My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire
Page 39
learns music business, 49–51, 60, 63
legacy of, xi–xiii
love of reading, 64–65, 73
Marquettes and, 19
medical school ambitions of, 32–35
“Mother Dear” and, 30–31, 82–83, 157–58, 176
moves to California, 83–84, 87–90
moves to Chicago, 26–33
musical aspirations of, 136–37
Parkinson’s disease and, 324–26, 338–42, 348, 350–51, 359
personality of, 255–56
produces other artists, 194–98, 216–19, 313–15, 320, 331
Quartet 4 formed by, 51–52
racism and, 10, 12–13, 22–23, 68–69, 292–96
Ramsey Lewis Trio and, 60–70, 74–75, 77, 81–84, 359
records solo album Maurice White, 315–20
records Salty Peppers hit “La La Time,” 78–79
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, 1–2, 347–50
romances and, 27, 29, 90–91, 119, 158, 242–45, 263, 272
royalties and, 49, 50, 159, 194, 212, 265, 312, 321, 334
siblings take surname “White,” 179
songwriters and, 47–48
Songwriters Hall of Fame and, 337
spirituality and, 1–2, 12–13, 41–42, 64–65, 73–84, 96, 130–31, 142–44, 188–90, 211–12, 226–27, 305, 349–51, 354–56, 359–60
studio work and, 51–54, 61, 64, 66, 81
tennis and, 222–23, 262, 296, 339
touring and, 65–66, 126–27, 158
travels to Egypt, 265–66
travels to South America, 221–22
vocal style of, 141–42
White, Monte Adams (brother), 15, 178–79, 269
White, Verdine Adams, Jr. (brother), x, 15, 31, 57, 66, 91–100, 103–7, 110, 119–24, 128–29, 132, 136–37, 151–55, 160, 165–66, 168, 174–79, 185–86, 192, 198, 200, 211, 213, 221–22, 226, 232–39, 246, 251, 253, 259–62, 266, 270–71, 284, 296, 300, 303, 311–12, 317–22, 330, 340, 342, 347–48, 352–53, 355
Whitehead, Don “Head,” 71, 78, 87, 90–91, 94, 102
Whitten, Bill, 264–65, 296
“Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” 75
Wild Child, 301
Williams, Andy, 118
Williams, Bernard, 250
Williams, David, 317
Williams, Deniece, 196–98, 221, 224, 236, 245, 297, 299–302
Williams, Nat D., 24
Williams, Tony, 70
Williams, Vanessa, 338
Williamson, Sonny Boy, 24, 48
“Willie and the Hand Jive,” 17
Willis, Allee, 246–47, 252–54, 257, 297
“Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” 30
Wilson, Brian, 311
Wilson, Jackie, 52
Winkler, Henry, 262
Wissert, Joe, 117, 129
Wiz, The (musical), 230
WNET (TV station), 127
Wonder, Stevie, 196–97, 211, 237, 279, 327
“Wonderful, Wonderful,” 103
Woods, Georgie, 108–9, 133
Woods, Renn, 301
Woolfolk, Andrew, 120–21, 129, 138–40, 152, 167–68, 189, 256, 311, 322, 348
“Word Up,” 304
world music, 125, 128–29, 279, 359
“World’s a Masquerade, The,” 128, 193
Wright, Benjamin, 258–59
Wright, Charles, 122
Wright, Phil, 55, 79
WVON (radio station), 141
“Yearnin’ Learnin’,” 16, 173, 181
Yeats, William Butler, 45
Yes, 302
Yetnikoff, Walter, 131–33, 149–50, 224, 274–75, 293, 296–97, 301
“YMCA,” 228
“You Are a Winner,” 286–87, 349
Young, Eldee, 60
Young-Holt Trio, 60
Your Arms Too Short to Box with God (musical), 297
“You’re No Good,” 42–43, 45
“You Went Away,” 279, 333
“Zanzibar,” 129, 132
Zawinul, Joe, 88, 128, 300
ZZ Top, 153
Photos
At age three, with my parents, John White and Edna Parker. (Courtesy of Maurice White)
In Memphis, in my precious cowboy outfit, when I was around eight. (Courtesy of Maurice White)
Twirling my sticks at a high school pep rally. (Courtesy of Maurice White)
The Quartet 4 in 1965. Dick Sisto and I are seated, with Ken Chaney and Bill Terry in the background. (Courtesy of Dick Sisto)
After a rehearsal, with Cleveland Eaton and Ramsey Lewis of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, sometime around Christmas 1967. (Theodore Williams/Ebony Collection via AP Images)
The first EW&F lineup. Left to right: Chet Washington, Don Whitehead, me, Verdine White, Sherry Scott, Leslie Drayton, Michael Beal, Wade Flemons, Alex Thomas, and Yackov Ben Israel. (Courtesy of Kalimba Productions)
The new band in Greensboro, North Carolina, in October 1974, right after Fred joined. Left to right: Johnny Graham, Fred White, Larry Dunn, me, Al McKay, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Andrew Woolfolk, and Philip Bailey. (Moneta Sleet, Jr./Ebony Collection via AP Images)
Verdine, being lifted high above the stage, in one of his first theatrical feats. (Courtesy of Verdine White)
“Clap your hands this evening, say it’s all right!” Performing “Devotion” shortly before “Shining Star” became a hit. (Clarence Towers Photography)
Me, Ramsey Lewis, and Charles Stepney, Chicago, 1974. (Courtesy of Johnson Publishing Company, LLC; all rights reserved)
With CBS Records executive Bruce Lundvall backstage at Madison Square Garden, winter 1976. (Courtesy of Maurice White)
EW&F in Germany for the first time. (Courtesy of Verdine White)
Me and Perry Jones, Los Angeles, 1975. (Courtesy of Perry Jones)
