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EARTH, WIND & FIRE BIOGRAPHY
During the 1970s, a new brand of pop music was born -
one that was steeped in African and African-American styles
- particularly jazz and R&B but appealed to a broader
cross-section of the listening public. As founder and
leader of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White
not only embraced but also helped bring about this evolution
of pop, which bridged the gap that has often separated
the musical tastes of black and white America. It certainly
was successful, as EWF combined high-caliber musicianship,
wide-ranging musical genre eclecticism, and '70s multicultural
spiritualism. "I wanted to do something that hadn't
been done before," Maurice explains. "Although
we were basically jazz musicians, we played soul, funk,
gospel, blues, jazz, rock and dance music...which somehow
ended up becoming pop. We were coming out of a decade
of experimentation, mind expansion and cosmic awareness.
I wanted our music to convey messages of universal love
and harmony without force-feeding listeners' spiritual
content."
Maurice was born December 19, 1941, in
Memphis, TN. He was immersed in a rich musical culture
that spanned the boundaries between jazz, gospel, R&B,
blues and early rock. All of these styles played a role
in the development of Maurice's musical identity. At age
six, he began singing in his church's gospel choir but
soon his interest turned to percussion. He began working
gigs as a drummer while still in high school. His first
professional performance was with Booker T. Jones, who
eventually achieved stardom as Booker T and the MGs.
After graduating high school, Maurice
moved to the Windy City to continue his musical education
at the prestigious Chicago Conservatory Of Music. He continued
picking up drumming jobs on the side, which eventually
lead to a steady spot as a studio percussionist with the
legendary Chicago label, Chess Records. At Chess, Maurice
had the privilege of playing with such greats as Etta
James, Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, Willie Dixon, Sonny
Stitt and Ramsey Lewis, whose trio he joined in 1967.
He spent nearly three years as part of the Ramsey Lewis
Trio. "Ramsey helped shape my musical vision beyond
just the music," Maurice explains. "I learned
about performance and staging." Maurice also learned
about the African thumb piano, or Kalimba, an instrument
whose sound would become central to much of his work over
the years.
In 1969, Maurice left the Ramsey Lewis
Trio and 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 Mid-western area called "La La Time."
That band featured Maurice on vocals, percussion and Kalimba
along with keyboardists/vocalists Wade Flemons and Don
Whitehead.

After relocating to Los Angeles and signing
a new contract with Warner Bros., Maurice simultaneously
made what may have been the smartest move of his young
career. He changed the band's name to Earth, Wind &
Fire (after the three elements in his astrological chart).
The new name also captured Maurice's spiritual approach
to music - one that transcended categories and appealed
to multiple artistic principals, including composition,
musicianship, production, and performance. In addition
to White, Flemons and Whitehead, Maurice recruited Michael
Beal on guitar, Leslie Drayton, Chester Washington and
Alex Thomas on horns, Sherry Scott on vocals, percussionist
Phillard Williams and his younger brother Verdine on bass.
Earth, Wind & Fire recorded two albums
for Warner Brothers: the self-titled 1970 album Earth,
Wind And Fire and the 1971 album The Need Of Love. A single
from this album, "I Think About Lovin' You,"
provided EWF with their first Top 40 R&B hit. Also
in 1971, the group performed the soundtrack to the Melvin
Van Peebles film 'Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'.
In 1972, White dissolved the line-up
(except he and brother Verdine White) and added Jessica
Cleaves (vocals - formerly of the R&B group The Friends
of Distinction), Ronnie Laws (flute, saxophone), Roland
Bautista (guitar), Larry Dunn (keyboard), Ralph Johnson
(percussion) and Philip Bailey (vocals, formerly of Friends
& Love). Maurice became disillusioned with Warner
Brothers, which had signed the group primarily as a jazz
act. Maurice, in contrast, was more interested in combining
elements of jazz, rock, and soul into an evolving form
of fusion, a truly universal sound.
