Earth, Wind and Fire Live in Concert
Rhythm and Blues Music by EWF - the Elements of the Universe
Jun 7, 2009
Maurice White founded the band in 1969 after studying music at Chicago, Illinois’ Conservatory of Music. White who was born in Memphis, Tennessee on December 19, 1941, started singing almost at the same time that he began Kindergarten. His taste for eclectic music springs back to his post-collegiate days when he played with Ramsey Louis’ band.
As reported at the official Earth, Wind and Fire website, the jazz great Ramsey Louis, a musician who continues to perform, had a profound impact on Maurice White. The band’s smooth, rhythmic singles like “Getaway,” “Imagination,” and “Serpentine Fire,” have an element of jazz at their core, evidence of White’s musical background.
Earth, Wind and Fire’s Musical Beginnings
Over the years Maurice White’s spiritual interests grew and expanded. Much of what he learned and came to believe about the world through the study of different religions found its way into his music. In 1969 White left Ramsey Louis’ group and began to form the record setting band Earth, Wind and Fire.
A year later the nine-member band recorded its first album for Warner Brothers. Titled Earth, Wind and Fire that first album recorded hit songs like “Moment of Truth,” “Love is Life,” and “Fan the Fire.” It wasn’t the group’s strongest recording, but it did make Billboard’s Top 200 albums in 1971.
Funky Live Concert Performances by Earth, Wind and Fire
Merely the tip of the iceberg, the album put Earth, Wind and Fire on the musical map. The band followed the album up with a string of live concert performances. This is where Earth, Wind and Fire made its mark. Seeing the band in concert was akin to being transported to another place and time to be wrapped up in two to three hours of live and loud funky music.
Years later the band incorporated magic into their sets while Verdine White strummed the bass guitar and Philip Bailey, who joined the band in 1972, sang his famous high pitched solos on popular songs like “Reasons” and “Keep Your Head to the Sky.”
Five years after Earth, Wind and Fire recorded its first album, the band won its first Grammy Award. The winning was in honor of the single “Shinning Star.” A year later the group was nominated for three more Grammy Awards for “Gratitude,” “Earth, Wind and Fire” and “Can’t Hide Love.” From 1978 through 1979, the band won a total of four Grammy Awards. The following decade saw the eclectic group racking up gold albums.
Earth, Wind and Fire Connects With a Younger Generation
During the 1990s and early 2000s it seemed as if Earth, Wind and Fire has lost his touch, had gone deaf on the ears of a younger generation. Then the group performed live at the 2002 Black Entertainment Television (BET) Lifetime Achievement Awards show.
Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, Andrew Woolfolk, Sheldon Reynolds, Morris Pleasure and Sonny Emory took to the stage like they hadn’t missed a step in three decades or worried over their viability in the face of Rap’s rising popularity. They brought the audience to their feet and had people of all ages talking about their performance for days.
Since that time the group has been inducted into Hollywood’s Rock Walk, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame. March 9, 2009 Earth, Wind and Fire announced their joint summer 2009 tour with Chicago, another record setting band who has its roots in the Windy City. The tour that kicks off on June 5 will provide relief to America’s food banks. The tour concludes on September 9, 2009 at the Great Allentown Fair in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Sources Cited:
Earth, Wind and Fire Official Website. 7 June 2009.
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