After exiting the group Salty Peppers, Maurice White moved to Los Angeles from Chicago and created a new band. A strong believer in mysticism, the Sagittarian sought inspiration from his astrological chart in divining the band-to-be’s name. Three elements caught his attention: earth, fire and air.
“I changed air to wind,” late founder White says in a clip from the HBO Original documentary Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World). “And the rest is history,” he continues. “Earth, Wind & Fire is basically the true elements of the universe.”
And what a history it’s been as director-producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson relays in the illuminating, two-hour documentary premiering Sunday night (June 7; 9 p.m. ET/PT). In the nearly 60 years since White’s vision took shape, the nine-time Grammy Award-winning and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band has achieved global acclaim and legendary status.
Via spirited fusions of jazz, R&B/soul, Afro-funk, pop and disco, the band mined a deep vein of classic gold and platinum hits and fan faves like “September,” “Shining Star,” “Let’s Groove,” “After the Love Is Gone” and “Beijo” (aka Brazilian Rhyme interlude). In fact, Questlove pegged another iconic EWF hit, “That’s the Way of the World,” in crafting the title for his latest Questlove Jawn.