A performance at New York's Rockefeller
Center introduced EWF to Clive Davis, then President of
Columbia Records. Davis loved what he saw and bought their
contract from Warner Bros. With Columbia Records, debuting
with the 1972 album Last Days And Time, the group slowly
began to build a reputation for innovative recordings
and exciting, live shows, complete with feats of magic
(floating pianos, spinning drum kits, vanishing artists)
engineered by Doug Henning and his then-unknown assistant
David Copperfield. Their first gold album, Head To The
Sky, peaked at number 27 pop in the summer of 1973, yielding
a smooth tangy cover of "Evil" and the title
track single. The first platinum EWF album, Open Our Eyes,
whose title track was a remake of the classic originally
recorded by Savoy Records group the Gospel Clefs, included
"Mighty Mighty" (number four R&B) and "Kalimba
Story" (number six R&B).
Maurice once again shared a label roster
with Ramsey Lewis, whose Columbia debut Sun Goddess, was
issued in December 1974. The radio-aired title track was
released as a single under the name Ramsey Lewis and Earth,
Wind & Fire. It went to number 20 R&B in early
1975. The Sun Goddess album went gold, hitting number
12 pop in early 1975. Maurice had also played on Lewis'
other high-charting album, Wade In The Water; the title
track single peaked at number three R&B in the summer
of 1966.

The inspiration for "Shining Star"
(one of EW&F's most beloved singles) was gleaned from
thoughts Maurice had during a walk under the star-filled
skies that surrounded the mountains around Caribou Ranch,
CO a popular recording site and retreat during the '70s.
The track was originally included in the 'That's The Way
Of The World' movie that starred Harvey Keitel and was
produced by Sig Shore (Superfly). "Shining Star"
glittered at number one R&B for two weeks and hit
number one pop in early 1975. It was included on their
1975 multi-platinum album That's The Way Of The World
that held the number one pop spot for three weeks in Spring
1975 and earned them their first Grammy Award. The title
track single made it to number five R&B in summer
of 1975. It also yielded the classic ballad "Reasons,"
an extremely popular radio-aired album track.
The multi-platinum album Gratitude held
the number one pop album spot for three weeks in late
1975. On the album was "Singasong" (gold, number
one R&B for two weeks, number five pop), the Skip
Scarborough ballad "Can't Hide Love" (number
11 R&B), and the popular radio-aired album tracks
"Celebrate," "Gratitude," and the
live version of "Reasons." In 1976, Maurice
decided he wanted to record a spiritual album. The multi-platinum
album Spirit parked at number two pop for two weeks in
fall of 1976 and boasted the gold, number one R&B
single "Getaway" and "Saturday Nite."
Spirit is remembered as one of EWF's best albums and sadly
for also being the last project of Producer Charles Stepney.
He died May 17, 1976, in Chicago, IL, at the age of 45.
Charles was a former Chess Records arranger/producer/session
musician/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter and Maurice's
main collaborator on his EWF projects. The multi-platinum
album All 'N All peaked at number three pop in late 1977,
won three Grammy's, and had arrangements by Chicago soul
mainstay Tom Tom Washington and Eumir Deodato. The singles
were "Serpentine Fire" (number one R&B for
seven weeks) and "Fantasy." The group's horn
section, the legendary Phenix Horns (Don Myrick on saxophone,
Louis Satterfield on trombone, Rahmlee Michael Davis and
Michael Harris on trumpets) became an integral part of
the Earth, Wind & Fire sound.
During this time, Maurice produced several
artists such as The Emotions (1976's Flowers and 1977's
Rejoice which included the number one R&B/pop hit
"Best Of My Love") and Deniece Williams (1976's
This Is Niecy which included the Top Ten R&B hit "Free").
In the late seventies, in association with Columbia Records,
Maurice also launched a record label, ARC.
The multi-platinum greatest-hits set
The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. I included a
cover of the Beatles' "Got To Get You Into My Life"
went to number one R&B and number nine pop in Summer
1978. The group performed the song in the 1978 Bee Gees/Peter
Frampton movie 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'.
