Earth, Wind & Women
Maurice White’s career—both before and during the Earth, Wind & Fire adventure—was marked by several encounters with exceptional female singers.
As early as 1965, the name Maurice White, then a drummer, was associated with a great voice: that of Fontella Bass, whose irresistible, gospel-tinged rhythm and blues hit “Rescue Me” was propelled by his drumming. Four years later, he crossed paths with another singular singer, Minnie Riperton, who inaugurated her solo discography with the magnificent Come to My Garden, a work of orchestral soul music illuminated by “Les Fleurs” (sic), of which Ramsey Lewis had already recorded an instrumental version in 1968. Maurice White was fascinated by her voice and deeply impressed by the arrangements of Charles Stepney, and when in 1976 he worked with Deniece Williams—who, like Minnie Riperton, had spent time in the group Wonderlove (Stevie Wonder’s backing vocalists)—he found those same atmospheres once again.
It was, in fact, at a Stevie Wonder concert that he discovered Deniece Williams. Backstage, he asked her: “Do you have any songs?” “Yes, several—I write my own...” Among them was the delicate “Free,” with its enchanting intro—Jerry Peters’s electric piano, those gorgeous chords, that soft, high-perched voice as touching as Minnie Riperton’s—its slow, sensual groove, plus White’s own voice in the backing harmonies: the whole thing produced by White alongside his alter ego Charles Stepney. The rest of the album is pitch-perfect: a classic of the 1970s.
In 1977, Song Bird, opening with “Time” and featuring the gospel gem “God Is Amazing,” was once again conceived with the “EWF team.”
That same year, Maurice White and the musicians of Earth, Wind & Fire worked with another magnificent singer, Valerie Carter—herself a backing vocalist for the greats: James Taylor, Little Feat (Lowell George was her mentor), Christopher Cross, Don Henley—and, like Deniece Williams, a songwriter in her own right (she would co-write a song with Maurice White on Earth, Wind & Fire’s Faces). “So, So Happy” and “City Lights” were nonetheless signed by the EWF team, stamped with the group’s signature pulse. Valerie Carter distinguished herself with subtlety, her multi-tracked voice and vocal arrangements reflecting her full command as a musician.
As for the three Hutchinson sisters—Wanda, Sheila, and Jeanette, a.k.a. The Emotions—they achieved worldwide acclaim by participating in Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland” (having begun their career on the Stax label under the guidance of Isaac Hayes and Maurice White’s childhood friend, David Porter). They also benefited from the talents of the indispensable Charles Stepney and Kalimba Productions (founded by Maurice White), recording several albums rich in soul ballads (”How Can You Stop Loving Someone,” written and composed by Wanda) and danceable tracks bearing the musical seal of their producers, such as “Best of My Love,” “Love Vibes,” “Smile,” and “Whole Lot of Shakin’” (which bears a strong resemblance to “September”).