Earth, Wind & Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire is an American band from Chicago, active since 1969. Founded by Maurice White after an earlier group called the Salty Peppers, the band is associated with funk, soul, disco, jazz, progressive soul, big band and dance music, and its wider sound also includes R&B, pop, Latin and Afro-pop.

The group is known for its use of the kalimba, a prominent horn section, elaborate stage productions, and the contrast between Philip Bailey’s falsetto and Maurice White’s tenor vocals. Over the years, members have included Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Roland Bautista, Robert Brookins, Sonny Emory, Ronnie Laws, Sheldon Reynolds and Andrew Woolfolk, among many others. The verified membership list also includes Michael Beal, Leslie Drayton, Wade Flemons, Yackov Ben Israel, Sherry Scott, Alexander Thomas, Chester Washington, Don Whitehead, Jessica Cleaves, Gary L. Morgan, Fred White, Beloyd Taylor, Wayne Vaughn, Dick Smith, Vance Taylor, Freddie Ravel, David Romero, Morris Pleasure, Mike McKnight, B. David Whitworth, Gorden Campbell, Bobby Gonzales, Daniel de los Reyes, Myron McKinley, John Paris, Kimberly Brewer, John Johnson, Krystal Bailey, Vadim Zilberstein, Kim Johnson, Greg Moore, Philip Bailey, Jr., Morris O'Connor and DJ Demp.

The band’s career includes a hiatus between the mid-1980s and the late 1980s. It has sold more than 90 million records worldwide and releases a long run of studio albums, including Earth, Wind & Fire, The Need of Love, Last Days and Time, Head to the Sky, Open Our Eyes, That’s the Way of the World, Gratitude, Spirit, All ’n All, I Am, Faces, Raise!, Powerlight, Electric Universe, Touch the World, Heritage, Millennium, In the Name of Love, The Promise, Illumination, Now, Then & Forever and Holiday.

The group receives major recognition, including six Grammy Awards from 17 nominations and four American Music Awards from 12 nominations. It is also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame and Hollywood’s Rockwalk, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Other honours include the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award, the BET Lifetime Achievement Award, the Soul Train Legend Award, the NARAS Signature Governor’s Award, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the Congressional Horizon Award and Kennedy Center Honors.