Another single, "September," made it to number
one R&B, number eight pop in early 1978. On the flip
side was the enchanting popular radio-aired album track
"Love's Holiday" from All 'N All.
Their live performances were stellar
as well. Sellout crowds were spellbound by the band's
bombastic performances. Their performances blasted a cosmic
wave of peace, love and other happy vibrations to audiences
using a combination of eye-popping costumes, lights, pyrotechnics
and plain old good music. Sometimes they even threw in
magic illusions. Earth, Wind & Fire's message was
one of universal harmony, in both musical and cultural
senses. "We live in a negative society," Maurice
told Newsweek. "Most people can't see beauty and
love. I see our music as medicine."
The multi-platinum album I Am hit number
three pop in Summer 1979 on the strength of the million-selling
single "Boogie Wonderland" with The Emotions
(number two R&B for four weeks, number six pop) and
the phenomenal gold ballad "After The Love Has Gone,"
written by David Foster, Jay Graydon and Bill Champlin
that stayed at number two R&B/pop for two weeks. Their
Faces album peaked at number ten pop in late 1980 and
was boosted to gold by the singles "Let Me Talk"
(number eight R&B), "You" (number ten R&B),
and "And Love Goes On."

The million-selling funked-up "Let's
Groove," co-written by The Emotions' Wanda Vaughn
and her husband Wayne Vaughn, was the track that re-energized
EWF's career, parking at number one R&B for eight
weeks and number three pop, causing their Raise! album
to go platinum (hitting number five pop in late 1981).
Their next gold album Powerlight made it to number 12
pop in spring 1983 and included the Top Ten R&B single
and Grammy-nominated "Fall In Love With Me."
Their 1983 Electric Universe album stalled at number 40
pop, breaking the band's string of gold, platinum and
multi-platinum albums.
In 1983, Maurice decided he and the band
needed a break. During this hiatus, Maurice recorded his
self-titled solo album Maurice White and produced various
artists including Neal Diamond, Barbra Streisand and Jennifer
Holliday. Reuniting with the band in 1987, EWF released
the album Touch The World and scored yet another number
one R&B single, "System of Survival" and
embarked on a corresponding nine-month world tour. This
was followed by the 1988 release The Best Of Earth, Wind
& Fire Vol. II.
In 1990 the group released the album
Heritage. Two years later, Earth, Wind & Fire released
The Eternal Dance; a 55-track boxed set retrospective
of the band's entire history. The appearance of such a
project after a prolonged period of relative inactivity
signaled to many listeners that the band was calling it
quits but that did not turn out to be case. In 1993, EWF
released the album, Millennium that included the Grammy-nominated
"Sunday Morning" and "Spend The Night."
Earth, Wind & Fire kept recording
and in 1996 released Avatar and Greatest Hits Live; followed
by 1997's In The Name Of Love; 2002's That's The Way Of
The World: Alive In '75; Live In Rio which was recorded
during their 1979 "I Am World Tour;" 2003's
The Promise, which included the Grammy-nominated "Hold
Me" and 2005's Illumination, which included the Grammy-nominated
"Show Me The Way."
In 2000, the nine-piece '70s edition
of Earth, Wind & Fire reunited for one night only
in honor of their induction into The Rock And Roll Hall
Of Fame. In 2001, Eagle Rock Entertainment released the
documentary 'Earth, Wind & Fire: Shining Stars', which
contains rarely seen historic video footage along with
in-depth interviews with the band members.
Even though Maurice is no longer a part
of the touring group, he remains the band's heart and
soul from behind the scenes as composer and producer.
Maurice reflects, "I wanted to create a library of
music that would stand the test of time. 'Cosmic Consciousness'
is the key component of our work. Expanding awareness
and uplifting spirits is so important in this day. People
are looking for more. I hope our music can give them some
encouragement and peace."

For booking information,
please call 888-773-7730
This is not a tribute show.