Earth, Wind & Fire
American musical group / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin, and Afro-pop.[4][5] They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.[6][7][8]
Earth, Wind & Fire | |
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Origin | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
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Years active | 1969–present (hiatus mid-1984 to mid-1987) |
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Website | earthwindandfire |
The band was formed in Chicago by Maurice White in 1969, growing out of the Salty Peppers; its history includes a hiatus from mid-1984 to mid-1987.[6][9] Prominent members have included Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Roland Bautista, Robert Brookins, Sonny Emory, Freddie Ravel, Ronnie Laws, Sheldon Reynolds and Andrew Woolfolk.[10] The band is known for its kalimba sound, dynamic horn section, energetic and elaborate stage shows, and the contrast between Bailey's falsetto and Maurice's tenor vocals.[11][12]
The band has won six Grammys out of 17 nominations[13] and four American Music Awards out of 12 nominations.[4] They have been 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 earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The band has received an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award, a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, a Soul Train Legend Award,[4][14] a NARAS Signature Governor's Award,[4] a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award,[4][13] the 2012 Congressional Horizon Award,[15] and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019.[16] Rolling Stone has called them "innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing" and declared that the band "changed the sound of black pop".[17] VH1 has described EWF as "one of the greatest bands".[11]