In a kalimba groove with Don Myrick, Michael Harris, and Verdine White during the 1976 Spirit tour. (Michael Dobo/Dobophoto.com)
Sound check at the LA Forum, 1976. (Michael Dobo/Dobophoto.com)
Backstage with Carlos Santana in Oakland, California. (Clarence Towers Photography)
We had been on a cruising altitude for over a year when this photo was taken for the All ’N All album in the summer of 1977. (jurgenreisch.com)
This 1976 backstage photo says so much about my relationship with Verdine. (Michael Dobo/Dobophoto.com)
Left to right: Me, George Faison, Stevie Wonder, and Nick Ashford on November 24, 1977. After a gig at Madison Square Garden, George threw a great surprise party for the band at his house. (Courtesy of George Faison)
Backstage with Billy Joel after an EW&F concert in New York in 1977. (Richard E. Aaron/Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment)
Deniece Williams and me having fun going over a song in the studio in Los Angeles, fall 1977. (Vandell Cobb/Ebony Collection via AP Images)
Verdine levitating, through the magic of Doug Henning. (Bruce W. Talamon)
EW&F performing with Natalie Cole on her April 1978 CBS-TV special. (Courtesy of Maurice White)
Getting the horns punchy for the All ’N All album. Left to right: Louis Satterfield, Oscar Brashear, and Rahmlee Michael Davis, with Don Myrick and Andrew Woolfolk in the background. (Bruce W. Talamon)
I loved the solitude of my place in Carmel, California. (Courtesy of Johnson Publishing Company, LLC; all rights reserved)
Me, Don Myrick, and Verdine on the band’s first sojourn to Egypt. (Bruce W. Talamon)
Andrew Woolfolk and me finding a groove. (Bruce W. Talamon)
Opening a show on the I Am tour, playing the kalimba. (Bruce W. Talamon)
The band at the Polo Club in Washington, DC,in 1979 to lend support to a national voter registration drive. Left to right: Raymone Bain, Verdine, Johnny, Ralph, Philip, Coretta Scott King, me, Al, Fred, Larry, and LeBaron Taylor. Martin Luther King III and Andrew are in the foreground. (D. Michael Cheers/Ebony Collection via AP Images)
Feeling it! (Bruce W. Talamon)
At the
piano in Carmel. (Courtesy of Johnson Publishing Company, LLC; all rights reserved)
Early in the Tour of the World for the I Am album. Left to right: Ralph, Verdine, me, and Al. (Bruce W. Talamon)
Left to right: Ralph Johnson, me, Rahmlee Michael Davis, and Philip Bailey rehearsing vocals backstage. (Bruce W. Talamon)
At my new office at the Complex Studios in West Los Angeles, with George Massenburg and a very young David Foster. (Bruce W. Talamon)
Completely in the moment! (Bruce W. Talamon)
Mother Dear’s boys sightseeing in Rio de Janeiro—Verdine, me, Monte White, and Fred White, October 1980. (Bruce W. Talamon)
Performing “In the Stone” in Rio. (Bruce W. Talamon)
Group shot for the album Faces. (Jim Shea Photography)
Finding the pocket at AIR Studios, Montserrat. (Bruce W. Talamon)
Al McKay and me talking, shortly before he left EW&F. (Bruce W. Talamon)
The EW&F “comeback” lineup. Left to right: Sheldon Reynolds, Ralph Johnson, Andrew Woolfolk, Philip Bailey, Sonny Emory, me, and Verdine. (Courtesy of Kalimba Productions)
Rahmlee Michael Davis warming up, while Larry Dunn and I modify the set list. (Bruce W. Talamon)
Kicking off the Raise! tour in Europe with Ralph and Philip. (Ron Spies)
“Let’s Groove Tonight” in Holland. (Courtesy Ron Spies)
End of the Raise! tour. (Courtesy Ron Spies)
Princess Lalla Meryem and King Mohammed VI of Morocco with Hillary Clinton, me, Verdine, and Ralph in June 2000, after the band performed at the White House. (Courtesy of Maurice White)
With Verdine, Philip, Sherry Carter, and Donnie Simpson, promoting Heritage on BET’s Video Soul. (Courtesy of Maurice White)
Working with my friend Neil Diamond in 1985. (Courtesy of Maurice White)
Joking with Isaac Hayes about Memphis, 2005. (Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Receiving the love at Earth, Wind & Fire’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)
About the Author
Maurice White (1941–2016) worked in the music industry for more than forty years as a bandleader, songwriter, producer, and musician. He founded the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire and served as its main songwriter and record producer, and as its co–lead singer. White won six Grammys and three NAACP Image Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Copyright
my life with earth, wind & fire. Copyright © 2016 by Maurice White. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
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first edition
Digital Edition SEPTEMBER 2016 ISBN: 9780062329172
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-232915-8
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