My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire by Maurice White & Herb Powell

Author:Maurice White & Herb Powell [White, Maurice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-09-13T07:00:00+00:00

16

Departure

All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

When we started recording what would become Spirit, our sixth album for Columbia, I had no idea how much life was about to change for me and the band. After the breakthrough of That’s the Way of the World, the crossover smashes of “Shining Star” and “Sing a Song,” it was an exciting and demanding time for me, and for the entire EW&F and Kalimba Productions camp.

By early 1976 I was under siege with suggestions for songs to listen to and musical directions we should take. The band, management, and anyone around me would give me albums that were hot at the time, thinking that I needed to stay in touch with what was happening. Following my natural inclinations, I listened to sounds that moved me personally. I swear that every day that I could, I listened to Keith Jarrett’s double record The Köln Concert. This live solo piano concert was a milestone in my musical life, and Keith continued to be a major musical influence. I know that may sound odd, but his dedication to improvisation on such a high and idiosyncratic level moved me beyond words. It was also calming and healing music for me. Even though we were in different musical landscapes, Keith Jarrett’s music helped clear my head.

Now, of course, Earth, Wind & Fire could not do an album like Keith Jarrett’s, but we could be inspired by his uniqueness. By the time we started planning Spirit, the band had started to record demos religiously, so I kind of knew what was going to ultimately fly in the end product. But Verdine gave me a tape of a song by two young writers, Beloyd Taylor and Peter Cor, and it just blew me away. “Getaway” had everything that had become the EW&F sound, the spiritual as well as the musical. It was rare to receive a song so tailored for us.

Watch for the signs that lead in the right direction

Not to heed them is a bad reflection

They’ll show you the way into what you have been seeking

To ignore them you’re only cheating

So come, take me by the hand, we’ll leave this troubled land

I know we can getaway

—“Getaway,” Spirit, 1976

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