Earth, Wind & Fire crossed a lot of musical boundaries. They were said to have surmounted many musical fences, being recognized in genres including rock, jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, disco, funk, pop, and more. (We can forgive them their forays into disco; it was a strange and confusing time.)
Formed in Chicago in 1969, the band was started by one Maurice White, who had been playing in a band called the Salty Peppers. They have won six Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, and are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That’s a pretty good track record, but even better than the industry recognition is their recognition from the fans – with over 90 million records sold, they are among the greatest-selling bands in American history. They took a break from 1984 to 1987, but they are still playing today.
My own introduction through them came via the same source as most of the music I learned to enjoy in the mid-to-late ‘70s – on KWWL radio, 1330 on the AM dial, out of Waterloo, Iowa. It was one of the few stations that came in reasonably well in Allamakee County, and it was all rock and modern (then) music, all the time.
Here are the six songs I remember best.
That’s The Way Of The World (1975): From the 1975 album of the same name, this is a mellow tune, with some butter-soft tones from the horn section and a neat, almost casual beat. This one was written by Maurice White, Charles Stepney, and Verdine White, and the lyrics had messages of life, love, and tolerance, and encouraged self-reflection; that’s not something we see as much today, is it?
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Sing A Song (1975): Another typically smooth, upbeat song, this one spent two weeks atop the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart. This one, while topping out on the soul chart, always seemed to be leaning more into the rock & roll genre. It’s a great song, suggesting music as a way to escape your troubles – that things can always seem just a little better, if you just sing a song. After all, if you sing a song a day, you will make a better way. I’d give it a try myself, but back in 1979, the World Health Organization declared my singing voice a threat to public health, safety, and mental well-being. That’ll teach me to drink on an empty stomach.
Serpentine Fire (1976): This one is a fast-stepping tune, with an almost discordant beat punctuated by a cowbell – perhaps it needed more cowbell? Christopher Walken was not available for comment. But this is a fun song regardless, and like so many of Earth, Wind & Fire’s tunes, it’s a great one to dance to, if you’re into that sort of thing.
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September (1978): Every September, I have to play this song at least once, and I bet I haven’t missed a September since, well, 1978. But here’s the fun bit of trivia on this song, having to do with the lyrics mentioning the 21st of September:
The lyrics ask, "Do you remember the 21st night of September?". Maurice White claimed he simply chose the 21st due to how it sounded when sung. However, in a 2019 interview with the Wall Street Journal, his wife Marilyn White explains that September 21st was the expected birthdate of their son Kahbran. Recounting hearing the song for the first time, Marilyn said, "My whole body smiled. It was like a secret message between us and our son. I said, 'Oh my God, you remembered.' 'Yeah,' Maurice said, 'Yeah, I did.’
That’s a fun story.
Boogie Wonderland (1979): OK, here’s where they started really leaning into the whole disco thing. There is a rule in play here; any song with the word “Boogie” in the title or the lyrics is encroaching on disco territory, and that’s dangerous. But, yeah, it was a weird and confusing time, a dark time, a strange time, and a lot of people got sucked into the cultural abomination that was disco. But this song, at least, kept Earth, Wind & Fire’s typical style, leaning in heavy on a great horn section.Let’s Groove (1980): This one still shows a lot of disco influence, even though by 1980 disco was just starting to be displaced by New Wave and a few other transient musical oddities. And, also, well, 1980 was a little past the date for “Groove,” although I’m still known to pop out with the word “groovy” even now, almost half a century after this. Let’s Groove is a fun city song with a screaming horn section, and I like it, disco influence or not.If you’re so inclined, you can still see Earth, Wind & Fire in concert, and that’s pretty amazing, considering that they were constituted in 1969. Oh, it's not all the original members, but almost no band that's been around this long is. But they can still roll out the funk.And, as always, I’m sure you have some other tunes of theirs on your memories list – so, the comments are, again, all yours.
