Maurice White has died

[EdgeleyRob]

The founder of Earth Wind and Fire has passed away.
Yet another great musician gone.
Not sure if there are many soul/funk fans on here but he wrote and performed some of the best ever.
Pure class,a genius,so sad

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35499149

RIP

[johncorrigan]

The founder of Earth Wind and Fire has passed away.
Yet another great musician gone.
Not sure if there are many soul/funk fans on here but he wrote and performed some of the best ever.
Pure class,a genius,so sad

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35499149

RIP

'Fantasy' is my favourite of EW&F, Rob, but I have a precise memory of 'September'. I was a passenger on this 'beat-up' bus from Istanbul to Dehli in September '79. We were in the Eastern regions of Turkey, probably Kurd country, and everybody was hot, sweaty...God knows what it must have smelled like. I remember suddenly there was a downpour as the road dropped into this little river valley in the mountains. The driver stopped and we all streamed out into the rain as 'September' came on the cassette and we danced in the rain - buncha crazy deadbeats come alive. 'September' still takes me back to that moment of complete joy when I hear it. RIP Maurice White

[Beef Oven!]

Sad.

Strong memory of a friend who brought up the LP "I Am" to my university digs in 1979 in an attempt to liberate some of his white friends from Joy Division et al!!

It wasn't successful, but the first three tracks and Boogie Wonderland are still burnt in my brain all these years later!

RIP Maurice and thanks for the music

[teamsaint]

Sad.

Strong memory of a friend who brought up the LP "I Am" to my university digs in 1979 in an attempt to liberate some of his white friends from Joy Division et al!!

It wasn't successful, but the first three tracks and Boogie Wonderland are still burnt in my brain all these years later!

RIP Maurice and thanks for the music

Kind of the same for me,Boogie Wonderland was part of another musical world really,but still hit the mark with meand my mates.

[BBMmk2]

Another great artist gone! Goodness!

[doversoul1]

My memory is a bit vague but it was the time when The Beatles had become a bore and Simon & Garfunkel were coming out of everybody’s ears, EWF sounded like a blast of fresh air (unless I’ve got a wrong group). Whilst their music wasn’t my taste, I loved their name. I was doing a Saturday job at a record shop then. A happy memory.

R.I.P.

[johncorrigan]

Craig Charles did a tribute on his Funk'n'Soul show last night playing EW&F 1976 record 'Spirit' - their 7th LP...hadn't realised they'd been going so long. Great stuff. It starts about an hour and 45 mins in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06zzcbx

[gradus]

One of the best, with a great recorded legacy. Who can resist 'September'.

[Lat-Literal]

RIP Maurice White. Earth Wind and Fire were a significant and substantial soul/funk band. When the news broke, there was a feeling of wanting to think beyond the obvious hits and a wish perhaps to categorise them more decisively. I'm not sure that it turned out to be easy. Certainly at the start of the 1970s - their lesser known years - it could be said that there was some sort of parallel with the Temptations who could produce the sweetness of a "Just My Imagination" and the grittiness of a "Psychedelic Shack". By the end of the decade, and notwithstanding the emergence of the likes of Funkadelic, there was a parallel with the Commodores who were abandoning the funkier approaches in, say, "Machine Gun" for the commercial "Three Times a Lady". However, with E, W and F any sweetness in the vocal and melody were generally incorporated into a funky, disco arrangements that weren't hugely removed from their origins. It wasn't overtly commercial. It was a halfway meeting in which the commercial partially came towards them. Other names that spring to mind are KC and the Sunshine Band and Kool and the Gang. But what is notable in EWF is their jazzier and even gospel sixties roots - the connection with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and so on - and at a push I think one could look at some of the colouring in their textures and contrast and compare even with a band like Steely Dan. My main point, inevitably given that I am such a fan of Charles Stepney, was that he made a big difference about a third of the way into their careers. That is recognised in the first of the clips that follow:

Earth Wind and Fire - Charles Stepney, DNA of EW&F - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ia4j36ksk
Earth Wind and Fire - Help Somebody (1970/1971) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIpTfGwEmt8

Earth Wind and Fire - Spasmodic Movements (Stepney) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8IKKh32YO4
Earth Wind and Fire - After The Love Has Gone (1979) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUCLNPOjPZw