Earth, Wind & Fire’s music transcends generations, races and genres. Maurice White formed the band in 1969, when it was originally named the “Salty Peppers.”
In 1972, he restructured the band and the name to be after the three elements in his astrological chart. The band consisted of his brother Verdine White (on bass), Jessica Cleaves (vocals), Ronnie Laws (flute, saxophone), Roland Bautista (guitar), Larry Dunn (keyboard), Ralph Johnson (percussion), and Philip Bailey (vocals- falsetto).
Earth, Wind & Fire had an all-encompassing vision of jazz, soul, pop, rock, blues, folk, African music, and, later on, disco. Their foundation of funky up-beat music bridged the gap between white and black audiences.
In the 1980s, the band dispersed due to White suffering from Parkinson’s Disease (he died in 2016). Bailey has led the group ever since, alongside Verdine White and Ralph Johnson. In parallel with writing music for the band, Bailey has created 12 solo albums through the years. One of his most successful singles, “Easy Lover,” was with Grammy award-winning singer Phil Collins.
“Coming together with Phil Collins was very natural, I think that the timbre of our voices complimented each other. He could be exactly who he was and I could be exactly who I am and it all just made sense,” Bailey said.