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Home > Genres > 70s Hits > Earth, Wind and Fire: The Elements of Good Music
Earth, Wind and Fire: The Elements of Good Music
Earth, Wind and Fire (EWF) is an American funk band which was formed in 1969 in Chicago, IL. The band leader is Maurice White; the band is best recognized for songs like: “Reasons”, “After the Love Has Gone”, “September” and “Shining Star”. A curious note is that EWF became as the first black band that received the Madison Square Garden’s Gold Ticket Award for selling more than 1,000,000 tickets and also the Columbia Records Crystal Globe for selling more than 5 million albums outside the US. They also won the BET’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the ASCAP’s Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award.
The founder of the band Maurice started playing the drums with another band called “Ramsey Lewis Trio” but then he decided to create his own group which was called “The Salty Peppers” (signed to Capitol Records). Then Maurice moved with the group to Los Angeles, CA and changed the name to “Earth Wind and Fire”. By 1970 the group released their self titled debut that received good criticism but was not commercially successful. By 1972, EWF changed to CBS Records and launched the record “Last Days and Time”. The next year the group released the disc “Head to the Sky” which had a discreet success and in 1974 Earth, Wind, and Fire released the album “Open Your Eyes” which was their biggest hit. In 1975 they composed the soundtrack for the movie “That’s The Way of the World”; the movie was not successful but the songs were. In the same year they also released a live album entitled “Gratitude”. By 1976 they launched “Spirit” and in 1977 “All ‘N All”. Two years later EWF released the disc “I Am”, in 1980 they also released “Faces” and in 1981 “Raise”. During the 80’s and 90’s the band was not more successful and their fame began to decrease. By 1998 the band leader Maurice was diagnosed with Parkinson’s illness. However in 2002 he released two discs, “Live in Rio” and “The Promise” in 2003. In 2000 Earth, Wind, and Fire was introduced in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2003 in the Hollywood’s Rock Wall. In 2004 and 2005 Earth, Wind, and Fire toured with the band “Chicago” and then released a DVD of the tour which was awarded with the platinum status on 2005. EWF has also released several songs for other purposes.
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