Fifty years after Earth, Wind & Fire broke through to the top tier of pop and R&B bands, they were subjects of a two-hour Grammy salute that aired on Sunday (Sept. 21). The airdate was a clever touch – “the 21st night of September” is line from one of their most famous hits, “September.”
Unlike past Grammy Salute specials where other artists cover the subject’s songs, this special was built around a filmed EWF concert at the Hollywood Bowl, where the band was backed by the LA Philharmonic. But there were also inserts of performances of EWF classics by Jonas Brothers, Jon Batiste and Janelle Monáe and a warm, mostly spoken, tribute by Stevie Wonder.
EWF have been showered with awards and honors in this century. The band was voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Five members of the group were voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010. They received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2016 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019.
Fulwell Entertainment and Grammy Studios produced A Grammy Salute to Earth, Wind & Fire Live: The 21st Night of September. Ben Winston (who is an executive producer of the annual Grammy telecast), Patrick Menton (a co-executive producer of that show) and Harvey Mason jr. (CEO of the Recording Academy) served as executive producers.
Fans of these Grammy Salutes specials won’t have long to wait for the next one. A Grammy Salute to Cyndi Lauper: Live From the Hollywood Bowl will air on Sunday, Oct. 5 (8-10 p.m., ET/PT). Guests include Joni Mitchell, Cher, Angelique Kidjo, John Legend, SZA, Mickey Guyton, Trombone Shorty and Jake Wesley Rogers, with a video tribute from Brandi Carlile.
Here are the five best moments from A Grammy Salute to Earth, Wind & Fire Live: The 21st Night of September.
A Grammy Salute to Earth Wind & Fire
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Taking on The Beatles
The special, like the Bowl concert itself, opened with three of EWF’s million-sellers, “Shining Star,” “Sing a Song” and “Got to Get You Into My Life.” The group didn’t just cover The Beatles’ brassy classic from Revolver, they thoroughly reinvented it. White won a Grammy for his bold, even audacious, arrangement of the song, which was easily the best thing to emerge from a movie that was a notorious flop – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
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Songs Worth Hearing Twice
Earth, Wind & Fire included full-length versions of “That’s the Way of the World” and “Shining Star” in their set, but we were also treated to covers of the songs by Janelle Monáe and Jonas Brothers, respectively. JoBros, the only non-Black artists on the show, did a very credible job on “Shining Star,” which was EWF’s only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Jon Batiste performed “Can’t Hide Love,” a lesser-known EWF song which was the follow-up to “Sing a Song.” EWF didn’t include that one in their Bowl set.
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Inspiring Stevie Wonder
In an insert, Wonder talked about his “great admiration for Maurice White,” and shared that when he heard “Shining Star,” it inspired him to write “I Wish,” the lead single from Songs in the Key of Life.
Wonder didn’t add, but we will, that Songs in the Key of Life kept EWF from landing a third consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. Spirit, which followed their chart-topping That’s the Way of the World and Gratitude, peaked at No. 2, unable to dislodge Wonder’s masterwork from the top spot.
(Wonder was the subject of his own Grammy Salute special in 2015, Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All-Star Grammy Salute.)
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Those Killer Ballads
EWF is probably best known as purveyors of upbeat pop/R&B/funk hits, but their ballads were every bit as good. The group included several in their show – “That’s the Way of the World,” “Reasons,” “Fantasy” and “After the Love Has Gone.” The latter song, the band’s first collaboration with David Foster, was EWF’s only track to receive Grammy nods for record and/or song of the year.
The fact that EWF was equally good on upbeat material and ballads is a key reason for their longevity.
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All Hail the Originals
EWF includes just three original (or nearly original) members – Verdine White, Maurice White’s younger brother; Ralph Johnson; and Philip Bailey, who was introduced as “The Voice.”
The group’s mastermind, Maurice White, died nearly 10 years ago.
EWF is one of those groups where the songs are the stars, more than the individual band members. The Four Seasons, ABBA and The Temptations are also in this little club, which ensures the longevity of the material.