Artist:Earth, Wind & Fire
Song:Shining Star
Album:Greatest Hits
It took a few years and a move to Los Angeles but Chicago born drummer Maurice White's band Earth, Wind & Fire became one of the most popular groups of the 70s with their hit Shining Star in 1975. White was drummer for jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis and had a jazz soul sound in mind for his group but Columbia Records head Clive Davis convinced White to make the group more commercial. So Maurice and bassist brother Verdine White brought in singer Philip Bailey, guitarist Al McKay, keyboardists Larry Dunn & Charles Stepney and some hot horn players and made it to the top of the charts. White, Bailey & Dunn wrote Shining Star but White & Stepney teamed up for a lot of their best songs. So when Stepney died of a heart attack in 1978, EW&F went into a decline. Maurice White had his own health issues in the 80s. This comp has all their hits. Their earlier Warner Bros. recordings are also good but none of that stuff hit the charts. The music holds up pretty well generally though songs like Boogie Wonderland seem kind of silly today.
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