped give them their first GRAMMY award. Most of this success and attention shouldn't be accredited to Maurice White alone. And he strongly admits that. Up to 1976, Charles Stepney didn't get any props on the album credits. Though he was a very instrumental key player for creating and co-producing the moods for "Open Our Eyes", "That's The Way Of The World" and "Spirit", the album linear notes mentioned another thing. Production credits listed "An Earth Wind & Fire Production". Maurice explained, "He brought his classical training, mixed with jazz and gospel overtones, to our records. He brought a certain element of class to what we were doing." The lush orchestral strings and tight brass arrangements were creations of Stepney. Before working with EWF, Stepney had developed his sound for a number of jazz artists including Ramsey Lewis, Rotary Connection and Minnie Riperton. In "Charles Stepney: A Shining Star Eclipsed" presented by DiscoVision, they mention "Stepney's mix of soul, pop, gospel, funk and jazz had finally found an audience." They go on to say that "the phenomenal success of the album, double-platinum sales, quickly turned EWF into one of the most successful black bands of the seventies...and sent ripples throughout soul, funk and jazz funk as the band everyone wanted to be, the sound everyone wanted to emulate." Unfortunately, Stepney's suffered a heart attack and his life ended at the age of forty-five before 1976's "Spirit" was released to the public, but his memory and legacy surely lives on. After Stepney's untimely death, Maurice White decided to push forward and motioned to perfect EWF's sound with more funkier riffs and dazzling horn arrangements. 1977's "All 'N All" is released and is anchored by the strength of "Serpentine Fire" and the galactic vibes of "Fantasy". Their tours were also very popular during this time - featuring on-stage dynamics including flying pyramids, pyrotechnics, laser lights and smoke. During the height of the disco era, 1979's "I Am", their most funky and sometimes overlooked project, delivered their ode to disco with "Boogie Wonderland" (also featuring the Emotions). The album also featured the signature ballad "After The Love Is Gone; penned by David Foster and Bill Champlin of the rock/soul band Chicago. Other sensational numbers including "In The Stone", "Let Your Feelings Show" and "You And I". Also during this time, EWF's rendition of the Beatles' "Got To Get You Into My Life" and "September", a fresh dance single released on their first greatest hits album, also hit it big on the dance floors and raced up the charts. Times changed in the eighties for Earth Wind And Fire. They recorded a number of underrated albums ("Raise", "Powerlight") before their contract with Columbia died out. They proved they were not out of season with 1981's "Let's Groove" and 1987's "System of Survival". The group took somewhat of a hiatus during this time and allowed some of the group members to go solo. Philip Bailey went on to record the pop smash "Easy Lover" with Phil Collins and a number of gospel albums as well. The 1986 project, "Triumph", also earned him a GRAMMY for Best Gospel Performance. Guitarist Al McKay, along with a few of the band members, left the group and formed the L.A. All-Stars and also toured the group as being "The Earth Wind & Fire Experience" overseas. Even though EWF reunited once again and continues to record, McKay has not returned since his 1983 departure. Since the group united, Earth Wind And Fire has added a number of achievements to their extensive resume. Some of those accomplishments include: a sold-out popular tour with Chicago in 2004 and 2005, their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, a GRAMMY nomination for their most recent and highly-acclaimed project "Illumination" in 2005 for Best R&B album, and several performances at the GRAMMY Awards in the last number of years. Maurice White has since retired from touring with the group to focus on production responsibilities and coping with his battle of Parkinson's disease. On the wake of Stax Records' 50th anniversary, the historical soul empire will come back to life once again as an imprint to the Concord Music Group and this time celebrating the amazing legacy of Earth Wind And Fire with a musical celebration of worthy renditions from today's superstars. Even though EWF found their home at Warner Bros. Records and later on Columbia Records (after getting Clive Davis' attention), Maurice White along with his struggling band paid their dues at Stax Records with the release of their score to Melvin Peebles' blaxplotation film "Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song". The soundtrack was released on Stax Records in. Now Stax will unfold their tribute to EWF's profound legacy with "Interpretations: Celebrating The Music of Earth Wind And Fire"; featuring Angie Stone's remake of "Be Ever Wonderful", Chaka Khan delivering on "Shining Star", Mint Condition putting their neo-soul textures on "After The Love Is Gone" and gospel hit maker Kirk Franklin flipping the lyrics of "September" into a joyful, breezy inspiring modification. The album hits stores nationwide on March 27, 2007. There's so much to say about the elements of Earth Wind & Fire. Their music has impacted multiple genres, styles and musical sounds for decades and they continue to shape generations with their fluid voices, leaping rhythms and their compassion to make a heart-touching, spiritual impact. They have proven to their followers, their critics and their supporters what legends are made of. It's so amazing to even recognize that they learned and applied what they gathered from the elements. One of these days we may just see a class offered in music education teaching the importance of Earth Wind & Fire. It's almost like science merging with mathematics and music. What a course of education that will be.
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