A

Inside the Rise of Earth, Wind & Fire

How the leader of the band behind 'Shining Star' and 'September'
survived a fractured childhood to create timeless hits.

By Jordan Runtagh in People

or half a century, the blast of Earth, Wind & Fire's horn section has served as a triumphant fanfare on the dance floor. Songs like "Shining Star," "Sing a Song" and "Boogie Wonderland" have become synonymous with celebration. Yet they were crafted by a man whose life was shaped by loneliness, loss and a search for connection. Frontman Maurice White's story is at the heart of Earth, Wind & Fire: To Be Celestial vs. That's the Weight of the World, a new HBO Max documentary directed by Questlove.

Born in Memphis in 1941, White endured an unstable childhood marked by separation from his mother while his grandmother raised him and the death of his father at a young age. Music became both a refuge and a purpose. After moving to Chicago as a teen, he worked at the legendary Chess Records. While honing his skills as a producer, he began developing a vision. "He said, 'I wanna have a band that renders a service to humanity,'" bandmate Philip Bailey, 75, says.

To make that vision a reality, White assembled a formidable group of musicians, including bassist Verdine White and drummer Fred White, his younger half brothers. "We were into the concept, we were into the music, and we were in it together," Verdine, 74, says. Though not a blood relative, percussionist Ralph Johnson says it felt like a band of brothers: "We did it all to the max because we believed in it."

With Maurice as maestro, Earth, Wind & Fire fused funk, jazz, pop, gospel, soul, classical and African rhythms into a sound unlike anything on the radio. "[Maurice] used to say, 'There's something in there for everybody,'" Bailey recalls. It was an expression of unity for the turbulent early '70s. "Politics were at the forefront of that period," says Johnson, 74. "We were the right band at the right time with the right message."

For Maurice, Earth, Wind & Fire became the close-knit surrogate family he'd longed for as a boy. "For at least 10 years, I saw these guys more than I saw my wife and kids," says Bailey. And lie most families, they sometimes disagreed. Case in point: Bailey initially wasn't sold on the 1978 hit "September." The singer thought the now-classic "bah-de-ah" refrain was "kinda corny," he says. "But I was definitely wrong."

As the band's popularity grew, so did its ambitions. Live performances evolved into dazzling spectacles with Broadway-level choreography, the Egyptian-inspired costumes and levitation tricks courtesy of world-class magicians. As songwriter, producer, arranger and frontman, White carried the weight of an ever-expanding enterprise.

In 1984 he stunned his bandmates by dissolving Earth, Wind & Fire. The decision was especially painful for Verdine, who spent years estranged from his older brother. Today, however, he sees a man overwhelmed by the demands of success. "It's a lot of pressure with all the music and the traveling and the performing," he says. "The demand was huge." The band reunited later in the decade and continued performing together until White was sidelined by Parkinson's, which claimed his life in 2016. Fred White died in 2023, but Verdine continues to tour with Johnson and Bailey.

Today the surviving members are struck by how much of White's vision endures. "I think Maurice would be pleased," Verdine says. "I think he would be pleased that the three of us are still here -- Philip, Ralph and myself -- to tell the story."  

Flashback to 1975!

From People's June 30, 1975, issue.

BETTE MIDLER REVIVES THE DIVINE MISS M FOR A RECORD-BREAKING REVUE

n a few hours Bette Midler and the Divine Miss M, her adapted alter ego, were due onstage. After a 15-month separation, which allowed her time to sort out her personal life, the two personas reunited in the blockbuster "Clams on the Half Shell Revue." "Bette Midler is a nice girl, but the Divine Miss M is hell on wheels," the singer describes herself. "She runs around the room, breathes heavy and puffs me up. She changed me from a pauper to a princess. Yet I was glad not to see her, to be quiet for a while. I wouldn't say I invented tack, but I definitely brought it to its present high popularity." When Miss M was first and last on Broadway, in 1973, she set the Palace's record for advance ticket sales in a single day. Her raunchy-campy flair for parody catapulted her toward massive stardom, but when Midler abruptly dropped out for more than a year, show business minds boggled. At 29, she has cofounded the industry again, coming back to triumph: "Clams"' run was extended from four to 10 weeks. In the past Midler's devotees were largely the gaily liberated; this time they were as broad as her repertoire, spanning for decades.

IN THE NEWS: JUNE 1975

Cher Chic: "She doesn't look good in average clothes," says Bob Mackie, on his muse Cher. "The camera just adores her, the structure of her face, the body."

Royals: Princess Anne, 24, and her husband of nearly two years, Mark Phillips, 26, made their first visit to the United States as a couple to compete in the U.S. Open Championship. The princess sought a spot on the British equestrian team for the 1976 Olympics.

Goodbye: After 27 years in circulation and the death of creator Walt Kelly in 1973, the cartoon comic strip Pogo ceased publication.

STAR TRACKS

Back in Time  James Brolin and Jill Clayburgh (left) transformed into Clark Gable and Carole Lombard to film Gable and Lombard, a movie about the actors' 1930s love story.

Testament to Talent  Burt Lancaster (right) stepped into his first television role to play the title character in the CBS miniseries Moses the Lawgiver.  

The Best of EXTRA!