Grammy Award winner Maurice White was the man behind the group. He formed the group back in 1971. The band went on to win six Grammy Awards with the fusion of rock, pop, jazz and a sprinkling of other sounds too. This is what made EWF (Earth, Wind and Fire) so special, they were different.
The group was loosely name on astrological influences and now with the name in place the group released their very first album in 1971 called Earth, Wind, Fire with his brother Verdine on bass Alexander Thomas on Trombone. The album was well received but not a great chart buster.
It was 1972 when they released two albums, the first The Need For Love followed by Last Days And Time which were both minor hits for the group. But 1973 gave them a bigger boost with the album Head To The Sky becoming a top thirty album hit and the single Evil reaching the top 50. Philip Bailey was very prominent on this track and was a long lasting member of this group.
More albums and singles poured out which gave the group great radio play, but no real hit. It was not until 1975 when the group scored a U.S. number one with Shining Star from their album That’s The Way Of The World, the single won the group their very first Grammy.
In the US. was to give the group seventeen top fifty single hits during the 1970s, but the UK was not ready for them yet. But that all changed in 1976 with their hit Saturday Night, but then amazingly 1977 became a barren chart year for the group in the UK. Fear not 1978 saw the group explode with Fantasy and another Grammy hit was under the belt. This song was floor filler all over the world, and this launched the group globally as a disco and soul group. The follow up Got To Get You Into My Life was a number one in the US., but struggled again in the UK, but was getting huge radio play as it was also on the Best Of Earth Wind And Fire Part One which gave the British audiences the ability to catch up with the groups work.
The singles kept coming through to the end of the 1970s; singles like September, Boogie Wonderland and the members of the group came and went. In fact there have been over SIXTY group members in the life of Earth, Wind and Fire.
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Let the 70s music ease the stress from your bones.Take off your disco shoes and sit yourself down on my giant bean bag, that's it just sit back and relax. Let me pry those memories from the deepest corners of your mind by taking you for a stroll through the archives.
