Earth, Wind & Fire took its name from its founder's star sign
Maurice White was a Sagittarius, a sign whose classical element is fire, with seasonal qualities of earth and air. So when he renamed his Chicago band the Salty Peppers, he left out water, the fourth classical element. The result, Earth, Wind & Fire, went on to sell over 90 million records worldwide.
White arrived with serious credentials, having drummed on sessions for Chess Records and played in the Ramsey Lewis Trio. In 1969 he and two Chicago friends wrote songs and commercials, and as the Salty Peppers they scored a modest Midwest hit, 'La La Time'. After a weaker follow-up, White moved to Los Angeles, and his younger brother Verdine joined him there on bass in June 1970.
The first incarnation sold only moderately, though a DownBeat critic gave the 1971 debut five stars and a Detroit reviewer struggled to label its mix of gospel, jazz, blues and rock. The group also played on the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles's film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Then most of the band walked out, leaving only the White brothers. Maurice rebuilt from scratch in 1972, adding keyboardist Larry Dunn, percussionist Ralph Johnson and singer Philip Bailey, whose falsetto became a signature against Maurice's tenor.
A show at New York's Rockefeller Center caught the attention of Clive Davis, who bought their contract for Columbia. Momentum built quickly: Head to the Sky went platinum, and Open Our Eyes, recorded at the Caribou Ranch studio, topped the soul albums chart in 1974. That April they played the California Jam festival before about 200,000 people.
One shrewd call came in 1975. The band appeared in a film called That's the Way of the World, with Harvey Keitel as a record producer dazzled by their performance, but after watching it they were convinced it would flop. They put the soundtrack out before the premiere so the music would not sink with the movie. Arranger Charles Stepney brought ornate orchestral touches that shaped their sound from then on. Their honours eventually included six Grammys and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019.
Source: Earth, Wind & Fire
