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Earth Wind & Fire at the
March 6th, 2000 - Waldorf Astoria Hotel, NYC
Eart Wind & Fire is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the fifteenth annual induction dinner.
Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White, who last week revealed his battle with Parkinson's disease, made a rare appearance performing with the band he founded.
"It's been a long road, but it's been a beautiful road" said White, who made no mention of his affliction.
"I'll probably talk about it very briefly", he said. "The whole objective of being there is the tribute to the band, it's not my personal problems. Talking about the music is the most important thing".
It's a particularly sweet honor for White, who always said he wanted the band's music to inspire instead of just entertain.
"That was the whole objective, to try to inspire young people to believe in themselves and to follow through on their ideas", he said. "We've touched so many people with these songs".
The band performed its hits "Shining Star" and "That's the Way of the World" bringing together its original members for the first time in 20 years.
After their performance, the band discussed how being reunited after 20 years for their induction was given extra meaning in light of Maurice White's physical challenge. White's brother Verdine said, "This has been really heavy for all of us".
Added member Philip Bailey, "We are experiencing what any other family would experience. It's emotional being back with these guys, we experience pure magic together. All of the memories came flooding back. We're encouraged by Maurice's courage".
Though the magic is still there, some of the rockers spoke of feeling creaky. "What makes us feel old", said Earth Wind & Fire member Andrew Woolfolk, "is when somebody comes up to us and says: my
mama got all your records".
The band is a consistent concert draw, particularly last summer when it toured with Barry White. Original members Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson and Verdine White, Maurice's brother, join a troupe of 12 other musicians and dancers on stage.
White's singing partner through the years, Bailey, expects that the achievement of getting into the Hall of Fame won't hit him until he arrives in New York.
"We really would like to have ourselves have more success today, and we're taking steps to make that the case. When you're in your own mode and you're going forward, it's hard to look back. Maybe I will be able to later on".
Nothing annoys Earth, Wind & Fire members more than when people seem surprised they're still together, or suggest they make new records. After a four-year hiatus in the mid-1980s, they've been working and recording steadily since 1987.
"People say that so much that you really have to put it away in terms of your own sensitivity to it", Bailey said. "For a long time, it was a sensitive issue".
Earth, Wind & Fire has found it next to impossible to convince radio stations to play their new music. Jammin' oldies stations are fine, they keep the music alive, but they're not interested in anything new.
"That's pretty frustrating" Bailey said. "And then you have to muster up the courage and the fortitude to get back into the studio and do it again".
Earth, Wind & Fire hopes to take a lesson from Carlos Santana. "His multi-platinum album probably wouldn't have gotten a chance on radio stations if it wasn't for the participation of Rob Thomas, Lauryn Hill, Eric Clapton and others", Bailey said.
So Earth, Wind & Fire is working with Wyclef Jean, Eric Benet and others they won't name yet. Coupled with the Hall of Fame induction and the band's upcoming 30th anniversary, they hope it will attract attention.
"If you have Wyclef, if you have Rob Thomas or some of these people, then you can get on the radio and connect", Bailey said.
He concedes that's a delicate balancing act.
"If in fact you work with some of these people and you lose yourself in it, whether it's a success or not a success, you kind of lose", he said.
The Foundation's nominating committee, composed of rock and roll historians, selects 15 nominees each year in the "artist" category. Ballots are sent to an international voting body of about 1,000 rock experts.
Those performers who receive the highest number and more than 50% of the votes are inducted. There are usually between 5-7 artists inducted annually.
Earth, Wind & Fire drew from various streams of black music, synthesizing soul, funk, R&B, pop, gospel and African styles into a polished, precision-tooled approach.
During the latter half of the Seventies, they issued a string of albums that changed the face of black popular music, linking thrilling music with uplifting messages of racial pride, African consciousness and spiritual unity.
The group was known for employing magic tricks (often directed by the late Doug Henning) in their elaborate late-Seventies stage shows. Even so, the anthemic power of "Shining Star," "Serpentine Fire", "Getaway" and numerous other crossover hits proved that Earth, Wind & Fire's music could stand on its own.
May 15, 1971: Earth, Wind & Fire's self-titled debut album enters the Billboard album chart, peaking at #172.
April 27, 1974: "Mighty Mighty" becomes the group's first single to crack the pop Top Forty. They'd first entered the R&B Top Forty in July 1973 with "Evil".
May 24, 1975:"Shining Star", from That's the Way of the World, reaches #1 on Billboard's singles chart. It earns the first of many Grammys for the group, winning 'Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group'.
January 1, 1976: The double-album Gratitude, a mix of studio and live recordings, tops the charts for three weeks. The group's concerts, full of magic and pyrotechnics, help make them most popular R&B band of the mid-Seventies.
March 16, 1978: Group wins three Grammys: 'Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group' (for All 'N All), 'Best R&B Instrumental Performance' ("Runnin'") and 'Best Arrangement for Accompanying Vocals' ("Got to Get You Into My Life.")
January 27, 1979: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 peaks at #6 while the single "September" is on its way to #8. In February, Maurice White launches the American Recording Corporation (ARC), a CBS-distributed label whose artist roster included the Emotions and Deniece Williams.
December 1, 1983: Electric Universe, Earth, Wind & Fire's 16th album, is released. When it sells disappointingly, an exhausted Verdine White disbands the group.
November 1, 1987: Reunited after four years, Earth, Wind & Fire unveils Touch the World. Its lead single, "System of Survival", hits #1 on the R&B chart.
October 29, 1992: The Eternal Dance, a 55-track, three-CD box set spanning the group's entire career, is released.
March 6, 2000: Earth, Wind & Fire is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the fifteenth annual induction dinner.
P.S. (#2) - I got the tape! Thanks a lot to my friend Christina 'ewffaces' Ricardo who sent it to me!!!
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Marcus Ceravolo
