To casual observers Earth, Wind And Fire are a name synonymous with the disco era and hits like Boogie Wonderland, September and Let’s Groove. But they were so much more than that.
They blended jazz, funk, soul, psychedelia, Latin, rock with a whole lot of spiritualism, black positivity and some incredible musicianship. Afro-futurism? Maurice White’s crew embodied the term in the 1970s (along with George Clinton, of course).
Now the group are finally getting the documentary that their status has long merited. Behind the camera is Questlove, who aside from playing drums in The Roots, now has a proven track record as an excellent music doc maker – he's responsible for two acclaimed classics of the genre: Summer Of Soul and Sly Lives!
Questlove has coaxed some genuinely A-listers to talk about the group – Barack and Michelle Obama, Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie, as well as group members and the family of the late White (who died of Parkinson’s in 2016).
The film - titled Earth, Wind And Fire (To Be Celestial vs The Weight Of The World) - premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this month and is now streaming on HBO. It’s a must see for fans, who will be fascinated by some titbits we find out about the group.
For example: the origin of the opening line of September, “Do you remember/the 21st night of September?” Why the 21st? Well, according to Maurice’s partner Marilyn White that’s the date the couple were expecting their son Kabhran. In the end the youngster arrived prematurely in August, but his due date has gone down in disco history.
And whilst we’re on the subject, what about that song’s chorus: ‘ba-dee-ya-dee-ya-dee-ya’. Is there a meaning behind it? Nope, says the band’s percussionist Ralph Johnson: “It means whatever you want it to be.”
However, according to singer Philip Bailey: “Ba-dee-ya is really a Brazilian scat that me and Maurice used to always listen to with (Sérgio Mendes’ band) Brasil ‘66. So if we didn’t have lyrics for certain things, we’d ‘ba-dee-ya’ it. Certain songs, like (EWF’s) ‘Brazilian Rhyme’ just sounded good doing that alone. It just became one of those signature things that we do in melodies.”
Bassist Verdine White says: “It’s the gift that keeps on giving. It’s upbeat. It’s happy,” and adds that when they play it live “everybody just smiles.”
